Netcredit

Our Congress is Proposing a New 'softer' ID Theft Law: Considering that Identity Theft occurs19 times per minute in the United States, it seems incredible to me that our Congress would be considering softer ID theft Laws. Recently enacted tougher State laws (as in Washington State) would be undermined by this new US Bill. http://www.consumersunion.org Urge your congressperson to support a tougher law to: 1. Remove the loophole that lets any company who fails to my personal information decide whether or not to tell me about it(!) As citizens, we must demand to make that decision for ourselves. We can only do so if we are informed when a company has ANY breach of security regarding our identities and financial information. 2. Insist on stronger security standards for everyone who handles consumers' personal information with real penalties if they fail to protect consumers. Companies who fail to protect my personal information should be pay for the inconvenience caused ...

How to order your FREE credit report once a year: Online: www.annualcreditreport.com (or download a mail-in form) By phone: 877-322-8228 By mail: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348 NEVER order a credit report from a site that asks you for a credit card number before giving you your 'free report'. Several firms have been convicted of secretly charging yearly credit monitoring fees. The best known good consumer site is www.myfico.com which is the Fair Isaac Company site (they invented credit scoring). This site has some useful credit comparison tools showing how credit scores affect interest rates which in turn affects your payments. A Tri-Merge (3 bureau) report costs about $50.00. If you check your own credit, it does not affect your FICO score. Be aware, you do not need to sign up for regular credit check services unless you are concerned that someone has been abusing your identitiy. If you have experienced identity theft a...

Collections on your credit hurt your FICO score. However, don't pay them off without establishing the effect they are having on your credit report! Anything over two years old has less and less effect. Many lenders will overlook old collections as long as your recent record is good. Note: Once you've paid a collection, it is virtually impossible to remove from your report and could actually hurt your score in the short term! Removing Collections from your Credit Report 1. Contact each original creditor listing collections on your report. (They may refer you to their collection agency if they have 'sold' the debt.) If you can afford to settle the debt, negotiate how you will pay it off. Insist that you will ONLY pay the debt IF they agree to REMOVE the item from collections and show the Account "Paid as Agreed" on your credit rerport. You must do everything in writing. 2. Your letter from the creditor (assuming you hounded them into submission) should st...

Lenders first want to know your creditworthiness. To prepare yourself, it's a good idea to check your credit report to find out where you stand before you intend to buy your first home. Credit History Your credit history is a collection of records held by the national consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Your record comprises a list of all your relationships with lending institutions and credit card companies as well as tax and court records. Any outstanding fines or late payments will be noted in detail with the most recent issues carrying the most weight in terms of your 'score'. Free Credit Reports By law every U.S. citizen can now receive a Free Annual Credit Report. This report is designed for consumers, and gives you the same information your lender sees in an easily readable format: http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ If you find anything on your report that you don't believe is accurate, you are advised to contact...

Washington Governor signs security freeze legislation! May 10, 2005, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed SB 5418. This new law gives Washington state residents the right to place a security freeze to lock up their credit files so that new creditors can't check the consumer's credit file unless the consumer chooses to unfreeze, or unlock the file. The right to freeze the credit file applies to identity theft victims and to consumer who have been notified that the security of their personal information has been breached published by the Consumers Union Consumers Union is urging consumers to support tougher state laws that would increase your protection. Considering that 9.9 million Americans are vicitmized by Identity theft each year--your chances of experiencing loss through identity theft increases daily. To support the freeze on credit information access without your permission in your state, visit: https://secure2.convio.net/cu/site/Advocacy?page=UserAction...

If you are applying for a mortgage, here are a few specific rules to help you make it to closing alive: NEVER respond to a bank online request for your passwords or identity information. These may be opportunists looking for access to your accounts and it could be a coincidence that you are applying for a loan (who isn't these days?). Legitimate Banks may mail disclosure documents about your loan prior to closing. If you are working with a mortgage broker it is possible that more than one bank is competing for your loan--so keep the documents but do not respond to them...that's your broker's job. This can be confusing as the documents the bank sends may not be up to date anyway...but is does alert you that someone has applied for a loan in your name. NEVER co-sign a note with anyone for anything ! (Unnless yo uare willing to accept their payment history on your credit) NEVER give out your Social Security Number to a bank or lender who doesn't ask you to sign a ...

If someone has taken out a credit card in your name (without your permssion or knowledge) this is a fraudulent act, often involving forgery or impersonation and is a felony. Fraud is serious and Identity Theft can affect your credit indefinately! F IRST RESPONSE: Call your local police or sherrif's department. Tell them what happened and provide any evidence you have, for example, a card statement or unauthorized payment withdrawals from your bank account. Get a police file number and copy of the report. You can choose to press criminal charges if this person has caused financial loss. Good luck finding them! Next: Go to your bank and stop any payments from going out of your account to a suspect card or account. They may reverse the charges unless they came from a debit card that is directly linked to your bank account. You can close the debit card immediately and get a new card with a new number to prevent further charges. Your bank will advise y...