2 Aug
Most often, people assume that obtaining credit reports is just a way to gather their credit scores and find out what entities they owe debts towards. However, utilizing the power of instant credit reporting can be extremely useful for other types of services in which background checks need to be administered.
Screening employees
Do you run a small business which depends on the work of employees? Regardless if your business is in your home or located in a small neighborhood store, anybody that you have working for you needs to be trusted.
What better way to find out a little bit about their background than by utilizing an instant credit report service? This is especially true if your business deals with the handling of large volumes of money, such as a check cashing establishment.
Screening new tenants for your real estate properties
Another useful means in which instant credit reports can be utilized is by landlords who are renting out their homes or apartments to tenants whom they do not know. Within five minutes of requesting a background credit check, you will know whether or not your potential tenant can be trusted with his or her rental payments.
How you base this trust in connection to their credit report is up to you, however, it is usually pretty easy to detect a relation of their spending habits with that of the instant credit report and what information it reveals.
Screening potential customers for financing needs
Do you plan on opening up a business in which you will finance your customers on a payment plan? Regardless of the product you provide, if your business model relies heavily on accepting future monthly payments by customers whose product is delivered to them immediately, there is no better way to determine who qualifies as a customer then by utilizing instant credit reports.
Let’s face it, there is no point in going into the finance business (money or hard goods) if you do not have the ability to run a background credit check on your potential customers.
You must be qualified to run instant credit reports on individuals.
Before you run out and decide that obtaining background credit checks is a must-have tool for your business needs, it is important to understand that you cannot obtain a copy of another person’s credit file without permission.
It is totally illegal to do so and you are well advised to check with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) for details and specifications about what circumstances can qualify you to obtain a credit report, and by whom.
Access is restricted
If you decide that you must have the ability to run instant credit reports on individuals other than yourself, then the rules state that these credit reports are restricted to a business that has a specific need, such as the above examples in this article, as well as handling consumers who have specifically requested you to run their credit reports. Other examples include having power of attorney or if you are the parent of a child and in need of a report for him/her.
31 Jul
1. Review your credit report periodically and be prepared to dispute credit report errors. It is common for information on your credit report to be inaccurate, and it can affect your ability to get a loan and the amount you have to pay to borrow money.
2. Only order your credit report form the official Annual Credit Report site. Any other website that offers a “free annual credit report” only does so when purchasing one of their products or signing up for a free trial that will automatically bill you after 30 days. The Annual Credit Report site is completely free and allows instant access to your current credit report.
3. After reviewing your credit report contact the credit reporting agency, in writing, about the information you believe to be inaccurate. Send a copy of your credit report to support your claim, and keep copies of all documentation for yourself.
4. Send your letter via certified mail so you have proof that the information was sent and a record of when the reporting agency received it. By law they have 30 days to review your claim and get back to you with a final determination.
5. If your claim is accepted, the information on your credit report will be removed and your credit score should improve. Upon request, the credit reporting agency must send a notice of the corrections to anyone that received your report within the last 6 months.
6. Keep an eye on your credit report going forward. Just because you dispute credit report errors and win, that does not prevent the creditor or lender to put the negative information right back on your file. If this occurs, you will have to start the process all over again.
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In addition, every time you turn on your radio or look in the mailbox you will continue to find credit repair companies that make bold claims about how well they can get your debts cleared and resume your financial status back into the green zone.
What’s with all the hype?
You know exactly the type of claims I am talking about. These credit repair companies all say the same thing:
“Do you have credit problems? No problem, we can help!”
“Work with us and legally create an entirely new identity”
“We can erase all of your bad credit, no matter how much debt you have, and it is 100% guaranteed!”
“Do you have judgments, bankruptcies, bad loans, and liens? Our services can wipe these items from your credit file and remove them forever!”
Do not fall for these very misleading statements
It is quite understandable to be persuaded by the sales hype of these types of credit report repair offers. Let’s face it, your credit is a mess, debts are high, and like most people, you would do anything to repair and clear your credit. But like the old saying goes: “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is”
You must learn to recognize the red flags of false advertising and misleading credit repair claims. Most of these companies are just looking for a fast buck by taking advantage of desperate men and women who have piled on debt over the years. Unfortunately, many young people tend to fall for these types of offers because of poor spending decisions and extremely high student loan expenses.
Watch out for the following red flags
When responding to any offer from a credit report repair company, regardless of whether it is in good standing with their clients are not, watch out for the following red flags:
1. Credit repair companies that ask for payments upfront before any of their services are provided to you.
2. Agencies that except your payment but then refer you to directly contacting the credit bureaus yourself.
3. Debt repair services that use illegal tactics in order to try to beat the credit filing system, such as offering to help create a new identity for you.
4. Credit repair companies that do not fully disclose your legal rights and what you can do for yourself to help repair your credit that is free of charge.
All hope is not lost, there are trustworthy credit repair agencies available!
The point of this article is not to scare you off into thinking that all credit repair companies and their offers are scams. In fact, there are indeed some very professional and reputable credit report repair companies that can help you with your debts. But certainly you must heed the advice of not falling for every offer that promises to clear your name and your debts overnight, literally.
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