Credit Bureau Fictions – Credit Bureau Reporting

4 Credit Bureau Fictions

Executive Summary By: Stuart Hunter

Numerous surveys suggest the typical American knows little about the credit bureaus other than that they essentially control their credit reports – and as a consequence, their purchasing power. “The three major credit bureaus truly want consumers to believe that they’ve each been blessed with an officially sanctioned franchise,” says Padawer, who has consulted for Lexington Law, a consumer advocacy law firm that helps consumers dispute errors and other questionable negative information from their credit reports.

Four out of every five credit reports contain errors, and approximately 25 contain errors serious enough to cause significant problems for consumers, according to research by the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups.

Here are some credit bureau fictions and the real facts behind the fiction:

Fiction 1: There are only three “official” consumer reporting agencies.

Fact: Many companies are in the business of collecting, compiling and processing credit information.

Fiction 2: The big three consumer reporting agencies are official government entities.

Fact: “There are no official bureaus,” Padawer says. “While most Americans perceive their credit reports to have at least the same legal standing as their driving records, the truth is that the government had no role in establishing the for-profit companies which produce them.”

Fiction 3: The three major credit bureaus all record the same credit information.

Fact: Different creditors often report to different credit bureaus. In fact, there is no law that requires them to report to any of the credit bureaus.

Fiction 4: Consumer reporting agencies will act quickly to help me rectify an error or delete inaccurate negative listings from my credit file.

Fact: The bureau may decide to keep the disputed item on the report as is, update but not delete the information, remove the listing, or deem the dispute frivolous. Given that it is easiest to simply judge your complaint as frivolous, many consumers find that their legitimate disputes get dismissed.

Increasingly, frustrated and fed up consumers are turning to credit repair professionals like Lexington Law to help them resolve credit reporting issues. Involving a credit repair professional can achieve faster, better results.

Credit Bureau Reporting, a Bonus of Easy Approval Cards

Executive Summary By: Derek Lenehan

Easy approval credit cards represent a step in the right direction for the many of us who have pretty bad credit. Easy approval cards typically have a low credit limit, usually in the mid to low hundreds, as well as varying interest rates. There are a few easy approval cards that allow balance transfers, though most do not, and you can expect a notable balance transfer fee on the cards that do. There are some upsides to easy approval cards if your credit has fallen as far and as fast as a meteor. If you can keep up with the payments and the various fees, most cards report to several credit bureaus, which means that if you can play ball, they will tell the people that can make your credit better. Go for an easy approval card if you can be a conservative spender for a while.

One thing to remember: do not, under any circumstances, get an easy approval card if you can not make payments on time. Say you’re rolling down the hypothetical financial hillside, taking out credit card after credit card to pay off bills and your old cards. If you can stay on track for a period of time, the financial rewards of an improved credit rating will greatly offset any expenses you incur while digging yourself out of the bad credit pit.