Free Credit Report

Many people may still not be aware of an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that Congress passed last year. This amendment allows U.S. citizens to receive a copy of their credit report, for free, once per year. The plan is being rolled out slowly in order to avoid swamping the system, but people living in the West and Midwest can receive their credit reports now, and everyone will be able to obtain a free credit report by September of this year. Those seeking a copy of their credit report should watch out, however, as not everyone who promises a “free” credit report is actually delivering one.

These free credit reports may be obtained through the official Website: http://www.annualcreditreport.com. Additional information is available at the Federal Trade Commission Website at http://www.ftc.gov/credit. Obtaining a copy of your credit report through this site is easy, and only requires your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and address. That would seem fairly straightforward, but there are many companies, some legitimate and some not, that are interested in attracting the business of those who seek copies of their credit report, and scams are flourishing.

Some companies have established Websites with addresses that are very similar to the address of the official site. These sites promise a free credit report, but they are actually only interested in harvesting your personal information. In addition to stealing your name, Social Security number and address, these sites may also tell you that a credit card number is necessary to “verify” your identification. With this information, the people operating these sites can steal your identity! There are many other Websites that promise “free” credit reports, but few that actually provide them for free. One such site is currently under investigation for credit report fraud. The site promised a “free” report, but required a credit card for “identification” purposes. Customers filled out the form and received a copy of the credit report but also received a charge on their credit card for $79.

Other unscrupulous companies take a more direct approach by sending spam e-mail that promises to provide free credit reports. These spam messages are almost always “phishing” expeditions that are designed only to obtain your personal information. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of your credit report, you should avoid responding to e-mail solicitations.

It is a rare occasion when you can obtain something for nothing. You can, however, receive a copy of your credit report, for free, once a year. Be aware, however, that not everyone who is promising you a free credit report intends to provide you with one.

©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing.

Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and StructuredSettlementHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding structured settlements.

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Debt Management Plans

Debt Management Plans (DMP) is placed one step beyond credit counseling and a
stone throw short of bankruptcy. If you are too deep into debt and unable to pay
them, a credit counseling agency may recommend Debt Management Plans. This is a
serious step that should be considered carefully along with better money
management skills and budgeting disciplines.

Similar to prescription medication that you would only take after consulting a
licensed physician, Debt Management Plans should start only after you have
talked it over with a certified credit counselor. Your certified credit
counselor spends the time to review your financial situation, consider
alternatives, and help you learn to handle money better. You want to stay out of
debt after you get out of it.

What is Debt Management Plans?

In simple terms, your credit counseling organization begins to manage your debts
on your behalf through direct interaction with your creditors. They come between
you and most of your unsecured creditors, negotiate lower interest rates,
eliminate certain fees, arrange payment amounts and prioritize which creditors
gets paid first. In short, almost everything that could be done to get you out
of debt fast. These plans cover most unsecured debts, like credit card bills,
student loans, and medical bills. But secured debts such as real estate loans
fall outside of these plans.

Before signing up with a credit counseling organization for a DMP, verify any
concessions your particular creditors offer to that organization. All these
concessions from your creditors amount to one thing: Lower your monthly payment
and still get out of debt faster. In some cases, you will be able to pay you
debts years earlier. Ask your credit counselor how much earlier you will get out
of debt if you stayed on course.

When DMP starts, you agree to send one monthly payment to the credit counseling
organization and they in turn make all the payments to your creditors for you.
In the meantime, you may have to agree not to use or apply for credit while you
are participating in the plan.

Is a Debt Management Plan Right For You?

Cover the following with your credit counselor before you decide to participate
in a Debt Management Plan.

Find out if there are other options besides DMP available to you. Is your DMP
handled by the same organization that also provides you assistance with money
and budget management during and after DMP? If Debt Management Plan is handled
by one organization and another handles your ongoing credit counseling, how will
you coordinate the two? Remember you want to stay out debt later.

Find out how enrolling in a Debt Management Plan impacts your credit and your
credit score. Negative and accurate information on your credit record is not
easy to remove despite any promises made.

Confirm what your monthly payment amount is and if you can afford it. Do not
commit to something you cannot follow through.

Credit counseling organization promises concessions they can get from your
creditors, such as lowering or eliminating interest charges and late fees.
Confirm these with your creditors and see if there is a waiting period before
these concessions kick in or do they start as soon as you enroll in a DMP.

Verify that your creditors are paid within the correct billing cycles and before
their required payment due date.

Clarify the steps involved in getting status report on your account from your
credit counseling organization. How often? How detail? Is it accessible by
phone? Any hesitancy on behalf of the credit counseling organization to let you
verify your account status is a big red flag that means you need to find another
organization to help you.

Find out if your creditors are willing to reset the clock on your past-due
accounts, wiping out the record of missed and late payments if you sign up with
a Debt Management Plan. This process is called re-aging your account. How many
payments should you make before your creditors are willing to do this?

What to do after Debt Management Plan starts?

Once you sign up with a Debt Management Plan continue to be active with the
process even though emotionally you may want to wash your hands away and stay
away. DMP does not relieve you of your responsibilities; it only helps you
manage it better.

Keep in touch with your creditors and pay your bills until DMP goes into effect.
If you haven’t had any negative entries in your credit report by now, any late
payments, late and penalties can still be entered into your credit report.

Contact your creditors and confirm that they have accepted the proposed Debt
Management Plan before you send any payments to the credit counseling
organization for your DMP.

Call each of your creditors on the first of every month to make sure the agency
has paid them on time and verify this by checking your monthly statements. Your
monthly statement should also reflect any changes in your interest rates,
waiving of the late fees and any other concessions you were expecting.

May you be granted freedom from debts both physical and Spiritually.

For more information on how to make money online,
debt management and consumer credit counseling checkout
MyPersonalFinance.com

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In 2003, Congress passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions act (FACT), which made it possible for consumers to obtain a copy of their credit report for free. In fact, the legislation makes it possible for consumers to obtain one free report from each of the three main credit bureaus - Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax, per year. All that is necessary to do so is to write, call or log on to the Website the credit bureaus have created for this purpose. Millions of Americans have done so, and the program has been called a success so far. There’s just one problem - unscrupulous individuals have created Websites with similar names, and consumers who type the names wrong have ended up at sites designed to steal their Social Security numbers.

At last count, there were more than two hundred registered domain names with names that were similar to the official annualcreditreport.com or which contained the phrase “annual credit report.” Since it is quite easy to misspell a domain name, particularly a long one, many consumers have found themselves at sites other than the one they intended to visit. Most of these other Websites exist for the purpose of selling a credit report, rather than providing them for free, but others are designed to fool the consumer into providing personal information that the site owners may be able to exploit for personal gain. Other sites with similar names merely offer advertising or redirect visitors to porn sites.

What’s to be done? Not much, it would appear. Several of the sites that were created to fool consumers into providing personal information have been taken offline, but others will undoubtedly follow. Any sites that are established outside of the United States are immune to U.S. law, so it may be difficult for authorities to take any action. Consumers who are not overly familiar with the workings of the Internet would be better off contacting the credit bureaus directly by mail or phone. Anyone who uses the Internet to obtain a copy of their credit report should make sure that they are typing the name of the Website accurately. Failure to do so may lead to involuntarily providing vital personal information to people who shouldn’t have it.

©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing.

Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to personal bankruptcy, debt consolidation and credit counseling, and HomeEquityHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding mortgages and home equity loans.

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