Credit Scores- What’s in a Score?

We get asked this question ALL the time. How is a credit score determined? Unfortunately the answer to that can’t 100% be answered. While Congress did make the credit bureaus release your credit reports free every year at http://www.annualcreditreport.com they forgot to include making Fair Isaac release exactly HOW they determine a credit score. However, there are some lovely leaks on the Internet, and this list will give you a fair idea of how a credit score is determined:

About 1/3 of the score is your current payment history. Usually this goes over a 2 year period. Both late and on time payments are figured into this number.

The next 1/3 is determined by amount of debt, and the ratio of debt, to credit available. The higher the debt level the lower the score. Even if you have a perfect payment history this can really drag you down.

The next 1/3 is determined by the types of credit you have (multiple types are better) the overall length of credit history, and how many recent credit apps you have.

This is just a basic list but gives you a good idea of what to be looking for when it comes to your credit score!

Is your credit limiting hurting your credit score?

Because of the credit crunch that America is currently facing, many people are facing lower credit scores, even if they aren’t having trouble making their payments. Why you ask? Because of the credit limit on their credit cards.

Let’s say Bob Jones has a credit card with a $10000 limit. He is currently carrying a $4000 balance, which makes it look as if he is at 40% utilization on his credit cards; a good balance to be at. The credit score FICO likes you to stay around 30% to be at “perfect” utilization. Now let’s say that the credit card company considers Bob to be at a high risk because he has a balance. They lower his credit limit to $4500. This now looks as if he is maxed out on his credit cards, which makes his credit score take a huge hit!

This is happening! The best thing to do is to call the company and ask them WHY they have done this. Plead your case to get your credit limit back. If that doesn’t work, pay off the card, close it, and take your business elsewhere to a company that appreciates it.

Have balances, or late payments, and want to get them removed from your credit report? Kenyon Credit Services can help! Visit us online at www.kenyoncreditservices.com to see what we can do to help you today.

And the Winner Is…..

S. Speicher! If this is you, please contact us immediately to get started on your prize! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Our winner for 3 months free of Triple Bureau Credit Repair!!!

Creditor Harassment- Make it Stop!

Times are getting hard. Some people are missing payments. Some have stopped paying all together and an account has gone to a collection agency. Or maybe you are getting phone calls and threatening letters from a “junk debt buyer” who purchased a 20 year old account from your 20’s.

Are they calling day and night? Harassing you at work, even though you’ve told them to stop? Calling relatives and demanding payment? If so, these collections agents are violating the law, and you can stop them. In fact, in many cases, you can collect $1000 for violation PLUS damages! Many people think there is nothing to do.

First things first. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. This is the best law in the world. It basically says what collections agents can/can’t do. For instance.

*They can’t call pretending to be a police officer or law enforcement agency. They also can’t threaten to throw you in jail for not paying your bills.
*They can’t talk to other people about your debts. If they so much as mention it, they are violating the law. They can call references to try to get a hold of you, but they can not tell them why they are calling.
*They can not call you once you tell them in writing to stop. If they do, they are breaking the law.
*If you or someone at your place of employment has told them that it is inconvenient for you to receive phone calls at work, they can’t call you. It is breaking the FDCPA if they do.
*They can only call between 8 AM and 9 PM. Anything above and beyond this is breaking the law.
*They cannot call you names, threaten you, call more than a couple times a day, cuss you out, or anything of that nature.

I personally had fun with the last one one day. I was helping my older father out at the time and was representing him for some things. He started getting these awful phone calls from this guy “Christopher Adams.” or C.A. for short. I have never heard such filthy language in my life. Calling my father an old coot who should be taken out to pasture and shot because he was worthless and couldn’t pay his bills. In the meantime, he had called my sister and a few other family members claiming he was an attorney, a police officer, and a member of the FBI. I got a hold of a Skype number so the call couldn’t be traced and called into his office. I explained that I was Power of Attorney for the person he was harassing, and started going over the list of violations that he had committed. He tried to turn the tables on me, calling me a “piece of work.” When I got off the phone after reminding him not to call again, I immediately called the police filed a complaint, and filed a complaint with the State Attorney General’s office. We never heard from the guy again.

So what can we do to help you? We can stop the harassment immediately. In some cases, we can even help you in getting up to $1000 for each violation of the law as well. Visit our website to learn more at http://www.kenyoncreditservices.com and contact us today!

Fair Credit and Reporting Act and the Credit Bureaus

What is the Fair Credit and Reporting Act? Well the FCRA as many people know, are the laws that govern what any credit bureau (the company holding information about you) and your creditors (who you pay your monthly bills to) are required to follow.

I want to address the most common problems that credit bureaus and creditors seem to have problems with. Including a story of my own.

1.) The credit bureaus are required to investigate any complaint that comes across their desk. They seem to have a different idea on this than we do. The credit bureau’s idea of investigating, is to take your dispute, put it in a simple code format of “not mine” and send it off to the creditor. The creditor then sends another code back saying “verified as owned by consumer.” Never, at any time, are your specific problems addressed by the credit bureaus. They claim that they don’t have time for this, yet they are supposed to follow the law.

2.) If an account comes back as “verified” you are allowed to ask the name, address, phone number, extension and any other information of the individual who verified this account. The credit bureaus, and Chex Systems like to play games with this one claiming that they don’t release this information. However, the law is clear that if an account is verified, they have to release who verified the information. Many lawyers interpret this as a way to follow up with the credit bureaus and make sure that they are doing their jobs. If they can’t prove who verified an account, how can they possibly have a leg to stand on? Personally, I would want to pass the blame along to someone else if I were a credit bureau, and this would be a perfect way for them to do so.

3.) The credit bureaus are required to post correct information ONLY on your credit reports. Many fail to do this. My own personal example is as follows: I once belonged to a Bob’s County Services Employees Credit Union. TransUnion had the account listed as Bob’s City Credit Union; not even close to the correct name. I emailed the president of the company via PlanetFeedback, and told them to delete the account as it was false. I received an email back from an Eileen Little (a nasty woman btw) who informed me that yes I did have an account this Bob’s City Credit Union, that I was a member from x day to x day, that I had x amount of accounts with them, that my employment with the county was from x day to x day. I still have all of the emails. I immediately sent a reply demanding to know who had released such private information, and reminded Eileen Little that I didn’t release this information to her or give Bob’s County Services Employees Credit union permission to release that information and wanted the name of the person she spoke with. At that point, she nastily told me the only way that she would release that information was through a court order. I still have the information saved, and have been speaking with someone to get legal representation on this. This however, is a classic example of the credit bureaus not following the law. They are still listing the false name on my credit files. (Yes, even we have items that can’t be corrected occassionally. Luckily I was only disputing the name and not a bad account!)

4.) You have a right to privacy. According to Eileen Little and a man named David M Emery with TransUnion, you do not. They have admitted to releasing your private information to a 3rd party (who remains unnamed) to verify things like judgments, bankruptcies, and other court documents. This is where it gets interesting. The courts themselves DO NOT VERIFY accounts to the credit bureaus. The courts themselves are NOT a creditor. The FCRA states that they must verify the information with the creditor or the item has to be removed. Yet many people have judgments, liens, bankruptcies and other information showing on their credit files! Who is verifying this information? And who is checking to make sure it is correct? Anyone can go to PACER and pull up the information. However, it is the responsibility and the need for the credit bureaus to make sure the information is accurate. One of the best lines of defense is to remind the credit bureaus that the courts do not verify court information with them. When a credit bureau says “verified” this is FALSE and they are breaking the law!

5.) The credit bureaus are required by law to re-investigate anything that comes back to them. If you want them to look into something 100 times, you have that right; especially if the information is truly false. The credit bureaus get tired of this, and will often times send back a “previously investigated- this complaint is frivolous” or some other nonsense. They are breaking the law when they do this. The FCRA is clear that you have the right to have something investigated.

6.) You are entitled to one free credit pull a year. This can be done at http://www.annualcreditreport.com. However, what many people don’t know, is that if you have been denied credit at all, for any reason, you are also entitled to a free credit report as well; at no charge to you!

7.) Your creditors are also required to post correct information. If they do not, they can also be held accountable. This is easier to catch, but getting them to correct their heinous errors can sometimes cost a lot of time and effort. Google should be your best friend when doing this, as you need to track down the top dogs and bring the issues to their attention. Many times they are more than glad to help, and you can see improvement almost immediately.

8.) Anyone who pulls your credit without your permission is breaking the law, and you are entitled to $1000 for each violation. Always check to see who is pulling your credit. Even creditors who haven’t notified you of their acquisition of your account can’t legally pull your credit. Go after these people! WE CAN HELP.

These are just a few of the most common problems that we get to see at Kenyon Credit Services. However, we are just a phone call or email away from being able to help you! Visit us on the web today at http://www.kenyoncreditservices.com and get signed up.

Just say NO to debt consolidation!

Many people are finding themselves in a bind right now when it comes to their credit. They are over-extended on loans, and are having a hard time catching up. Debt consolidation companies are seeing huge profits right now.

We, however, do not and would not ever recommend a debt consolidation company. The companies do nothing but take your money and ruin your credit.

Let’s say that Debt Consolidation Inc. (fictious name) has agreed to settle your debt, and you will have a $300 payment for 48 months, and they will pay off your debt. What they don’t tell you is that your first payment goes right into their pocket. What they do is simply call the credit companies and try to get them to negotiate your debt down to about half of what you owe. About 50% of the time they are successful, but YOU CAN DO THIS YOURSELF! You do not need a company to consolidate your debts for you!

From here Debt Consolidation Inc. is now a month behind in payments; remember that first payment went to them?! So you have an established credit report that shows consistent 30 day lates and then some! Rarely do any debt consolidation companies make payments on time. Several go out of business right in the middle of someone’s pay off. Many have been found to have never even made a payment to the creditors!

You can settle your debt yourself. Write your creditors! (But stay off the phone!!!) Let them know that you are struggling, and that you are willing to settle your debt for x amount of money. Many times this will work. They would rather receive a payment than to have you file bankruptcy and then they lose it all.

Then call us! We will make sure your credit reports are reporting correctly, that everything shows up the way that it should, and that you are not being further harmed by paying as agreed!

Visit our website to learn more at http://www.kenyoncreditservices.com