Tag: credit report

So…How is your Credit?

We are sometimes harshly judged by what is deemed as our “credit worthiness”. An individual’s personal credit profile is very influential and has become more important than ever before. It can be used as a large decision-making component in many areas of our life including, financing and the interest rates we pay, our ability to rent an apartment or house, and the insurance rates we are charged…

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Credit Repair: DIY or Hire a Company?

Living with bad credit in America today is tough. Bad credit makes many things difficult, impossible, and even more expensive. For example, did you know insurance companies often charge a higher premium rate for policy holders that have bad credit scores? If you’re getting new utilities turned on in your name, the company will check your credit to decide whether you should pay a security deposit.

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Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft Protection

Credit card fraud and identity theft have been in the news a lot over the last 6 weeks. It all started with the news that Target’s card processing systems were hacked resulting in the unlawful theft of 40 million customers’ account numbers and PINs. This data was sold on various black markets resulting in fraudulent purchases being made with fake credit and debit cards.

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How can I accurately check my credit scores and reports??

These days there are so many online credit monitoring companies offering free credit reports and scores; it’s hard to determine which one provides the best and most accurate information. Credit scores can change daily for a number of reasons and no two credit monitoring companies – – or the credit bureau’s for that matter – – score the same way!

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Credit Scores: How They’re Generated

Before credit reports and scores existed, financial institutions had to guess whether someone was a good applicant (or risk) for taking out a loan. Credit reports and scores were “invented” to take the guess work out of it. The national average credit score is approximately 672 – – but how are credit scores calculated?

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Credit’s Impact on Your Insurance

I was helping a new client with his home insurance earlier this week. I’d made the final modifications to the application and sent it to him to be electronically signed. We reviewed it together by phone and he wanted to ask a couple of questions about a notice on the last page of the application. The notice mentioned he had not received the “best” pricing due to a couple of items that were returned on his insurance score including inquiries.

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17 Steps You Can Take To Prevent Identity Theft

Identity theft, and the fraud associated with it, is a growing problem in the US and across the globe. Out of 2.06 million complaints reported to the Federal Trade Commission, 370,800 were identity theft related. In Texas, the rate of identity theft complaints rose 17% from 2011 to 2012, or 28, 299 up from 24,162.

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