Debt Declaration – Bad Credit Help & advice, Debt Settlement Tips
credit-cards

What Are Charge Backs And How Can You Fight Them?

December 7, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

When a retailer hears the phrase charge backs, they most likely will cringe just a little bit.  Charge backs are scary for retailers due to he fact that it gives customers the power to basically dispute anything that they purchase in your store, whether it be legitimately or illegitimately.  A customer who does not have a positive moral compass could theoretically make a purchase, and then file a dispute with the credit card company, stating that they did not actually make this purchase.  This is something that can cause companies to lose a lot of money, especially if the charge back was truly fraudulent in nature.

Documentation is the most important thing when you are thinking about charge back and what you should have within your arsenal of records.  If you can recreate an entire transaction for a credit card company you will be able to show them that the transaction is legitimate it every single way.  This can go a long way to having the credit card companies side with you.  Visa or MasterCard is more likely to side with the customer than your business, which is why the more proof you can provide the better.

Having a reliable operator of your merchant account such as Solidtrustpay can go a long way to successfully fighting these fraudulent charge backs.  Solid trust pay and other professional services companies will work and stand by your side to be sure you get the money owed to you.

Balance Transfers May Help With Your Credit Cards

October 20, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

Your credit score is probably one of the most important indicators for your credit health. You are making your mortgage payments on time and even have a little in your children’s college fund, yet your credit is still not, what it could be. Think about those credit cards that you use when you have a need such as tires, or car repairs. If you were only making the minimum payment, you would do well to plug your numbers into a credit calculator that will show you what you will actually pay when the loan is finished. You have to be very careful when it comes to your credit cards and the interest rate you pay will be the difference in how fast you pay your debt down. If you are making the minimum payment then you are paying all interest plus 1% of the principal and because of compound interest, you will be paying on this credit card for a long time.

If you have two credit cards with large balances, perhaps one of those cards carries a lower rate. Transferring the balance from a higher card to a lower is probably going to save you money in the end. Use a balance transfer calculator to determine the savings you will gain by doing a balance transfer between your cards. By entering your balances and the interest rate on your credit cards it will calculate the money saved, if any by doing a balance transfer. Another balance transfer calculator will show you how much and for how long it will take to pay off your card at a minimum monthly payment.

You should visit a financial institution for help on doing a balance transfer with a new card. The balances will then transfer onto the new card at a lower rate. You must be very careful when getting a balance transfer and read the fine print. It is common to charge a very low rate and then after a certain time the interest rates will jump possibly leaving you in the same position as before.

Getting Your Credit Score

April 6, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

During these tough economic times, one of the last things on everyone’s mind is probably their credit score.  They are more focused on pulling together their assets after having been laid off from a job, figuring their next move if their house has been foreclosed on, or just trying to survive through all the labor and wage cuts.  What many of them don’t know is that knowing their credit score could help better their situation regardless of what it is.

More than forty percent of employers in the U.S. do a background credit check to examine the ethics of an individual they are considering for a position with their company.  So while the interview might have gone better than expected, having that poor credit score could cause an employer to become suspicious and consider other candidates.

Having a good credit score could also help you avoid foreclosure.  You can use your good credit score, or improved credit score, to your advantage, and renegotiate a mortgage for a lower interest rate.  You can also reassess your finances, if your wages or labor is being cut, to open up new credit cards with higher limits and lower interest rates for temporary help until things improve in your current situation.

With a good strong credit score there are many new windows open that you can take advantage of, and it is pretty easy to sign up for a free credit score report from all three major bureaus.  Monitoring these scores can help you improve lower scores, and obtain things like a better job, avoid foreclosure, and even navigate through this difficult economic time with a higher credit limit on a card with a lower interest rate.  And if you are fearful of putting your information online, there is nothing to fear, because with credit monitoring usually comes identity protection as well as tips and tricks to help protect your identity.  So if you are having financial troubles don’t hesitate, and sign up for a free credit score to start monitoring your credit and improving your life.

Are there benefits to a higher credit score?

September 25, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

While the most popular credit score model is the one that has been established by FICO, also known as the Fair Isaac Corporation, that determines the creditworthiness of a person i.e. the likelihood of being able to pay their debts, there has always been speculation about how one’s credit score actually affects their chances of obtaining a mortgage.

And this is why people work so hard in order to obtain an excellent credit score.

However, prepare to be shocked as the fact is that even though you might have a high credit score, it won’t necessarily give you the yield that you might be expecting. The truth is that people with a score of 720 will benefit just as much as those with much higher scores and taking it any higher will not necessarily provide any substantial saving over the life of your mortgage loan.

However, in order to qualify for a mortgage loan, one must have a FICO score between 620 and 720 as there are almost a quarter of U.S adults do not have access to these loans, thanks to their credit ratings being below the magic number of 620.

And while mortgage loans were offered at 4.3 percent for those who had a credit rating of 720 and above, the best rate offered for those with a credit score rating of 620 and 639 was about 4.9 percent. Simply put, for an increase in 20 credit points, the mortgage rate dropped by 0.19 percent which is not much as the interest rates are very low at the moment.

Finally, why there is very little difference between the two is because those with credit scores barely need credit, and the banks will make very little from them as opposed to those who have manageable scores.

Keeping a Healthy Credit Score

June 3, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

A person’s creditworthiness is determined by their credit score. The FICO scoring method is widely used in this regard. Lenders resort to using a scoring system to determine the risk in giving a loan to an individual. The score ultimately decides if the loan can be given or not, how much the interest rate will be and how much the credit limits will be. So you can see why it is important to have a healthy score.

The easiest thing to do to maintain a good score is to pay your credit card bills on time. By not missing any payments and staying current on all credit cards, you will build a good score. Do not for any reason miss a payment or ignore it. If you know that an item on your bill is incorrect, dispute it immediately. Not disputing it and not paying will only harm you. Details such as this go on your report, so as long as an item is marked as disputed, your score will not be affected for non-payment.

Another thing you can do is maintain a good balance on your cards. If your limit is $25,000 then try not to take the outstanding amount past $15,000. The difference will be very beneficial for you. You should also not get rid of any old cards in your possession. Settle the outstanding amount but do not close them. Long credit histories really help your score. Getting lots of new cards will impact badly on your score.

Choosing a Bad-Credit Credit Card

June 3, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

Bad-Credit credit card companies are where those with poor credit histories go to. It is not very surprising because almost anyone can get a car from these companies. The catch is the hidden costs.

credit cards

When choosing a bad-credit credit card, there are two main criteria to consider before anything else.
1. Do they report to the three main credit bureaus?
2. How high is the interest rate?

The answer to the first question has to be a “Yes”. Then when you move to the next one, the interest rate should be the lowest of its kind. Reporting to the bureaus has one major advantage. Every timely payment you make will go on the record. This is how you rebuild your credit status.

Once you make a list of companies that satisfy these two criteria, you can move on to prune the list using the following criteria.

1. Read the rules & regulations and pay attention to every detail. Restrictions and hidden charges can be heavily disguised in jargon. If you need help in deciphering this, contact a financial expert or a lawyer.

2. Understand the fee structure. There are annual fees that you will have to pay, but other than this there are late payment penalties, over the limit penalties and other penalties that will haunt you.

3. Find out if the interest rate is based on the Prime Rate. If this is so, bear in mind that the Prime Rate is liable to change abruptly.
Following these tips can help you get a safe and beneficial deal with a Bad-Credit credit card company.

Is a Credit Score Really Important?

June 3, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

As you move on in life, you tend to discover new things which were never really causes for concern before. A credit score is one -very important- such thing.

The generally accepted and used method of credit scoring is the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) method. By analyzing your credit history and current financial status, the FICO method will come up with a score. This score lets lenders know if you are a credit risk and how much so. For example, if your credit score is in the lower levels, you may be refused a loan or credit card. In the event that your request is accepted, you will be slapped with high interest rates and heavy penalties for missed payments.

Therefore keeping a healthy FICO score is in your best interests. A couple of things to keep in mind to improve the score are making payments on time and keeping a sizeable margin between the amount owed and the total credit allowed in a credit card. These two things may sound simple, but it is surprising how many people simply fail to follow them.

The other thing people constantly fail to do is to report and dispute incorrect information on their credit reports. Ignoring them and not making any payments towards them are cardinal mistakes. For example, if the report shows that you made a $500 purchase somewhere which you didn’t you should dispute it immediately. Not paying it until the dispute is settled is fine because it won’t adversely affect your credit score. But not paying and not disputing it will hurt you badly.

Getting a Debt Consolidation Loan

June 3, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

Debts have a habit of getting out of control if you don’t pay much attention to them. In the unfortunate event that you have to face a situation like this, a debt consolidation loan can be a convenient way out.

Paying out several different bills every month can be a big hassle. This also leads to payments or payment dates being forgotten. By getting a debt consolidation loan, you can pay off all your debts and focus on paying one. It is also easier to work towards paying a single bill and it is also not easy to forget the payment date. This is why debt consolidation can seem so attractive.

However, debt consolidation can become a problem if you dive into it blindly. Firstly, you must read all the terms and conditions thoroughly. You cannot afford to get caught out on any hidden clauses, especially when you are fighting to clear your debts. The next thing to do is to compare the interest rate. The rate you get from the debt consolidation firm must be lower than the combined rates of all your other debts. For example, if you are paying a combined total of $500 every month towards your debts, a debt consolidation loan that requires you to pay $500 plus interest is completely out of the question.

debt

All in all, debt consolidation is a handy method to settle your creditors if you are on the verge of bankruptcy. But it is also a method fraught with pitfalls if you are not careful; so study the subject very carefully before you engage in any deal.