You have the right to dispute any misinformation on your credit report. You should begin the dispute process by contacting the creditor responsible for the inaccuracy. The contact information for each of your creditors is listed at the end of your credit report.

Many financial experts agree that you should check your credit report at least once a month. Creditors generally send updates to the Credit Bureaus once every month. Therefore, your account information should be updated once a month as well. If you are expecting an important change in one or more of your accounts, or if you are closely monitoring your credit history, you may want to check your credit report more often.

All creditors do not send updates to the bureaus on the same day. The Credit Bureaus are constantly receiving updates. There is no easy way to tell exactly when a creditor will send new information to the bureaus, or when the bureaus will update their databases. However, it is common for the same creditor to update records on the same day of each month. Thus, it is smart to choose the same day each month to check your credit report.

What is credit scoring?
Credit scoring, simply put, is a mathematical analysis that uses an equation to turn your credit history into a single number, or score. In general, the score evaluates how many accounts you hold, your repayment histories for certain types of loans or lines of credit, how often you have applied for credit, length of employment and other traits. From there, a numerical score is produced, and this is attached to your credit report.

What factors influence my credit score?
Various factors determine your credit score, including the following:

• Payment history
• Outstanding debt
• Length of credit history
• Severity and frequency of derogatory credit information such as
bankruptcies, charge-offs, and collections
• The amount of credit used compared to the credit available

How does my credit score affect me?
Your credit score is an important indicator of your financial health. Lenders use your credit score to determine:

• Whether or not you are a good candidate for a loan
• What type of interest rate you will pay

While your credit score is a key determinant of your creditworthiness, lenders also examine the information on your credit report and your loan application. Regularly checking your credit report enables you to:

• Have the most up-to-date information in your credit history
• Correct any inaccuracies, to make sure that your credit data is a true picture of your credit record and increasing your chances of receiving credit under the best possible terms

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What is a "good" credit score?
There are several types of credit scores available. Usually, the higher the score, the better. Each lender decides what credit score range it considers to be a good credit risk or a poor credit risk. For this reason, the lender is the best source to explain what your credit score means in relation to the final credit decision. After all, they determine the standards used to extend credit. The credit score is only one piece of information evaluated by lenders.

How is a credit scoring model developed?
A lender creates a credit scoring model by using several criteria:

• Selecting a large sampling of customers
• Analyzing the data in their credit reports to determine which factors relate to creditworthiness
• Assigning a rank or priority to each of the factors, based on how accurately it might predict who will repay their loan on time.

Let the professionals help you
If you don't have personal friends or family to help you — and you feel like you need help — there are plenty of reputable sources.

If you need help in dealing with your debts, you may want to contact a Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS). This is a nonprofit organization with more than 850 offices located in 50 states. CCCS counselors will try to arrange a repayment plan that is acceptable to you and your creditors. They will also help you set up a realistic budget and plan future expenses. These services are offered at little or no charge to you. You can find the CCCS office nearest you by checking the White Pages of your telephone directory or by calling from a touch-tone phone 1-800-388-2227 to get the telephone number. However, if you have other questions, contact:

National Foundation for Consumer Credit, Inc.
8611 Second Avenue, Suite 100
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
(301) 589-5600

or you can go the following web site:

http://www.debtadvice.org/takethefirststep/locator.html

In addition, nonprofit counseling programs are sometimes operated by universities, military bases, credit unions, and housing authorities. They are likely to charge little or nothing for their assistance. Or, you can check with your local bank or consumer protection office to see if it has a listing of honest, low-cost financial counseling services.

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What is an installment account?
Installment Accounts have fixed terms with regular payments. If you've ever had a car loan, student loan, home loan, or personal loan, you know what we're talking about. Let's say your car payment is $300 per month — this means that each month you pay the $300 installment.

Facts about Installment Accounts:

• You owe a certain amount of money.
• You have to pay back a set amount of that money each month and this set amount does not change.
• You also have a certain amount of time to pay off the loan

What is a revolving account?
Revolving Accounts have open terms and varying payments. This means that your monthly payments will vary depending on the balance of the account. Examples of revolving accounts include all major credit cards and credit cards from department stores.

Facts about Revolving Accounts:

• When you open a revolving account, such as a credit card account, you are given a maximum amount that you can charge — a limit.
• It's up to you how much of your limit you will spend.
• The amount that you owe will change each month, depending on how much of your limit you have charged.

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What is a Public Record?
Not all personal information is private — including "Public Records." All federal, state, and county courts make certain information public. This includes information about legal matters affecting your credit.

It works like this: the courts record legal information, make it public, put it on your credit report, and it becomes a "Public Record."

The most common types of Public Records include judgments against you in civil actions, state or federal tax liens, or bankruptcies. Public Records stay on your credit report for seven years. If the Public Record is a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, it will stay on your credit report for ten years. If you have a Public Record on your credit report, you can take steps to ensure that you receive credit under the best possible terms. The most important step is to make timely payments on your Public Records.

Set a goal for yourself: Aim to have your Public Records paid-in-full by a certain number of months or years. By sticking to your payment plan, you'll prove to potential creditors that you are a creditworthy consumer.

What is an inquiry?
An inquiry occurs when another party requests a copy of your credit report. These inquiries can be made by credit-granting organizations, such as banks and retail stores, when you are applying for credit. Other inquiries, from requesters such as insurance companies, potential employers, or rental housing agencies, can be made after you have given the requester your consent. The requester's name will appear on your credit report, allowing you to monitor who looked at your credit history.

LENDERS FOR LESS-THAN-PERFECT CREDIT

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Housing.com Home Loan Finder
Housing.com is one of the top online mortgage locating services. Housing.com home loans specialize in helping people connect with brokers whom act with the best interests of the customer.

To learn more about Housing.com Loan Finder, click here.

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Beware: while secured credit cards can be an effective way to build or re-establish your credit history, some marketers of secured cards make deceptive advertising claims to entice you to respond to their ads.

Secured vs. Unsecured Cards
Secured and unsecured cards can be used to pay for goods and services. However, a secured card requires you to open and maintain a savings account as security for your line of credit; an unsecured card does not.

The required savings deposit for a secured card may range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Your credit line is a percentage of your deposit, typically 50 to 100 percent. Usually, a bank will pay interest on your deposit. In addition, you also may have to pay application and processing fees -- sometimes totaling hundreds of dollars. Before you apply, be sure to ask what the total fees are and whether they will be refunded if you're denied a card. Typically, a secured card requires an annual fee and has a higher interest rate than an unsecured card.

Deceptive Ads and Fraud
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action against companies that deceptively advertise major credit cards through television, newspapers, and postcards. The ads may offer unsecured credit cards, secured credit cards, or not specify a card type. The ads usually lead you to believe you can get a card simply by calling the number listed. Sometimes the number is not toll-free. A '900' number service, for which you are billed just for making the call, may instruct you to give your name and address to receive a credit application, or give you a list of banks offering secured cards. It also may tell you to call another '900' number -- at an additional charge -- for more information.

Deceptive ads often leave out important information.

The cost of the '900' call — which can range from $2 to $50 or more; the required security deposit, application, and processing fees; eligibility requirements like income or age; an annual fee or the fact that the secured card has a higher than average interest rate on any balance.

How to Avoid the Fraud
To avoid being victimized, look for the following signs:

> Offers of easy credit
No one can guarantee to get you credit. Before deciding whether to give you a credit card, legitimate credit providers examine your credit report.

> A call to a '900' number for a credit card
You pay for calls with a '900' prefix — and you may never receive a credit card.

> Credit cards offered by "credit repair" companies or "credit clinics."

These businesses also may offer to clean-up your credit history for a fee. However, you can correct genuine mistakes or outdated information yourself by contacting credit bureaus directly. Remember that only time and good credit habits will restore your credit worthiness.

Credit Reporting
If you're considering a secured card as a way to build or reestablish a credit record, make sure the issuer reports to a credit bureau. Your credit history is maintained by companies called credit bureaus; they collect information reported to them by banks, mortgage companies, department stores, and other creditors. If your card issuer doesn't report to a bureau, the card won't help you build a credit history.

For More Information
To build a credit record, you may want to apply for a charge card or a small loan at a local store or lending institution. Ask if the creditor reports transactions to a credit bureau. If they do — and if you pay back your debts regularly — you will build a good credit history.

If you cannot get credit on your own, you can ask a relative or friend with a good credit history to act as your cosigner. The cosigner promises to repay the debt if you don't.

If you're having problems paying bills, you may want to contact a credit counseling service. Non-profit organizations in every state counsel consumers who are in debt. Counselors try to arrange a repayment plan that is acceptable to you and your creditors. They also can help you set up a realistic budget. These counseling services are offered at little or no cost to consumers. You can find the office nearest you by checking the White Pages of your telephone directory.

Sometimes, nonprofit counseling programs are operated by universities, military bases, credit unions, and housing authorities. They are likely to charge little or nothing for their services. Or you can check with your local bank or consumer protection office to see if it has a list of reputable low-cost financial counseling services.

For information and rates on secured credit cards, may we refer you to the following:

http://www.cardweb.com/mod_perl/cardlocator/survey/secured

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