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 Women and Money
Avoid a Credit Repair Scam by Understanding CROA 
 
  

 

In years past, the credit repair industry was tainted by fly by night credit repair clinics and other credit fixing scams. Despite the need that many people had to get help with repairing their credit, it was hard to find a credit repair company they could trust. Today, the credit repair industry has matured thanks to increased awareness and federal regulation. The keystone of this regulation is the Credit Repair Organizations Act, also known as CROA. Recognizing the value of professional credit repair services, Congress enacted CROA in order to define appropriate actions of a credit repair organization and to outlaw many of the practices typical of a fraudulent credit repair clinic.  While there are still some fraudulent credit repair organizations trying to take your money, by understanding the basic ideas of CROA, you can easily identify these scams and make sure you avoid them. Knowing what things credit repair companies are and are not able to do, will keep you from becoming a victim.  Below are three key points of CROA and what they mean to you as you are shopping for a credit repair company.

1) Credit repair organizations cannot charge fees for services before they are rendered

Most credit repair scams start off the same way. You are required to pay a large upfront fee, often times in the range of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Then, after you have made the payment, the credit repair company does little or nothing to repair your credit and in some cases, simply disappears with your money. To keep you from becoming a victim of this type of scam, CROA prevents credit repair companies from charging for services before they have been provided. If a credit repair company charges a set up fee, they cannot collect that fee until after the task of setting up your case has been completed. If a credit repair company charges monthly fees, those fees cannot be collected until after a month’s worth of services have been provided. Keeping this requirement in mind is probably the most important thing you can do to avoid becoming a victim of a credit repair scam. Even today there are companies like Champion Credit Consulting and Credit Clean who will try to charge you $795 and $1223 before they have done anything to repair your credit.

2) Credit repair organizations cannot make incorrect or misleading statements

Preying on the naivety and lack of knowledge of people looking to improve their credit, many credit repair companies entice people with claims of improving their credit score 100 points in 60 days or removing bankruptcies from their
credit reports. The truth is that while it is possible for each of these things to happen, no credit repair company can promise that they will. In fact, no credit repair company can promise to remove anything from your credit reports because ultimately, it is up to the credit bureaus what items are listed on your reports. Disputing credit

is not failsafe. There are cases where no matter what you do, a particular negative item will not be removed from your credit reports. Any company that promises to increase your credit score or remove any negative items from your credit reports is violating the law. According to CROA, and the nature of the credit system, the best any credit repair company can do is promise to put forth a best effort. Just like in a court of law, a lawyer can promise to work as hard as they can, but they cannot promise that you will win over the jury.

3) Credit repair companies must inform you of your rights

The credit system is not easy and many people do not adequately understand their rights within the system. This lack of education makes it easy for con-artists to prey on the unaware.So you do not get caught off-guard, credit repair organizations are required to inform all prospective customers of their right to order their own
credit reports and their right to dispute the questionable information they contain. They are also required to inform you of your right to cancel your credit repair service within 3 days of signing up for no reason and with no penalty. When signing up with a credit repair organization, CROA dictates that you should be presented with a disclosure statement titled "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law". This statement describes the rights mentioned above.
CROA has changed the landscape in the credit repair industry and has been very effective in helping the FTC identify and prosecute shady credit repair organizations. Because of CROA, you can feel confident that your money will be well spent when you enlist the services of a legally compliant credit repair company.

 

About the Author: The largest and most experienced credit repair company is Lexington Law. Lexington Law is a legally compliant credit repair law firm that has helped over 500,000 clients remove millions of negative credit listings from their credit reports.

 


    

   
 

 

 

 

 

 

  

    

 

 Mortgage Elimination Strategies For Debt Free Lifestyles 211

 

By Guest | December 5, 2009

In this financial turmoil you may be looking for the best financial strategy to save thousands of dollars. One way is to use a mortgage elimination strategy and retire debt free. Mortgage elimination has been around since the beginning of time. The question is, how can it work for you in this financial market where your home equity has been slashed by almost 40%? According to Roget’s thesaurus the word elimination means eradication, extermination, taking away, withdrawal.

Think of how your life would change when you are finally able to get rid of your mortgage debt. Even though the words elimination and eradications sounds strong to you, but keep in mind that the state of your finances is what’s at stake here.

Because we do not like the idea of paying twice the amount of what we borrowed, we need a financial technique that will help us save dollars. As a result of this pay off and eliminating debt is an alternative financial strategy in this market.

Having your own home is one of the signs that you are already close to fulfilling the American dream. When you retire, home equity is the next best possible source of income after your retirement savings. So if you ever get into situations where you will need a considerably large amount of cash, you could always tap into your home equity.

Here’s the downside of having your own home – you are required to pay mortgage interest. Yes, there will be tax deductions but you have to consider this particular computation. If your mortgage debt is worth $200,000 and your mortgage interest is at 6%, you will spend $430,000 in 30 years. This clearly demonstrates that almost $230,000 of your paycheck going towards mortgage interest.

You probably are thinking that if you allow mortgage to be deducted from your paycheck, you are getting savings from tax deductions. Mortgage elimination allows you to pay only $130,000 worth of interest and lets you keep the extra dollars for yourself.

Let’s assume you saved the hundred thousand dollars of interest you would otherwise pay the bank at a 5% interest rate. Well I don’t know about you, but if you invested that over 30 years you invested that wisely, you could end up with over $249725.90 in savings.

That is almost over a quarter million dollars that you could keep for your retirement instead off paying that to the bank in mortgage interest.

Now allow me to ask you something. Don’t you think you should consider mortgage elimination to be part of your overall financial strategy?

There are various ways to pay off your mortgage. One way is to spend extra from your pocket each month or use a biweekly mortgage program to eliminate your mortgage payments.

There is, however, a smarter alternative. You can actually achieve mortgage elimination without letting out too much cash, refinancing your mortgage, or adjusting your lifestyle. You only have to use the mortgage acceleration method.

The method works this way. You need to have a home equity line of credit converted to a mortgage checking account rather than just opening a regular checking account. You must use the home equity line of credit to pay your bills. As a result, you will be able to convert this account to an interest savings account and eventually slash 13 years off your mortgage, allowing you to save over $63,000 worth of interest.

And when you make extra contributions per month aside from following the mortgage acceleration program, you could have your mortgage accounts settled in less than ten years.

The truth about Mortgage Elimination is finally revealed! Visit us at Mortgage Elimination Strategy Guides to get all the free insider information.

 

   

By John Goldman | November 27, 2009

Part time work can be referred to as utilizing the free time which is available with the individuals. It is actually taking out some time from the actual business and doing some work at home as a part time work which is called as the part time work from home while performing a part time work an individual can utilize his time fairly and can be committed towards his work as there a lot of time for the work provided and has to complete the target with in that period. Part time labor at house can also help the person to derive several additional money and give with different alternative of small business opportunities in every day life. Should be presented with knowledge

The person should have an the required knowledge about the concern which he wants to perform for and does not have to think to derive quick money as there are lot of small business organizations that commit mock promises regarding the salary and all the benefits.

 

There are millions of people who are working at home on part time bases and enjoying the benefits provided by the companies. The part time home work does not require any charges to apply for a particular business. Working at home can build the complete opportunity for the individual and make it a profitable venture. You can carried the work properly in a very comfortable and working environment.

 

For teenagers:

Lot many students are doing part time jobs these days. These jobs are available in terms of internship and graduation programs which gives the experience to the students and also helps the company in achieving their targets.

There are various types of opportunities and work which are available for students . The part time work at home help the individual in developing his various type of traits. These are amongst the most interesting methods of earning money in which an individual can earn huge amount of money by performing easy and simple work on the internet. Part time means just working for few hours and in that time the individual can show his talent and skills and earn money.

 

 Different programs

There are also many additional programs which can be noticed by the individual while working and can actively take part in them. These programs also provide good income to the individuals and help them to enhance their skills and perform better in the work they do.

Moreover there is free registration process so that everyone got motivated and show their skills and give different thoughts to the organization.

It helps the individuals and also provides good financial resource in the future. Part time work from homes is greatly appreciated and has given huge amount of positive results so far.

John Goldman is a leading provider Of several business opportunities and ideas.Access hundreds of free resources by visiting John Goldman’s Business