Credit help service

Day by day new technologies are coming up. The developments in technology sector have made man’s life comfortable and have made things more assessable. Credit card, mobile and internet have made life easier and things assessable. With credit card your wallet weight has reduced as you don’t have to carry cash. Mobile has made communication with people staying in any part of the world, easy. For internet, short of words, as it has compressed the whole world into a small PC or Laptop.

As part of the modern technology soon you will not be carrying credit cards for payment as your mobile number will act as the credit card number. Some of the Indian bigger banks from public sector and private sector will soon be providing payment facility through mobile phones.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) the highest authority of Indian Banking industry recently in its annual policy announced that it is in the process of formulating the guidelines for a payment system using mobile phones. RBI has drafted guidelines and on June 15, 2008 has placed on its official website for the comments. Till then the apex bank has issued notification to the banks not to provide money transfer facility through mobile but they can use mobile for providing various information to their customers. The apex bank is also in the process of discussion with both public and private sector Banks, service providers and industry bodies to develop full proof payment system.

Now Indian people have got use to of using mobile in fact they can’t think life with out mobile phone. At present there about 250 million mobile phone connections across the country. But the number of credit card holders is low as compared to number of mobile phone users because in India most of the people do not have credit cards. Therefore, mobile for payments is being considered for quite some time as a progressive step forward.

Mobile phone industry in the recent years has done a rapid expansion in the communication sector; therefore it is being looked upon as a new delivery channel for banks. With the introduction of mobile phone in banking sector it has become easy to get information from the bank; with SMS facility you can get latest rates, information on new policies and products, etc. Banking industry is looking it as a channel which will facilitate small value payments to merchants, utility service providers and money transferred at a low cost.

You have all heard me talk about FICO scores and how important they are to your financial health. I’m going to walk you through a scenario so you can see how FICO affects you.

Let’s say that you are going to apply for credit. You may be thinking of buying or leasing a new car, opening up another credit card, purchasing or refinancing a new home. Whatever it is that you’re thinking about doing, it will involve the potential creditor accessing your credit report and score. This will help them decide if you are creditworthy and what terms you will be offered.

When the creditor prints your credit report, they will be looking at your credit from a specific date. They’ll see who you have credit with, your credit limit, how much you owe, how long you have had your accounts, your history of paying back your debts, and whether or not there is derogatory / negative information with an account. All this information is put into a formula to determine your credit score.

The credit score that creditors use was developed by Fair Isaac and Company (FICO) to determine whether you are a good credit risk and what the likelihood is that you will pay the credit back on time. The higher your credit score, the less risky you appear to a potential creditor. FICO scores go from 300 to 850 - with 850 being the best.

This is one of the major factors in determining your creditworthiness. Creditors have guidelines that determine if you can be considered for a specific program. For mortgages, your credit score has to be at least in the mid-range to even be considered for a mortgage program. If your score is one point below the minimum score, I cannot offer you that mortgage program. Auto loans have similar guidelines. When you see car financing commercials that offer people 0% financing for “well qualified borrowers,” they mean that you have to have a particular minimum credit score to be seen as “well qualified.”

So what happens if you don’t qualify for the best mortgage program or that 0% car financing? You may still be approved, but you will be offered lesser terms. Those less than favorable terms will mean that you will be paying more money out of your pocket. A $250,000 mortgage at 8% instead of 6% will cost you an additional $335.00 per month.

Bottom line: keep your credit score as high as possible, by doing everything possible from your own. This includes making sure your payments reach your creditors before the due date and checking your credit report regularly for suspicious activity.

Can you imagine a world without credit cards? Now we hear words like credit score, bad credit, and credit cards every day, but if you are over 50 you remember a world without those things and we got by - somehow.

Credit cards are much more convenient than carrying wads of cash (not that I ever did) and it’s hard to imagine life without them. The credit card industry has evolved over the last 30 years, part of a long-term plan by the industry, and it is very appealing.

Since this is the world we live in you need to know how to get the most out of it by getting the best interest rates on those credit cards you have. Here how:

· In the world of plastic (credit cards) you must have a good credit rating. Life is hard enough without adding unnecessary headaches.

· Pay all your credit card bills on time and it’s best if you keep your credit card debt at 20 to 30% of your limit.

· Be careful not to acquire too many credit cards. You should have no more than 2 or 3. This will keep your debt manageable. Most of the time when people get into credit trouble it’s because they have too many credit cards.

· If you follow step #2 you will begin to establish yourself as someone who can be trusted, something we all would like to be. Which means when you apply for larger debts, like a home or car, the lenders will give you a better interest rate.

· Using your credit cards wisely will boost your credit score and also enable you to qualify for low interest credit cards as well.

· Protect your major purchases - Under the Fair Credit Billing Act of 1999 if you buy something that is damaged or defective with your credit card, you have the right to stop payment until it is made right. You need to make a good-faith effort to work things out. If you can’t solve the problem you can ask your credit card company to investigate and solve the problem.

· Note - if you used a debit card this law does not address that. That’s why it is best to use a credit card.

· Using a credit card for online shopping is safer

· The Fair Credit Billing Act also covers online purchases. Many people are still wary about shopping online with a credit card. You don’t need to be. The credit card industry has made a great effort to make online shopping safer and the sites that take credit cards use an encrypted method to make certain your numbers are safe. Of course we all know in this life nothing is certain except death and taxes, so theoretically it is not safe, but it is 99.9% safe - and that’s pretty safe.

· Check your credit card receipts the moment you receive your statement (just in case) for any errors.

So what is credit counseling? Is it something that is good for you or bad for you? Actually it is something that is good for you, if you need it. Pretty much, credit counseling is the process of offering education to consumers on different ways that they can avoid debts that are either hard to pay or that can not be repaid. This, of course, is the technical term for credit counseling. For anyone that has actually had credit counseling, you may be saying that it was not really an education class at all. This is really more a way to be able to come up with a way to pay your bills than it is an education class.

Working out a debt management plan is not that hard. Most of the time, when you set up credit counseling with a company, they will give you different options to choose from. Then you can choose the one that works out best for you. Sometimes these credit counseling programs will offer reduced payments or fees and interest that is less for you. That way you can stop paying so much on the interest and more on the main part of the money that you owe them. Keep in mind, however, this is for the company to come up with, not you.

First things first. Whenever you hear Credit counseling, you should think of one thing, and that is debt management. Whenever you get involved with credit counseling, you are more than likely going to negotiate a debt management plan with the creditors. This is a plan that you work out with the places that you have debts with to make sure that you can pay them every month. Most places are willing to do credit counseling, because they want to get their money. They know that if you file bankruptcy, then they will not get any of it.

Pretty much, credit counseling is something that really can save you if you find yourself in a hard spot. You can find a way to get these places to work with you to get your bills paid off once and for all. For the most part, credit counseling can be the last stop for people before they hit bankruptcy. That means that you need to really take your credit counseling to heart. You need to really work with the company to get these Loans paid off. If you can, you can have them paid off in a matter of years. Nothing is better than the day that you are finally debt free. Of course, this is something that you are going to have to work for.

There is little doubt that over the past couple of years many banks have been hiking up the fees and charges on their credit card products, and people that are not as financially savvy as others have been left to pay the price. It seems that over recent months the situation may have become worse, with credit card providers flocking to increase the fees and charges on many credit cards.

Banks have certainly been feeling the pressure over recent months, with the global credit crunch causing huge problems when it comes to shoring up their finances, and it seems that one of the ways in which they have decided to do this is through increasing the rates and fees on their credit cards, as well as increasing rates on mortgages and loans.

People are urged to check the fees and charges on credit cards carefully in order to see what they will actually be paying, and in many cases card providers will not hike up the actual headline interest rate but will focus on the hidden charges such as cash transaction fees, annual fees, and the like.

One industry official from a credit card guide recently said: “It is nearly unprecedented to see so many providers raise their purchase rates over such a short period. Generally, hiking the purchase rate is considered a last resort for lenders, as they have to put this headline rate in their adverts. If they need extra cash, they will normally do other things, like increase the fees for transferring a debt from another card or for using the card at an ATM to withdraw cash.”

With this in mind it is more important than ever now to really do your homework and compare credit cards before you make a commitment, as you could save yourself a fortune in terms of your borrowing costs. And remember, it is not just the actual APR that you need to look at but also the various fees and charges that are applied on the credit card. By looking at the bigger picture and comparing a range of suitable credit cards from different providers you can get a much better idea of which card is both suitable for your needs and offers value.

Checking your credit score is an extremely important step for any consumer. To make sure you have a full line of credit available, and to make sure you’re not the victim of identity theft, you should check your credit score consistently to make sure everything is order. The problem for many consumers when checking their credit score, or trying to improve it, is that they have questions and can’t find the specific details that would answer those questions.

There are so many websites online offering information on credit that the sheer mass can be overwhelming, making it even harder to get the specific answers that you’re looking for. Here are seven common questions that consumers ask in regards to their credit score and how credit reporting is done, and the answers to each that you’ve been searching for.

7 common consumer questions on credit reporting:

Q: Doesn’t bankruptcy damage you so badly that it never makes sense?
A: This is a tricky question that depends on situation. If you are in debt way over your heard, have tons of overdue bills, have collections on you for bills you can’t pay anyway, and are completely incapable of even making minimum payments, then you’re credit score is probably so bad that declaring bankruptcy won’t change things much. You should avoid bankruptcy at all costs, but if your situation is that bad, then the sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can start rebuilding.

Q: Is there ever any advantage to bankruptcy on a credit report?
A: Maybe, but bankruptcy is never a good thing. However, a bank looking at one potential borrower with a bankruptcy six years ago, but a good record since, will look better than a non bankrupt borrower who has a record of late or unpaid bills from the past couple years.

Q: My credit score is terrible, can it be fixed?
A: Yes, but with the caveat being that the time frame varies. If you just finished bankruptcy, forget about having a decent credit score at any point over the next year or even two. But just because you have late payments on your record for seven years, or bankruptcy for ten, doesn’t mean that you can’t recover during those times. Every month that passes by with you in good standing helps a little bit more, and by paying all bills on time (with a little extra where applicable), recovery can take place relatively quickly.

Q: How can I fix my credit score?
A: This is one of those questions that entire books have been written on. But in summary: pay every bill on time, with a little bit extra on credit cards (if possible), pay off all overdue bills so they don’t become even more delinquent, pay off collections and make sure they report that to the credit agencies, and don’t fall behind on any new payments and don’t wrack up any new credit card bills.

Q: How can I start rebuilding my credit when I can’t get a loan?
A: The easiest way is to start with secured credit cards. These are cards where to have a $200 limit, you have to pay $200 into an account. These cards tend to not be very good deals, but they do allow you to slowly rebuild your credit until you’re in good enough shape to upgrade.

Q: What about those “credit fix” people on TV?
A: In a word: Don’t. Many of these are scams or questionable, at best. Any legitimate mistakes on your credit report can be removed by yourself, and many of the tricks tried by these places can get you into trouble, or even prevent you in the future from using legitimate tools to fix your credit score. Learn how credit scoring works, and use that information to fix things yourself.

Q: So my credit’s going to be terrible for the next 7 years?
A: Not at all. The more months of paying all your bills on time (and a little extra, when applicable), the better your score will get. I had a friend who had a major 6 month late black mark on a credit card bill that went to creditors, but three years letter his credit score was already up to 720, which is excellent. So depending on the level of damage, you can fix your score relatively quickly.