If you are like me, you receive loads of junk mail every week. Much of it is “pre-approved” credit card applications. It’s a waste of time and paper.
Here’s the problem: the credit card companies have access to your name and address through the major credit bureaus. If you have decent credit, they are going to send applications to you. They want you to fill it out, send it in, and go buy a bunch of stuff that you can’t afford.
Not only is all this junk mail annoying, but it also puts you at greater risk for identity theft–someone could steal an application from your trash, fill it out, and spend money with a credit card in your name (this is why I recommend you shred all credit card applications that come to you in the mail). Trust me–they don’t pay any attention to the details of the application.
Did you know you can stop all those pre-approved credit cards from coming to your mailbox?
The pre-approved credit cards come as a result of prescreen marketing though the credit bureaus. You can tell the bureaus you want to opt out of there list. Visit https://www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). You can opt out for five years through this process.
You can opt out permanently by following up with a written (snail mail) letter.
Visit the Federal Trade Commission article for more details.
Taking these steps will NOT disqualify you from applying for a credit card. It just keeps them from sending unsolicited applications to you.
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It seems every day there is talk of a new credit card fraud that is affecting the pockets of consumers. Sometimes a phone call or a letter responding to someone who is able to obtain financial information and use it. Sometimes someone is swipe your credit card number after making a purchase in a store or through a company. Sometimes they do not know how the scamers got their credit card number, but the money is disappearing.
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Your credit score is never on display until it needs to be. People that you work with or socialize with will never know your credit score, they aren’t lending you money and if they do it’s never really documented.When you need to borrow money from a bank or creditor your credit score flashes like a bright neon sign to a lender, it’s then that you know what your credit score is.
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The first step is to contact all three (3) of the major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union, or simple go to one of them and have a Tri-merg report run which will give you all three reports run at once. The main reason that you should request a profile from each of them is not all will report the exact same information on you and it would be a mistake to go through all of the trouble of rebuilding your profile and have some long forgotten derogatory credit rating show up just when you need to establish a new line of credit.
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Everyone is aware that probably the three major credit bureaus at the national level (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) maintain credit reports on you and everyone else. That means they are responsible for maintaining accurate and current data about hundreds of millions. Think about that for a minute - if each person has ten credit references sources reporting about them (and some have many more than that), these institutions are responsible for maintaining records easily numbering in the billions of records data.
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When you have little or no credit, you’re probably thinking that it’s going to be hard to find a credit card that suits your needs or even if you can find a credit card at all. Well, when you’re on your hunt, you may be looking in the wrong places and I’m going to tell you exactly where to look if you’re looking for a low rate card designed for those with little or no credit.
The first thing I want to ask you is if you’re attending college? As long as you’re going to school, there shouldn’t be a problem applying for some of these cards. Yes, even if you’re 35 and going to college, you can get approved! The companies will just ask for some sort of proof when it comes to the college you’re attending. They will ask for something like the school name, how long you’re attending for, etc. This will all be on the application when you fill it out.
The thing is that when you do apply for a low rate credit card, you’re going to find that the rates for first time appliers are generally high. You’re going to have to pay a little more than the guy with great credit. As you build your credit up of course, you’re going to be able to build your score up, which in turn will allow you to sign up for any card that you may want. Make sure that you look at all the card options when you don’t have any credit. Look at student cards, department store cards and more.
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The following sample dispute letter will be a great help to you if you find a collection account listed on your credit report. Even though you might be both willing and able to pay, it is a good idea to negotiate with the creditor for a “pay for delete” on your collection account. You should negotiate with the original creditor instead of the collection agency - while in some cases you may be able to handle this negotiation through the collection agency, it is better to deal directly with the original creditor.
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Internet shoppers naturally favor business websites that accept all credit card payments, hence the increasing need for easy to operate, low-cost merchant accounts. On their part, merchant account providers are constantly re-inventing themselves to provide complete security for credit card processing.
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If you have been shopping around for a Low Interest Credit Card you will notice that the UK market is awash with Credit Card companies offering low rates to entice you to apply for their Cards.
There has never been a better time to consolidate your credit cards and get a far better interest rate. There are many offers out there but they all offer pretty much the same thing. The only thing that varies is the APR the 0% balance transfer period and possibly reward points for using the card.
With all these cards on offer you can be very selective and apply for a card that suits your needs and spending habits.
Looking to consolidate you existing credit cards?
Points to consider:
How long is the 0% balance transfer period for?
These can usually range between 6 and 9 months. These periods of 0% interest may seem attractive but make sure you know what the APR will revert to after the period comes to an end. Read the fine print as some credit card companies will expect you to spend a min amount to secure this low rate. Don’t fall for this as there are many that do not expect you to spend anything.
Do you plan on clearing the balance within the 0% period?
If you do not plan on clearing the balance it may be worthwhile getting a card that has a low balance transfer rate for the life of the balance. Some credit cards will set a low interest rate until you pay off the balance in full, whether it takes 6 months or 6 years. This way you don’t have to worry about paying a sudden increase in interest rates at the end of an introductory period.
Once you have established how to manage your credit card debt you will be in a much better position to choose the right credit card. The UK is in the grip of a huge debt epidemic and it’s important to ensure that you are paying the least amount of interest on your debt. Also ensure that you are making your monthly payments. If you can afford it try and pay more than the minimum required every month as the longer it takes to pay off your card the more the credit card companies will make off you through interest charges.
Many people will transfer their credit card balances every time the 0% introductory period runs out. A term used for this is a “Card Tart” and as far as I know it’s not illegal. The amount of times you apply for a credit card in a 12 month period may have an adverse effect on your credit rating so beware you are not damaging a perfectly good credit history by continuously applying for a 0% credit card.
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If you have just been denied a loan based on low credit scores you are probably wondering how do I fix a ding on my credit score? Well keep reading because the article below will give you a overview of what you need to do to clean up your credit and boost your FICO scores using simple credit repair methods.
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