Congressman Lacy Clay and Donna Perkins

Congressman Lacy Clay and Donna Perkins photographed at an event August 5th as a fundraiser for Congressman Clay's reelection.  At this event, Ms Perkins was representing the National Association of Credit Services Organizations (NACSO), the organization that scrutinizes and monitors the best practices of those Credit Restoration firms who voluntarily participate for the good of the industry.

Ms. Perkins serves as a member of the Board of Directors of that organization, and as the chair of Membership.  It is vitally important that the general public understand the kinds of things going on in the industry.  That is why, as a board member, Ms. Perkins supports Congressman Clay who is working with other members of Congress towards a solution.

It is well known, and now documented by 60 minutes, that the three credit reporting agencies:  TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian are attempting to influence Congress to change the consumer protection laws in their favor.  They want us to believe that we would be better off if THEY are the only ones who can solve credit report problems.  But consider this:  if the people who gather the data, decide what information to use, then arbitrarily decide what your credit score will be, then report different information to the lenders – have control over fixing their broken system, how will the public benefit?  Can you say "wolf guarding the hen house"?

Congressman Clay is gathering infomation to take back to committees that he sits on or chairs in order to formulate an answer to this outrageous request by the 3 bureaus.  If they are allowed to have their way, all people in the US will suffer.  The banks who lend money to us rely on the information provided to them by the 3 bureaus.  If it is not accurate, every American will be allowed less and less credit.  The way our banking system sits today, that means that the 3 bureaus will make more and more money selling their data to the banks.  The banks rely on the 3 bureaus for accuracy, and recently on 60 minutes, it was reported that 40 million mistakes are to be found within the 3 credit reporting agencies.  Ms. Perkins and others involved in the credit restoration business, are dedicated to working out a solution to this conundrum.  See 60 minutes video here:  60 minutes:  40 million innacuracies.

Donna Perkins

With 23 years in the business of credit restoration, and more than 110,000 happy customers, KC Credit Services can solve your credit report problems.  Contact us today!

It is important to understand this distinction. The creditors nor the bureaus have any vested interest in having your credit report be cleaned up. As mentioned in previous emails, the bureaus make the most money from your troubles. The creditors make the most money when your scores are lower, as they can charge you higher interest rates and fees. So there is no incentive to paying old debts except to get out of debt!

Credit Bureaus will most often remove negative credit information that is not verifiable.  But it is important the WAY it is requested. You need a credit restoration specialist to assist you with this task.

Donna Perkins

If you are in this type of situation, our Credit Concierges(tm) can help. Call us today to get started on your personal path to financial freedom!

Each creditor has established their own set of guidelines and rules for extending credit. A creditor will usually require a full application that asks for many things: your income, your employment history, current level of committed expenses, your spending habits, and your credit history.

If you falsify any part of the application, you have committed credit fraud. The creditor will subjectively review all facts available, and make a decision for or against giving you credit based upon their own review criteria.

You may never know what that criteria consists of. Remember, this is not an OBJECTIVE decision. It is SUBJECTIVE. That means that the creditor may make any decision he wishes, except where the law dictates his actions (as in race, color or creed discrimination.  New credit can be granted even though your current score is weak, if other factors support it.

Donna Perkins

So your FICO credit score is only one of many facts that the creditor will consider in reviewing your application and granting credit to you.

Let us help you with your credit restoration needs so you can once again qualify for new credit lines.

If you paid cash for everything, you would have no credit history.

If you have no credit history, you have no credit!

Use of credit is important to developing a great credit score. But you must follow the guidelines for keeping it great, which include:

1) keep your debt-to-credit ration under 30% per card

2) pay your bills on time, every time

3) pay every bill, every month it is due

4) don't ask for more credit than you can afford.

By following these guidelines, you will develop the best credit history possible.

Donna Perkins

And remember…as your income rises, more credit is appropriate. But be selective, and be sure not to overdo it.

Our professional Credit Concierges(tm) can help you with understanding these concepts. Call us today!

A good credit score is made from the history of charging and paying off credit cards and other debts. But paying off your credit cards each month is not the best way to develop a credit history. You need to owe a bit, and pay a bit to develop it.

Paying everything off each month is a good way to stay out of debt, but won't necessarily help your credit score.

By charging something and paying it off over time, a short time, you develop the kind of history that the bureaus want to see.  Remember, they benefit most as a business when you do not pay off your debts quickly.  The merchant makes money on interest and fees, and the bureaus make money selling lists to them.  The more you owe without going over the 30% rule (don't spend more than 30% of your available credit), the less the bureaus benefit.  When you owe more than 30%, they classify you as a "bad risk", and this is what makes them money.

Donna Perkins

To keep yourself in a good situation all around, charge something, then pay off your credit cards over 2-4 months.  Try to never charge something more than the 30% rule, pay your bills on time every time, pay early and pay a little more than the minimum required, and you'll develop the best possible credit history.

To learn more about this practice, contact us today!

This is a common misconception. There are several factors that must be considered when applying for new credit.

1) If you apply for several credit cards at once, each occurrence will result in an "inquiry" on your credit report. Each inquiry drops your score about 7 points. So it would be prudent to carefully review the offers you receive and select one or two to apply for.

The inquiry shows up on your report regardless of whether or not you are granted credit. But the bigger issue is that all of your creditors see the inquiries, and this indicates to them that their involvement with you may be at a higher risk. Because you are seeking additional credit lines, you may be expecting to spend more money on credit. This can put their balance with you at risk of default. Therefore, there may be negative consequences to frivolously applying for multiple cards within a short time span.

Donna Perkins

2) If you are trying to purchase a car, and go from dealership to dealership filling out applications at each one within a short time span, each application will result in an inquiry on your credit report. This is usually viewed by your creditors as only one inquiry for the purposes of risk assessment. The same holds true for real estate. However, you may need to apply to the credit bureaus to remove those extraneous inquiriies could take some time. You may need your Credit Concierge's(tm) help to make this happen.

Let us know how we can help you.

So if you are going to have a problem with privacy issues, it will reside with the creditor or lender, not the bureaus.

However, it is important to be sure that you question your creditor to be sure he is adhering to the laws under which he must protect your privacy. So ask the question, and listen carefully to the answer.

Donna Perkins

Privacy issues are actually much more prevalent with consumers themselves. For instance, standing in line at the pharmacy and having them shout out your private information for the next few people in line to hear is one of the most irritating situations. This can occur in a physicians office, as well, or any place where you must stand in line with others. If you are taking out your ID or credit card, checkbook, etc., and not shielding it from prying eyes, you can cause your own worst nightmare.

Learn how to be security conscious!

ECOA[3] (Equal Credit Opportunity Act) was put into place in 1974 to solve this problem. The law prohibits lenders from even asking the types of questions that would result in bias related to race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, and more, as well as people with little or no credit history.

The Bureau's claim that their scoring techniques have proven to be an accurate and consistent measure of the ability to repay loans for all people who have some credit history, regardless of whether they are in the main stream or have a minority history.

Donna Perkins

There is no scoring model that can distinguish race, color or creed based upon a name or it's spelling, where a person lives, etc.

So for all of you out there who consider yourself a minority, there is nothing to this myth.

Having said that, minorities may suffer from the methods the bureaus use to group people together.  It has nothing to do with race or any other marker, but what it is based upon is your score.  If people in the group you are in have a general lowering of their scores, it can affect your overall score.  This is common across all levels and has nothing to do with ethnicity.

When you are single and apply for a credit card, house or car, you are the only one responsible.  You are the one that affects your credit score…nobody else.

When you decide to marry, or team up with someone to apply for joint credit, there are some interesting dynamics you should be aware of.  Everything that occurs, good or bad, affects both of your credit scores.

1)            You are responsible for 100% of the debt incurred when you share a card.  So if your “partner” decides to bail, you will still be responsible for paying the debt, whether you personally spent the money or not. 

2)            When you marry or have joint accounts, the actions that both of you exhibit affect both of your credit scores.  This is especially true in the lives of married couples. 

3)            If you co-sign on someone else’s debt, and the default, YOU will be left with the responsibility of paying the debt, even if you never benefitted from what was purchased. 

4)            For parents who co-sign for a child – say one who is starting college, this is especially troubling.  Parents would be better off making their child an “authorized user”.  This simply means that the child will have the ability to charge expenses on the card up to a certain limit set by the parents.  In this case, the parents can limit their liability.

5)            In the case of a married couple, given the 50%+ divorce rate these days, it may be better to keep most credit separate.  Perhaps only con-join your credit for a big purchase like a house.  In this way, the ownership and responsibility for the debt is never in question.  If you have everything joint, divorce court cannot help you.  Each of you is 100% responsible to repay the debts incurred…regardless of who ends up with the real property purchased. 

Donna Perkins

If your credit score is suffering, you can get help.  Credit restoration specialists are at your service to help you decide some of these troubling questions.  They can assist you in cleaning up your credit history so your score goes up naturally.  Why not call us today for a free consultation?  Your privacy is our utmost concern.  Click here…

1)     Consumers have access to their credit reports for free once per year through www.annualcreditreport.com.  Previously, only the report was available, and not the scores.  This legislation proposes that when a consumer pulls their free report, they get scores as well.

2)     Consumers attempting to purchase a home or refinance a loan are affected sometimes negatively by the credit reports purchased by their creditors from the three major bureaus, Experian, CSC/Equifax and TransUnion.  The bureaus sell a different type of report to them than those available to the general public.  Therefore, a consumer can be blindsided by a report that is quite different from the one they can get for free or purchase.  This legislation proposes to make the bureaus have one consistent report available to both creditors and consumers.

3)     This legislation will strengthen current prohibitions against deceptive marketing of free or low-cost credit reports and credit scores.

4)     At this time, consumers are barred from suing to enforce their rights regarding the use and disclosure of their credit information.  This legislation proposes to fix an error in the current law so consumers have that right once again.

Donna Perkins

The furor over the Federal Trade Commission's recent disclosure that up to 5% of credit reports contain errors serious enough to negatively affect their ability to borrow at the best interest rates is behind this legislation.  To read more about this story, click here.

If you feel you have errors on your credit report, why not contact us today for a free evaluation.  Click here.