Credit Repair Scams
In a nationwide crackdown on credit repair companies, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that 30 firms were being targeted, including a Woodland Hills company that had its assets frozen. Success Credit Services was accused in an FTC civil suit of violating the Credit Repair Organizations Act by contending that it could quickly clean up credit reports
by removing legitimate negative items, such as late payments, bankruptcies and tax liens The widely advertised company, headed by Tracy Ballard-Straughn, also was accused of allegedly collecting thousands of dollars of upfront fees — also a violation of the credit act — and then doing little or nothing in return. U.S. District Court in Los Angeles has granted the FTC’s request for a temporary restraining order and asset freeze for the company and Ballard-Straughn.
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Credit Crunch
More than anything else, Sondra Page wants to be a homeowner again. But before she can qualify for a loan, she needs to raise her credit score. And, to raise her score, she has to cut her debt level. It’s a problem common to many Americans as today’s credit crunch is putting pressure on consumers like Ms. Page to pay off or make a significant dent in their debt.
To accomplish that, credit counselors say, consumers need a plan. “If your goal is getting out of debt the first thing to do is put together a strategy of attack,” said Todd Mark, vice president of education at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas. Ms. Page’s debt problems started after the breakup of her 32-year marriage four years ago.
“When he divorced me, I didn’t have the finances to pay the bills,” said Ms. Page, 58, of Dallas, a finance clerk at a church school. “He paid the bills. All I wanted to do was to hang on to my house.”
So she let some bills go so she could pay her mortgage. Then, last year her home was damaged in a fire. After her lender took its share of the insurance proceeds to pay off the mortgage, there wasn’t enough money left to repair the home.
When Ms. Page, then a homemaker, asked about a loan to repair the house, the bank told her it wasn’t worth applying for because her credit score wasn’t high enough. She applied with other lenders but was turned down because of her credit score.
A credit score is a number that summarizes your credit risk, based on a snapshot of your credit report at a particular point in time. The score helps lenders estimate the chances that you will repay a loan. The higher your credit score, the better deal you’ll get.
As the credit markets have tightened in recent weeks, lenders have raised their standards and now are requiring higher credit scores before they’ll loan money. That’s why consumers like Ms. Page need to attack their debt.
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Protect Yourself From Scams!
Buy A Shredder! You can find a reasonably priced shredder at most office supply stores. They can range anywhere from less than $20. This is a must have to protect yourself from identity theft. Any documents with personal information such as your social security number should be shredded immediately, not thrown in the trash!
Secure Your Financial Documents Keep them under lock and key and away from the snooping eyes of the maid, handyman or even friends who come over! Protect your outgoing mail! Remember when everyone was scared to bank online? Now it is as secure as ever! You’re less likely to be a victim of identity theft. There is more danger mailing bills now more than ever. Thieves look for mail that has credit card payments, checks with all your information and other bills that will provide them easy ways to target you as a victim. A little attention and care to the way you maintain and protect your private information will go a long way to protect from being the next identification theft victim!
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