March 30, 2009

Protect Yourself From Credit Repair Scams

Filed under: Mathematics & More — admin @ 2:53 am

If you’ve been nursing a poor credit history and find yourself unable to get financial respite from legitimate creditors, then, more likely, companies that offer to repair your credit will be like lights at the end of dark tunnels.

Sure, credit repair companies and the assistance programs they offer are legitimate, but it is advised that you don’t easily get fooled after just one sitting. While credit repair schemes promise to get you out of your financial woes, they can also turn into your greatest nightmares if you fail to protect yourself and read the fine print.

More often than not credit repair schemes will present themselves as quick and easy ways to clear your tainted credit record of red information for a certain fee. They look mighty attractive at first but, as with any money making operation, surely they won’t tell you all the tricks of the trade and how they are to benefit from you.

The fact of the matter is, bad credit can only be healed by time. Credit repair companies will assure you that they can call up your creditors and clean up your murky credit history for you, but this is really not the case.

Some credit repair agencies will tell you that your credit has already been cleared up and send you a note to prove it, but, the reality is, they are merely trying to process your credit clearing application and do not really know if your creditor will approve it or not.

Before you know it, your bad credit information has magically reappeared on your records and there isn’t anything you can do about it, except, well, drag yourself into a credit repair scam again and fool yourself that you’ve been cleaned up.

Bad credit records are bad credit records. No matter how hard you try to seek instant reprieve from the red marks on your documents, they will not go away unless they have been erroneously placed there. And no credit repair agency can make miracles happen for you. If you truly had a tainted financial past, you must bear with it and let it pass over time.

Credit bureaus report negative information as far back as seven years and as far back as ten years for bankruptcy related cases. This means your history for the past seven to ten years will turn up in your records whether you like it or not and cannot, and never, be altered by any credit repair tactic.

But if you are sure that mistakes have been made on your records and you’re truly free of negative data, then by all means, seek help from credit repair companies. Or, to avoid having to pay their charges, you can repair your credit yourself.

You simply notify the credit bureau of the errors and give a detailed account of the mistakes your found on your records. The more accurate you are, the better. After which, the bureau will conduct an investigation into the account in question, free of charge, and correct them or discard false information that is unverifiable.

To help strengthen your case, you can even write a short note, about a hundred words, explaining the negative information on your report. It could take a while, but, hey, it sure beats having to pay credit repair agencies to do it.

Khieng ‘Ken‘ Chho is author and owner of Online Credit Repair Resources. For related articles and other resources, visit Ken’s website: http://credit-repair.onew3b.net

The Lowdown on American Express Gold Card

Filed under: Mathematics & More — admin @ 12:04 am

Spending with an American Express card has never been more convenient. With an American Express Gold Card however, the company seeks to provide even greater standards of convenience to their customers.

First of all, the American Express Gold Card does not have a pre-determined spending limit. This means that customers can spend to their heart’s delight as long as they do not leave outstanding balances at the end of the month.

Apart from that, the card also comes with two reward programs, one of which requires membership to enjoy redeemable rewards from collected points. Points can be collected by purchasing gas, shopping at supermarkets and pharmacies, sending mail or even paying phone bills. The points can then be used to redeem rewards in travel, shopping or entertainment. Some of the participating partners of American Express include Dell Computers, GAP and The Sharper Image. Furthermore, shopping online with the American Express Gold Card also entitles customers to free shipping for purchases, in addition to the benefit that customers are not accountable for unauthorized online purchases.

The second reward program is the frequent traveler program that allows customers to earn free flights from 6 participating airlines. There are no limitations as to the number of points that can be redeemed for any period of time as these points never expire. Apart from that, when customers purchase tickets with the American Express Gold Card, they are entitled to travel accident insurance as well as the option of using travelers’ checks overseas.

Additionally, the Global Assist Plus Hotline included provide travelers with help of any kind including roadside assistance, cash access, legal and medical referrals as well as help with their visas or passports even when they are in other countries. In the event of baggage loss in airports, American Express provides a coverage value of up to $1250 for hand-carried baggage and $500 for checked-in baggage. This card covers any possible travel-related services currently available, which is why frequent travelers should start charging anything and everything to their very own American Express Gold Card.

For more information or to apply for the American Express Gold Card, Eric Wasselman recommends Find Credit Cards.