Re-Establish, Rebuild or Repair Bad Credit Rating with Secured Credit Cards

Establish Or Rebuild Your Credit With Secured Credit Card

We all know how important good credit is in our lives. Today, credit is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Credit makes it possible for us to buy needed items, without paying for them at the time of the purchase. Without a good credit rating, it is very difficult for us to fulfill our dreams of buying a car, buying a house, obtaining credit cards, enjoying a lifestyle filled with fine clothes, rich foods and exotic vacations.

You can establish a good credit record even if you have no reported credit history. A good credit rating indicates to others that you manage your debts responsibly and are likely to pay back your debts.

When you apply for any type of credit or financing, credit grantors check your credit report to determine whether you are a good credit risk. Based on the information contained in your report, a creditor may decide to grant credit to you or turn you down.

Credit reporting agencies, also known as credit bureaus, compile and sell your credit report to businesses. Credit bureaus are for-profit corporations. They collect information on credit users and make them available to their subscribers - credit card companies, banks, retailers, and other lenders.

If you ever applied for credit, you probably have a credit file with one or all of the three major credit bureaus. This is called a credit report. Your credit report shows how you manage your credit accounts. It contains a history of everything you are doing with your credit now, and everything you have done in the past.

If you've never applied for credit, you may not have a credit report. Without a credit report, lenders have no way of judging if you are a good credit risk.

As a first step to building good credit, get a copy of your credit report. You can get a free copy if you were denied credit within the past 60 days because of information contained in your report. However, if you simply wish to check your record, the credit bureau will charge a fee for giving you information.

To get your report, simply contact the credit bureau that keeps your report and request it. In your notice of denial you'll see the name and contact information of the credit bureau that keeps your report. Your request should include all identifying information, such as, your name, address, Social Security Number, date of birth and spouse's name (if applicable). Be sure to sign the letter.

Once you get your report, study it. Look over it carefully for negative accounts and inaccuracies, particularly older accounts. Once you have reviewed your report, begin disputing the negative items on your report right away. Correct and update inaccurate information on your credit report.

All the information you need to dispute or amend an error is included in the information package you receive from the credit bureau.

If there is any information in that report that is not true, or if you want to dispute any information on it, don't hesitate to do so. By law the credit bureau must investigate.

Keep copies of everything you send and send the letters certified mail with return receipt requested.

The credit bureau must respond to your dispute within "a reasonable amount of time." You should receive a written report on the results of the investigation.

If a reinvestigation does not resolve your dispute, ask the credit bureau to include your statement, explaining your version of the dispute. The law allows you to file a Consumer Statement of 100 words or less. This will be added to your report.

Also, you have the right to request an updated copy of your report be sent to anyone who has checked your file within the past six months (or two years if it involves employment).

Once you've removed negative entries, it's time to rebuild good credit record. Secured credit cards can be an effective way to establish or rebuild your credit history. They look and are used just like any other credit card.

A secured credit card requires you to open and maintain a savings account as security against default. But it can be a good deal because it offers you the convinience of having a credit card while you work on building your credit. No withdrawals can be made from the savings account securing the secured card while the secured credit account is open.

Your credit line is a percentage of your deposit, typically 50 to 100 percent. Most issuing banks will pay interest on your deposit. Before you apply for a secured credit card, make sure the issuer reports to a credit bureau. If your card issuer does not report to a credit bureau, the secured card won't help you build a credit history.

If they do, and if you mainatain a good account your good credit rating will be recorded on your report. When you apply for credit in the future, your chances of being approved will be much better.

Once you have established your credit you will have access to the financial safety net that good credit provides.

About the author:

Conleth C Onu is the author of "How To Establish Or Re-Establish Good Credit." For more information, visit his websites: http://www.establishgoodcredit.com and http://www.conlethonupublishing.com

Using a Secured Credit Card for Credit Repair

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Anyone who has ever had a credit card, paid a monthly bill, or taken out a loan has a credit rating. Whenever you have a service, or otherwise owe money to a creditor, the creditor reports to a credit reporting agency that compiles a credit report for you. If you start missing payments on a credit card or loan, or -- worse -- your creditor sends one of your outstanding debts to a collection agent, a negative mark will go on your credit rating, which will often prevent you from getting credit in the future.

If you find yourself in this situation, it is imperative that you take steps to repair your credit rating as soon as possible. Although it seems like a daunting task, if you do nothing your credit rating will remain the same for up to seven years, causing you all sorts of hassles, and preventing you from obtaining any type of loan.

An important step in credit repair is the acquisition of a secured credit card. Generally, if you have bad credit, you will be turned down for any credit card application. This puts you in a bind, because without a credit card you have no way of improving your situation by proving to creditors that you can pay your bills on time and responsibly.

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To engage in credit repair, you should look into what is called a "secured credit card." This is a credit card marketed specifically to people with bad credit. Generally, these cards work by requiring an initial deposit that is equal to your credit limit. In other words, if you make an initial deposit of $500, you will have a credit limit of $500. The issuer will then reserve the right to use your deposit against any outstanding balance on the card if payments are not met after a certain amount of time.

As you can see, this type of card carries no risk for the issuer (because they can always use your deposit against the balance - you'll never end up "owing" them anything), and therefore can be freely issued to people with bad credit. Unfortunately, most of these cards will have yearly annual fees that regular credit cards are often free of.

Once you have a secured credit card, you can engage in credit repair by using it sparingly but regularly, and making sure you make all payments on time. By doing this you will slowly repair your credit. What you will be doing is demonstrating to creditors that you are responsible and can be trusted with credit.

If you don't take steps towards credit repair by doing things like getting a secured credit card, your credit rating will effectively remain in a static state for years. Credit reporting agencies will keep any marks on your credit report for 7 years, so unless you are willing to wait that along, it is imperative that you take the necessary credit repair steps. By obtaining a secured credit card and using it responsibly, you will be able to reduce the 7 year wait period before being offered credit again.

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Free Credit Repair Guide Credit Card Approvals

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James Mahony is the founder of Free Credit Repair Guide - A Guide Free Guide to Credit Repair and Credit Card Approvals




















































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