The Credit Secrets Bible is a course for people who have a bad credit problem, or have difficulty simply want to build good credit. Having studied numerous courses and read many books on the subject of credit repair, some of which turned out to be dards, I was naturally skeptical about this one.

The first question I asked myself was, what new lesson could I learn from this course that I did not learn from all the others courses, books and manuals?

But as soon as I started reading the very first pages, I was blown away. There was so much I did not know! There are many little details that impact your credit score that you probably do not know, at your credit peril.

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The credit reporting system as it stands is inherently corrupt and flawed. It is also unfair and prone to errors. Abusive practices continue, despite the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) that was meant to protect consumers.

The credit system was never created to help you, but to make money for the lenders. It is driven by one motive, profit.

Imagine this. Two individuals need drugs. One of them is sick and the other one is addict just looking for a “fix”. The former needs drugs to stay alive; the other uses them to ruin it (most of the time affecting many others).

Now, let’s say both have accumulated debts that they simply cannot pay. Both will equally get their credit files damaged. Is that unfair or what?

Did you know that it took intense pressure from congress and interest groups for Fair Isaac (the creators of the FICO credit scoring system) to disclose its credit scoring model? You were not supposed to know something that has such a heavy impact on the quality of your life.

Lenders and the bureaus don’t care about you. Lenders have one thing on their minds; to find as many excuses possible to charge you more for loans and credit cards. Meanwhile the bureaus make a great deal money selling the lenders information about you.

Some of the tactics lenders use so as to hit you with higher interests rates include “universal default” clauses and failing to report your true credit limit(s).

Universal default is simply means that a lender can increase your interest rates when you get late on another non-related item (even if you’re on time on all other payments!).

Now, by increasing your interests rates (sometimes doubling or tripling it), the creditor has just made it difficult for you to keep your payments up, or worse, made you likely to default or declare bankruptcy. How brilliant is that?

Some creditors fail to report your limit. Others report your balance as limit so as to keep your balance to limit ratio high, which brings down your score. In turn this keeps your credit rating at “sub-prime” level, which means high interest rates.

Another nasty practice that continues unabated, despite being against the law, is re-aging of derogatory accounts. This is mainly done by collectors, whereby they re-set the date of your last transaction to a later date.

Re-aging extends it beyond the seven year statute of limitations (after which it should cease to show on your report except in certain special circumstances).

Credit bureaus also allow debt collectors to place hard enquiries (the type dings your score) on your report. Cases have been reported where deleted accounts were re-inserted into credit reports, without the consumer’s knowledge (which is against the law).

What’s even worse is when paid-off accounts get reported as delinquent many years later, such that the consumer may have long forgotten the respective account.

What should you, the consumer, do? The answer is knowledge. An educated consumer is the bureaus’ and lenders worst nightmare. Armed with the right knowledge, you can use the law and lenders’ (including debt collectors) to your advantage.

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Discover how you can legally make creditors, credit bureaus and collectors clean up your credit file by turning the tables in your favor. Check out The Credit Secrets Bible now.

When fixing your credit report, certain mistakes could upset all your efforts or, worse, lower your credit score. Following is a list of some common and not-so-common credit repair mistakes you should avoid:

1. Disputing open, active accounts: Every account you dispute with credit bureaus, whether good or bad, often gets removed from your report until verified. Open accounts give you history; therefore by disputing these could lower your score. Not good. Not only that, you also potentially reduce your credit history, which also accounts for part of your score.

2. Making late payments while on your credit repair path will negate your efforts. If you know that you are not in position to start paying your bills on time, don’t start credit repair just yet. It will not be worth the effort. Late payments are devastating to your score.

3. Don’t close open accounts. One of the biggest myths out there is that closing accounts is good for your credit report. Not quite. What creditors look for is how well you can handle debt. As No.1 above, old open accounts help build your credit history and shows stability as well as ability to handle debt responsibly.
 
4. Avoid “pay nothing now” offers, often offered by auto repair and furniture shops. This type of credit lowers your score, as it indicates potential financial troubles. These types of credit often lower your score.

5. Avoid obtaining new credit accounts. New credit is considered less favorably than old. Too many new credit accounts indicate greater risk. Also, every credit enquiry dings your score. For people with bad credit and need to re-establish good credit, secured credit may be the way to go. Just make sure that the creditor will not run your credit before extending it to you, and that your payments will be reported.

6. Don’t consolidate. Contrary to what you may have heard, debt consolidation is not such a good thing. For one, if you consolidate all your credit card debts into one credit card, that credit card will likely have a high utilization rate (balance to limit ratio), which is not good. Secondly, if you use a consolidator, you will be required to close your open accounts, which will end your history as well as lower your score. Thirdly, most creditors frown upon it, as it indicates inability to manage credit.

7. 100 word statements are best avoided. There is a space on your credit report offered for you to explain your situation, or make comments. This can be a two-edged sword as it can bring to attention something that might otherwise have been missed, possibly to your disadvantage. Use this space only if feel you absolutely must (seek advice of a reputable credit counselor).

8. Disputing too many entries the same time: In a rush to clear bad entries from their report, many people rush and dispute one too many entries with credit bureaus. This generally raises a red flag. If you have lots of adverse entries, pick three to four to start. The latest entries are most damaging, so it is wise in most cases to start there.

9. Avoid canned dispute letters: Copying credit dispute letters off the internet is a dead give away that your dispute may not be legitimate, or that you’re using credit repair techniques. Use them as templates if you must, but write in your own words.

10. Patience, patience: Another mistake many people make is to follow one dispute with another too soon. Again the problem here is rushing. This resets time for the disputes to 45 days, up from 30. Obviously, you don’t want this. Allow at least 45-60 days between disputes.

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Fix your credit: tips and strategies banks, bureaus and collectors don’t want you to know. Check out Credit Secrets now.

Living with bad credit hurts. But not all is lost. You can fix your credit report, by following certain tips and tactics. To fix your credit, you need to raise your credit score and remove any negative items. Here are 8 credit repair steps to get you started:

1. Know what’s on your report: You must get a copy of your credit report right away. For credit repair purposes, avoid free credit reports. Why? Well, free reports increase dispute reinvestigation time from 30 days to 45 days. The less time the bureaus and creditors/collectors have the better.

2. Know your score: Though you can get free credit reports from all the major repotting agencies, at least once a year, you must pay for your credit score. And, you don’t want just any score. You want the true FICO score that most lenders use, that’s only offered by MyFico or Equifax.

3. Reduce your credit card balance(s): 30% of your credit score depends on this. Depending on who you ask, you should keep your balances below 30% or 50 % of each card’s limit. 30% appears to be the figure most experts agree on. This alone can give your score a much-need (and quick) boost. Avoid maxing out on your credit cards even if you pay off in full each month.

4. Begin to pay your bills on time. Though this takes a few months to take effect, it counts for 35% of your score, which is quite high. Also, any late payments will counter your credit fixing efforts as late payments are devastating to your score.

5.  Review your credit reports: Check for inaccurate information. Mistakes happen, more times than the bureaus would like us to believe. Check for errors in accounts such as names; dates accounts started or closed; types of accounts, and yes, even duplicates. Dispute any errors with the bureaus or furnishers (creditors/collectors) in writing.

6. Dispute old negative items: Though this no longer works as well as it used to – thanks to unscrupulous credit repair companies – it’s still worth a try. Bureaus have 30 days to verify accounts, and if you’re lucky creditors some might never verify. A long-short, but just might work. You could also try disputing old negative entries with the original creditor. With all the business mergers going on, records might not be all that straight.

7. You can also negotiate with creditors and collectors to delete negative items from your report. Typically, creditors will not do this, but collectors might especially if it’s part of a pay-off deal. Expect some collectors will be harder to deal with than others on this.

8. Don’t close old open accounts that have balances. Old accounts help build your credit history, which accounts for 10% of your score. 10% may not seem like much, but it could mean the difference between good and mediocre credit.

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Discover credit repair strategies and tricks that lenders and credit bureaus don’t want you to know. Check out: Credit Secrets now.