Debt Collection is an industry that works for the creditor to recover all the money you owe. They will do anything to recover their money; harassment via daily phone calls, threats to expose your debts and letters, many letters to recover the principal and interest owed.

Sure, there are federal and state laws to help the consumer, but when consumed with guilt and overwhelmed with the financial pitfall we’ve created it’s often easier for us to give in to their threats, not knowing we don’t have to.

And even those obvious laws don’t stop aggressive debt collectors. Don’t expect them to share the rules and regulations with you. But what about the little known tips and tricks that can stop them dead in their tracks?

Did You Know;

1. Debt Collectors cannot legally collect a debt unless they are registered in your state?

2. Debt Collectors must register with monetary regulators in your state before they can collect any debt or contact any consumer.

3. They must position a usury bond before performing any business in that state.

4. Third, the majority of debt collectors are not the owners of the bad debt; they are only working for the original creditor to recover what is owed.

When a debt collector contacts you, there are some specific questions you must ask before responding to them. Keep in mind, a debt collector is calling to (a) talk or threaten you into paying your debt (b) calling to get as much information on you as possible. There are various ways to deal with these scenarios.

1. Ask the debt collector what is the original creditor’s name.

2. Tell the collector point blank, you do not recall incurring any debt with that named company.

3. Most importantly, request proof or validation of the debt. They will have 30 days to send you proof.

4. Do not give out any other information. Debt collectors will ask to verify information. They only want to make sure you live and work at the same place and they are able to keep in contact with you.

Very important: Never acknowledge a debt with a collector. Doing this can restart the statute of limitations, that is, the time limit that a creditor has to sue you for non-payment, as well as the seven year credit-reporting limit.

Another technique you can try, that will only stall the collection cycle is telling the collector, “I don’t deal or discuss any debts with third party agencies and I must contact the original creditor to converse about this.”

And finally, there are many debt collection companies that purchase the debt for pennies and then try and collect on it. Your debt was sold primarily because the original creditor could not successfully collect on it.

But just think about it. If the original creditor could not collect on it, how would a debt collector become a better source to recovering old debt? They can’t; but consumers don’t realize this and by the time it makes its way onto the credit report, consumers give up.

You can stop debt collectors in their tracks, without giving up your hard earned money. The learning process is easy if you’re willing to fight back.

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Most consumers with bad credit are banished from the “A” credit club where everything and anything is available for the asking. Bad creditors are pigeonholed into searching for sub-prime services and relinquished to years of high interest rates.

The majority of creditors search for free credit repair. Regrettably, there are no services that will repair your credit for free so, if you are looking for “free credit repair” you will have to do it yourself.

There are also some reputable, economical credit repair services offered for consumers who don’t have time to learn the credit repair process. However, completing this task yourself has its advantages and most people who learn about the credit game have better chances of not getting into a credit dilemma again.

When you are ready to begin your credit repair journey, you could start by getting a free credit report from all 3 credit bureaus. But there is a drawback to getting a free report: it increases information verification period time for disputed accounts, which can be a huge disadvantage to you.

Equifax, Transunion and Experian, by law must give you a free credit report, once per year, upon request. Repairing your credit means knowing which creditors you owe; what positive and negative tradelines (that is accounts) are listed; and how much debt you owe.

Next, become familiar with the laws and guidelines to follow when repairing your credit. Learn about disputing negative tradelines, the amount of time credit bureaus have to respond to consumers and how to negotiate with creditors.

Lastly, review the credit repair forums. A credit repair forum is a discussion group made up of individuals with common interest. There’s tons of information online – be cautious – there’s lots of misinformation online as well. Remember; always research your questions thoroughly online with different sources.

After hours of research, I’ve realized that credit repair is one of the most misunderstood topics online. Much of the information is misunderstood and repeated to the masses, therefore, convoluting the message. While many try and help, valuable time is wasted and people become financially damaged.

Free credit repair means doing the legwork yourself. Consumers must take the initiative to learn all options of credit repair.

For those searching for a solution to making extra money and debt cures you need to think realistically about how to resolve these issues.  How can you make extra cash to become debt free and build your savings account up?  Here are some tips to help accomplish your goals;

1.Sell something on EBay.  In a recent survey, 1.5 million people said they supplement their income by selling items on eBay.  You can log on to their community first to get a feel for the kinds of fees that are involved, as well as the merchandise and pricing that are most popular.  Then you can go through your old trinkets and clothing you want to part with and try your hand at selling them online.  Additionally, you can purchase inexpensive items and garage sale gems to sell at a profit.

2.Cater dinners or homemade goods.  Start by contacting churches.  No state or local licenses are required IF you work on a small scale.  Promote yourself through local news and community papers, community boards and flyers.  Factor in the cost of ingredients, delivery and labor in your prices.  You can also contact businesses nearby that might be in need of catering services for office meetings.  If you need a place to develop your catering, speak with churches about renting out their kitchen or the fire house.

3.Start a personal concierge service. Offer your services to people in your neighborhood such as busy professionals or individuals with children to help them through their to-do lists.  Run errands like picking up the dry cleaning or grocery shopping.  Shop and wrap special gifts and deliver packages to the post office.  You can charge a flat rate or an hourly rate with incentives to drive traffic to your door.

Those are all ideas for the entrepreneur in you; however, also consider getting a part-time gig at the local mall or an office looking for extra help.  You must keep your goals in mind of ridding yourself of extra debt and setting objectives to get it done.  The longer you put off making a dent in that list of payables, the longer it will take to pay it off.

Signature loans have been around for decades. You used to walk into a bank and speak with a loan officer requesting a small loan. They asked what collateral you had and you were able to sign off your collateral and receive your loan.

Today’s methods are not that different, although they have streamlined the guidelines.

Signature loans are provided exclusively upon the acceptance of a signed activation letter; hence, no co-signer or collateral is needed for it. These loan amounts depend upon the borrower’s capability to pay off, specifically your credit. These short term loans are usually for terms of up to 60 months.

Signature loans are not offered for any specific purpose, other than a short-term loan. They offer excellent assistance for any purpose especially those unexpected emergencies.

Signature loans for students can offer financial support to meet the increasing costs of education. These loans can be combined with student aid, such as the Federal Stafford loans, or Pell Grants if they need additional money. This can prove to be a low cost alternative.

A flawless credit history with a positive credit report will be the leading candidate for signature loans.

However, that is not to say individuals with bad credit cannot get a signature loan.

Bad credit signature loans will require collateral. Signature loans simply require your John Handcock signature and a good credit history will guarantee you get the loan with no collateral.

This is an easy way to boost your credit rating. You open up a small loan and repay within a few months. Your good payment history is reported and this boost you points up.

With bad credit signature loans you first should know where you stand financially. Make a few realistic goals and objectives with respect to your debt. If your debt condition is really alarming, talk to credit managing agencies for help and come up with an overall plan. This could mean consolidating your debts, giving up your credit cards or even completely changing your lifestyle.

If you are planning to take out a signature loan remember this is another debt. Have a purpose in mind. If it’s for an emergency, prepare a good repayment plan and if only to boost your credit rating, request a loan amount small enough just to attain the result you’re looking for.

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Did you know that you can obtain thousands of dollars in credit building loans even without collateral? More information and other hot credit secrtes in The Credit Secrets Bible

Your payment history is a record you’ve established with the 3 major credit bureaus by either paying or not paying your bills on time. This history is recorded by all of your creditors on your three credit reports.

The 3 major credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian keep this information on file for you, your creditors and any new lenders.

Your credit reports will reflect your payment history on all of your credit accounts you’ve had for the past 7 to 10 years. This includes your student loans, mortgages, retail store credit cards, auto loans, telephone, utilities (cable and gas and electric), although usually utility companies do not report until you fall into delinquency.

How do the Credit Bureaus know if I pay my bills on time or not?

The credit bureaus do not know if and how you initially pay your creditors. It’s your creditors that know whether or not you are paying them on time, and they report your payment history to the credit bureaus; whether it’s a good or bad report, they run and tell.

This process is called “lender reporting” where your creditors will send, typically, all three credit reporting bureaus the current status of your accounts utilizing an electronic tape.

Lenders do pay to make reports; therefore they may choose not to report to all the bureaus.

Once the credit reporting agencies receive this tape, it’s loaded into their system and then unloads into their databases, hence, creating an updated record of all your accounts and payment history month after month.

Ratings: Your Current Status

All your accounts should be paid on time; however, many of us fall behind and believe me, all of this is reported. The finest status you can have on any account is “Paid as Agreed.” This means that the creditor is reporting your account as being paid according to the terms of agreement you signed.

If your account is past due then your current status rating will change and this will make your points drop. The current status is commonly displayed as a numeric value that ranges from 1 to 9. If your account is being paid as agreed then the rating will be a “1.” Basically any rating other than a “1” is bad. This means you’ve been late paying your creditor and when you apply for more credit, the potential creditors will see this as a red flag.

This identifies how the payment reporting systems works and just how your payments are reflected on your credit report.

The creditors systems are automated to update your payment history in their computers, which they send to the credit reporting bureaus each month to update your record. Before falling behind in payments, you can always call the creditor and try to get a better payment arrangement. This will not get reported and the payment history will remain positive.

Your First Credit Card

Everyone needs to start building credit at some point. Whether you’re in high school or college, starting out isn’t that difficult (as long as you’re at least 18 years old).

Getting approved for that first credit card can seem like an overwhelming task, but today lenders make it easier for your first time. If you have applied for a few credit cards and were turned down, don’t worry. Change your strategy and you’ll have plastic in your wallet in no time.

One of the more common mistakes that people tend to make when applying for credit cards is applying for the incorrect card that doesn’t really suit them. The major credit cards like Visa, Master Card, American Express and Discover are very difficult to come by for the first time card holder.

But finance cards are much easier to get. Finance cards are credit cards that are issued via a store or franchise and you can only use at that business. Some finance cards include Target and Best Buy.

The finance credit cards do not carry as much significance on your credit report as a major credit card will, but they are a good way to start out when establishing credit. It shows responsibility for a new card holder.  And if you still find it difficult to get a finance credit card you may want to consider a secured credit card.

Secured Cards

Secured credit cards are issued based upon a deposit you make in the amount of the credit limit. It may sound strange to some to pay $300 to get a credit limit for a $300 credit card, but a secured credit card can be a major impact on your credit report.

When applying for a secured credit card, keep two things in mind: that the card will still report your credit limit and, depending on the creditor, that the card will not show up as a secured credit card on your credit report.

Receiving a card that reports your credit limit is very important. This is because of the way credit scores are calculated. To score well, your debt ratio should be less than 30% on revolving accounts. If your secured credit card doesn’t report the credit limit, the credit report bureaus will use the total amount charged as the credit limit and this will look as though your debt ratio is 100%.

Additionally, it is extremely important to make sure your card is not reported as a secured credit card. If your credit card company reports your card as being a secured card, this will impact your credit score negatively.

Getting your first credit card can seem like a daunting task, but it isn’t. If you do your research and choose the best card for you and your lifestyle you will be approved before you know it.

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Discover the secrets for establishing or restoring credit, fast! Check out The Credit Secrets Bible today.

For those searching for a solution to making extra money and debt cures you need to think realistically about how to resolve these issues.  How can you make extra cash to become debt free and build your savings account up?  Here are some tips to help accomplish your goals;

1. Sell something on EBay.  In a recent survey, 1.5 million people said they supplement their income by selling items on eBay.  You can log on to their community first to get a feel for the kinds of fees that are involved, as well as the merchandise and pricing that are most popular.  Then you can go through your old trinkets and clothing you want to part with and try your hand at selling them online.  Additionally, you can purchase inexpensive items and garage sale gems to sell at a profit.

2. Cater dinners or homemade goods.  Start by contacting churches.  No state or local licenses are required IF you work on a small scale.  Promote yourself through local news and community papers, community boards and flyers.  Factor in the cost of ingredients, delivery and labor in your prices.  You can also contact businesses nearby that might be in need of catering services for office meetings.  If you need a place to develop your catering, speak with churches about renting out their kitchen or the fire house.

3. Start a personal concierge service. Offer your services to people in your neighborhood such as busy professionals or individuals with children to help them through their to-do lists.  Run errands like picking up the dry cleaning or grocery shopping.  Shop and wrap special gifts and deliver packages to the post office.  You can charge a flat rate or an hourly rate with incentives to drive traffic to your door.

Those are all ideas for the entrepreneur in you; however, also consider getting a part-time gig at the local mall or an office looking for extra help.  You must keep your goals in mind of ridding yourself of extra debt and setting objectives to get it done.  The longer you put off making a dent in that list of payables, the longer it will take to pay it off.

Have you recently been denied a loan, or a credit card? You may be in need of credit repair. Being turned down for credit is a hint that you probably have some negative entries on your credit report, which can happen in two circumstances.

You have either mismanaged your credit, which is now reflected in your credit report; or your credit file has some flawed information, hence negatively impacting your report. No matter which situation you find yourself, it is imperative that you embark on credit repair sooner than later.

To Do:

Here is an approach to assist with your credit repair.

• Start by requesting a copy of your credit report from any one of the 3 credit bureaus. Reports are free for your first request each year.
• Upon receiving your report, examine it closely. You must to study each account (also known as tradeline) and mark those which are incorrect damaging your credit value. Errors are more surprisingly common.
• After you have determined which tradelines are erroneous entries, you must contact the credit bureau and request deletions from your report.
• Even when you find some correct entries in your credit report, but the information is negative in nature, you can still try and have them removed. This goes a long way in ensuring positive credit repair. There is a time limit for which negative tradelines can remain on your credit report (usually between 7 and 10 years). If this time limit has passed, write to the credit bureaus and ask them to delete the negative items.
• Make certain all your correspondence with creditor and credit agencies is through registered mail. This way, you will have proof your requests was directed to them and also the date you initiated the process of your credit repair. Maintaining a record will help you such any deleted entry is re-included in your report in the future.

Side note: Some experts advice against sending certified or registered letters to the bureaus as this could potentially raise a red flag.

• The law allows 30 days for any action to take place. If the credit bureaus determine that the entries were wrong, they will delete the item from your report, hence helping bring the credit repair that you were after.

If the matter is not resolved to repair your credit, you should persist and challenge the negative items on your report.

What You Should Not Do:

Individuals with a low credit scores often try desperate means to repair their credit and hence end up hindering their credit even more. Here are some of the items you SHOULD NOT DO to repair your credit:

1. New Credit File or File Segregation: Many bogus credit repair companies entice people with false promises repairing bad credit by telling them they can create a new credit file. They promise a new credit identity. This is illegal and also known as file segregation.

2. The Ability to delete accurate information from credit report: Many credit repair companies claim to they can repair credit by getting accurate negative information deleted from their credit reports, thus improving their rating. Now, this is not guaranteed. You must first understand the process of getting information removed.

When you dispute the information on one of your tradelines, the credit bureau will contact that creditor listed on your report and ask them specific information about the tradeline. They contact them to verify the account. Sometimes, the creditor cannot verify the information for various reasons thereby allowing the credit bureau to remove the negative information. However, many times the creditor has kept good records and can verify the information. As you can see, it’s a gamble and nothing is guaranteed.

Thus, you should not trust anyone who tells you that they can repair bad credit by removing negative items from your credit report.

3. Advance Payments: Asking for advance payments for credit repair is illegal. They can only charge you for legitimate services that they have already provided. Do not be lured into any contract promising to repair your credit before any work has been done.

Many a homeowner has been unable to make a mortgage payment lately. It’s a national plague and you must work quickly to fix it before it spirals out of control. If you are facing the losing end of a foreclosure, stop and begin your path to a solution.

Try a broker. If you cannot pay your mortgage and face losing your home and abusing your credit, a quick sell might be the answer. A real estate broker will be able to give you a clear picture of your options.

If you have abundant property, sell an easement. You give up a little land but increase your financial outlook. Which is better? A Foreclose on your home or selling off a ¼ of an acre?

Place your property up for sale on a ‘rent to own’ basis. Prospective buyers would need a down payment big enough to cover your mortgage debt. This saves your credit score and you will still reap the benefits.

As soon as you see trouble looming, refinance BEFORE you get knee deep into trouble.

If this is revenue generating property, search for investors to sell a share of the property.

If this isn’t revenue generating property, still search for investors and sell shares of the property. All properties can be rented NO MATTER WHAT. The government provides Section 8 housing funds to those unable to afford housing. This is a sure bet if you need to rent in a hurry.

This should be the second thing you do! Negotiate with your lender as soon as you realize you are in trouble. Many mortgage lenders will allow you to alter the contract and negotiate new payment arrangements.

This should be the first thing you do! Don’t get behind in your payments. This is obvious but many homeowners say it’s unavoidable with today’s economy.

Not all homeowners facing foreclosure are financially irresponsible. The recession has caused budget shortages, inflation of prices and a huge job loss. Now is the time everyone should come together and find the best solution to this nation’s epidemic.

Part 1 of the World of Credit Cards explained bank credit cards and how they work. The easiest credit card to attain is travel and gas cards.

Travel, Gas and Department Chain Credit Cards

These cards are easier to qualify for. Similar to bank credit cards however consumers can charge purchases at various gas and convenience stores. However, they are different from bank credit cards because they are offered directly by the companies and not via the bank lender.

Travel and Entertainment related venues once widely accepted these cards. Some places such as airlines, hotels, restaurants and car rentals widely accepted these cards and still do today accept with broader guidelines. Nowadays, other establishments, such as department stores and gas stations, accept them. Like any bank card, the typical travel and entertainment card of today offers the menu of features that most credit card holders have come to expect.

Another major difference among these cards is, they do not carry an extended line of credit. Meaning, upon receiving your monthly credit card statement, you will be required to pay your outstanding balances in full.

A house card is accepted only at specific stores or stores within the same chain. Retail credit cards are one of the largest types of credit cards; major store chain card issuers include department stores, gas and convenience stores, and a few telephone companies. The Discover Card, once owned by Sears, was the most well-known chain store card until it was purchased by a banking institution.

Merchants view these credit cards as an advantageous marketing platform. These cards help to assemble customer allegiance and improve their sales; Just like a bank credit card, a house or chain card provides you with a line of credit. This credit limit will vary depending on your past credit history and current creditworthiness. These cards offer a revolving line of credit and you can pay a minimum on your balance each month.

All credit cards will carry an interest rate which will add on additional costs to the consumer. If you carry a number of credit cards, you may want to consider discarding of some (but don’t close the accounts!) and saving you some money in the long run.

If you are the type who pays your entire balance each month and does not carry a balance, you can probably qualify for a credit card with no annual fees. However, as with everything, read the fine print and pay close attention to dates. Banks are known for increasing fees and interest rates after a specified time.

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Discover places to find easy-to-get credit cards to help restore your credit and raise your credit score. Check out the Credit Secrets Bible today.