Credit Report Ratings

Credit Report Ratings questions and answers

Learn about Credit Report Ratings at SaysUncle Online Learning.

Q: Can landlords report negative ratings on my credit report?
I am trying to get out my lease for financial reasons I sent two letters to my landlord and she never replied. I called last night and left a messege. My lease states that I have to request in writing if I want to terminate my lease. I am guessing she is ignoring me. However I have to move or I'll be paying rent late for the next 4 months. I have 6 months left on my lease I was wondering if she'll report this on my credit report. If so is it the standard report like Transunion, Experian

A: The only way your pay history would be put on your credit report is if she evicts your or puts a judgment on your credit report. If you move out and owe the landlord money and don't attempt to pay it off, then chances are it will end up as a judgment on your credit.

Q: What gives employers the right to make decisions based on your credit report?
When you apply for a job, employers do a background check. I have no problem with that. BUT, what gives them the right to check your credit reports, ratings etc. THAT is an invasion of privacy. This practice needs to be addressed by the lazy ass politicians. Just because you have bad credit, it does NOT mean you are a risk.

A: You have to give them permission to pull your credit. A lot of companies do not care. but some do - like a finance company for instance. If you are applying for a job that gives you access to valuable property or classified material they wouldn't want someone with marginal finances because of the temptation to sell company stuff in order to make yourself solvent.

Q: can those prepaid visa cards that they advertise on tv be used to get postive ratings on credit report?
trying to repair/salvage my credit can i apply for a card that reports to the 3 credit bureaus? cant get any from department stores at this time so i was hoping that prepaid was the way to go(specifically) the rush visa card from russell simmons

A: Rhanda, Do yourself a favor and don't worry about getting a CC to build credit. Too many people rely on CC to buy instead of saving up for what they need. I used to have $10,000 in CC debt and it wasn't worth it. I don't know how it even got that high. Little by little it just started building up. Please pay cash for everything you need or want. It can be done.

Q: How do you get bad credit ratings off of your report that have been on it for over 15 years?
I thought that after 7 or 10 years the creditors legally had to remove the negative credit rating and stop harrassing me.

A: There are factors that need to be taken into consideration. Has it been 15 years since you last paid, or since the debt was obtained? If it has been, contact each of the credit bureaus and put in a dispute. www. equifax.com www.transunion.com www.experian.com Next, re creditors harrassing you. Please use the link below. It outlines the statute of limitations for debt by state. It also tells you how to deal with the creditors. http://www.bcsalliance.com/y_debt_sol.html Hope this answers your questions.

Q: where can u get a free, secure credit ratings report?


A: Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com It is free and endorsed by the US Federal Trade Commission.

Q: Is it true that bad ratings come off your credit report after 7 years?
From what date are the 7 years calculated? Once the time has passed will they automatically be taken off or will i have to something to make sure they will come off. What if they are charged off accounts that were never paid, do those come off too? Im currently trying to rebuild my credit and my score is 610...i have a whole bunch of charge offs that will be coming off in the next 2 years...the only currentl credit I have is 4 student loans that ive been paying religiously...any other tips on how to raise my score....

A: The reporting statute of limitations (SOL) for credit cards starts to run the first time you became 30 days late and never brought the account current leading to the charge off. That is called the compliance date. The length of time it runs is 7 years from that date. A side note here for others that may question what I just stated: Many people mistakenly believe that it is 7 years from the date of last activity (DOLA) which is 6 months after the compliance date. The FTC opinion is what I had stated above. They 'allow' that extra 6 months (from compliance date to the DOLA) for bureau and data furnisher error leeway. But while the FTC allows that, they still hold the opinion that the 7 years starts from the compliance date. Ok, with that being said, before you start disputing anything, you really need to check the collecting SOL for your state. If you are still within SOL and start disputing, you may 'wake' the collectors up. If you are out of the collecting SOL, opt out first and update your personal information on your reports. Keep in mind that even if you are out of your states SOL for collecting on those debts, the collection agencys can still try to collect. They cannot legally sue you if you are out of SOL, but they can call or write to you about the debts. Generally, if they do try to collect after you are out of SOL, a debt validation letter followed by a SOL letter will make them stop. Not always though. To find your compliance date, your reports will either give you the DOLA or a short sentence stating when it will come off, count back 6 months from those dates. You can try to dispute the charge offs as obsolete when they are close to the 6 month mark of falling off. Many times when an account gets that much age on it, it will be deleted rather than verified and remaining. Yes both paid charge offs and unpaid charge offs are treated the same as far as the reporting period. Have I confused you yet? lol As for rebuilding your credit, 610 is a workable score for some cards. Of course that would depend on how many charge offs you have and the amount on them. For major credit cards, you may have to start with a secured card. I would suggest going to the Bank of America, Orchard Bank and HSBC websites and do the card selector that they have. By doing the card selector, they will not pull a hard inquiry unless you actually apply for a recommend card. Keep in mind that even if a card is recommended, you can still be denied. As for store cards, you might try Chevron/Texaco and Walmart. Chevron/Texaco has a rebuilder card, if you don't qualify for the regular gas card they may offer the rebuilder card. Walmart is fairly easy, most of the time. But you will probably start off with a pretty low limit - $75.00. They are very good with credit increases every 4 months. But to get those increases, you would have to make a charge each month and pay it off. It doesn't matter if the charge you make is $5.00 (or less) as long as you create a good payment history. You might go to the site I've listed and start in the newbie forum and then do some reading in the credit forum. You can learn more about disputing with the bureaus, how to rebuild your credit, more about the collecting SOL on your charge offs etc.

Q: Having mixed credit ratings on your credit report: Is this just as bad as it ALL being bad or no?
I have 6 items on my report: One is an I0- best rating for installments One is an r3 - 3rd best Two are r9s WORST rating ( sent them both the minumum payment today- will that help?? ) and ONE is the public records for a collection from some stupid gym that tricked me into a contract anyways Ive been paying that r3 one now every month Im wondering how long til it goes to an r2 or will it ever? Also the r9s can I improve them and if any improve will that look better or since the r9s and that collections is on there will it just all look bad? I meant I1 for the installment hehe I'm asking: If I have SOME OK or good ratings even though most are the worst ratings possible is that better than just having all r9s or does it pretty much just all look bad?

A: Generally because you don't have a lot of credit, yes, it looks bad. However, it is workable. If you have the income to support it, you must start by paying more than the minimums. Paying the minimum is basically only paying on the interests on the card, You are not even touching the principal by just making minimum payments. With have of your credit being bad, that is where I would obviously start to rebuild in those areas. Start making more payments, (higher) payments. The collection can be taken care of in installments usually if you work out arrangements with the collection agency. If you are at the point of working with the collection agency, stick with it! They will run immediately to court once you have shown them any indication of delinquency of payment. Stay in contact and communicate any changes in income, payments, etc. Again, they will take the matter to court. If you have recently filed your taxes, consider take some of your refund to invest in the repair of your credit. In the long run, it will pay-off! Sooner or later, bad credit catches up with you, and leaves you defenseless. Whether you are trying to purchase a home, open a new bank account, or buy a new car. With all the dishonesty out there, "Some" car dealer may work out a deal with you, but at what cost? Literally, at what cost? Because simply put, your credit score, and your fico scores determine how much a loan or credit cards in "Interest" will cost you. Good Luck!!

Q: I have a credit report rating of 840. I didn't think they went that high. How high the ratings go?
I just paid on time and use on-line paying my bills. I also would dispute everything that was incorrect and I don't have credit cards that are over 50% filled and I pay more then my minimum on them and I pay a small extra on my monthly mortgage twords principal.

A: it goes up to 850. hey man that is awesome. Wish I had credit like that. why dont you go to my website and apply for a credit card http://creditcardwarehouseonline.com http://creditcardwarehouse.ecreditdirectory.com/

Q: can you remove settled accounts from your Credit Report - or have you to wait 6 years?
Im trying to get my finances in order and notice on my credit report I have a number of settled accounts, but it says they remain there until 6 years. I wonder does this affect my credit ratings as it looks like I have lots of accounts

A: If you have paid them what you owed in full, there is very little you can do IF what's on there is accurate. (my answer assumes you are referring to negative entries) The trick is to negotiate with your creditors BEFORE you pay them. At that point you have leverage. Once you pay them you don't. They only care about getting paid. The company probably bought the debt for 25 cents on the dollar, so everything about 25% of the total debt is profit for them. ALL they care about is getting paid the threat of a negative credit post is their leverage against you. They really don't care about posting on your credit report as long as they get paid. if you have any uppaid debts or debts not paid in full then write, fax or email (that is better than phone for history purposes). Offer to pay the debt in full in exchange for their written guarantee to not post anything on your credit report with all 3 bureaus. Get that written confirmation BEFORE paying them. It works every time. All credit posts (both good and bad) stay on your report for 7 years from the date it was last updated. Most agencies are pretty good about removing entries once they cross that mark, but it doesn't hurt to check.

Q: How do companies merge credit ratings of married people?
I was looking over my wife's credit report and saw a medical bill that was mine (it happened since we have been married). I figured since it was in my name it should only be on my credit report, but then I wondered if it made a difference and how do credit companies blend to two different reports to make one for both of us when deciding on credit.

A: They dont. If a debt of yours is on her report, she needs to file a dispute, and have it removed. The only exception would be if the health insurance is in her name.

Q: Why do the three credit reporting agencies exist? Why doesn't the government collect credit ratings?
Why do these credit reporting agencies have access to our most private info?

A: You'd rather put it in the hands of the government, as if big brother isn't big enough?

Q: Paying Banking Fee's - Can this affect credit reports/Ratings?
My pal gets a fee every month for going over his overdraft but i caught him this week taking out the last of his money because a fee was due to be taken out the next day so it did not get paid. he has a full time job and the fee is paid off at the end of the month (2 weeks after the fee is taken) i am just wondering if this would affect his credit rating and report or whether or not it is shown on his credit report. he keeps moaning how he cant get credit and wondering if this is why.

A: Yes, this can affect your credit rating and actually they can close his account and send what ever he owe to collections. Also, banks have this list where if they put your name on it that means you have taken out more monies than you actually had and other banks will see your name on it and it will take longer for your checks to clear that you deposit if you go to another bank. I know because, it's happen to me. Bank of America put me back on the right track when I came to them. It was like a kid moving back home....smile.

Q: Why are all companies allowed access to your credit report? What can be done to limit access?
In todays world it seems as long as you pose as a business you can access information on anyone you want. I know credit reporting agencies say that this doesn't affect your ratings, but it seems like it does. Any business can see your report and credit scores, but you can't see your own without paying. Why is that?

A: First, businesses don't have access to your credit file unless you give them permission. Second, businesses pay to see your credit report; you get a copy for free every year. Third, credit bureaus are in another business that screens pre-approved offers and mailing lists, without actually giving out your information. You can contact th bureaus an opt out of these screenings.

Q: How long do negative things stay on your credit report?
I heard it was 7 years. Do these things automatically drop from your credit report, even if they were never addressed or resolved? How does this work? Does it work the same for all negative ratings. Is bankruptcy, foreclosures, evictions, and repossessions, all treated the same, when it comes to removing them?

A: Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act (Federal law) derogatory accounts show for 7-years from the date of first delinquency which normally works out to 7-years and 180-days. They should drop off by themselves after this time line expires but if they don't all you have to do is dispute them with the credit bureaus and they will be removed. Bankruptcy's show for 10-years if they are chapter 7 and 7-years if they are chapter 13. The only thing that differs would be a judgment they show for either 7-years or until the statute of limitations runs out whichever is longer so this varies by State and in some States judgments can be renewed. As far as good accounts go they can show for as long as the lenders continue to report them, I have several on my reports that are well over 12-years old.

Q: Are Prepaid Mastercards , reported on your credit file - in order to improve credit ratings?
such as cashplus prepaid, The Virgin Prepaid MasterCard, not sure what the point to them over a debit card.

A: The first 2 posters are incorrect. The ONLY prepaid debit card that claims to report on credit because the monthly service charge is treated like an installment account is Eufora. Also, the UltraVX card is the first prepaid debit and secured credit hybrid card. I've posted links to both of these to support my findings.