Tag Archive | "credit limit"

Dirty Tricks by Credit Card Companies

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It is no more a hidden truth that scammers are ready to take your money away by false claims. Luckily, customers can file complaint against such fraud companies and the FTC will take strong actions against these companies. Here are some examples of the actions which were taken by FTC against scam credit companies.

FTC’s Actions against CompuCredit

Traps of Credit Card Companies

CompuCredit is a credit card company and it issues credit cards such as credit cards for people having poor credit. FTC charged this company, here are them:

This company was deceiving its customers for Visa credit cards. The Visa cards include the Aspire Visa credit card and the Aspen credit card. This company was marketing these credit cards for subprime credit customers. In their marketing they told that their customer will get a credit card with $300 credit limit without any up-front fee. In reality, this company was charging a fee of $185 without disclosing this fee to its customers. This fee includes:

  • One time application charge
  • One time application processing charge
  • An annual charge
  • Monthly maintenance charge

Apart from it, CompuCredit was also proclaiming its Visa credit card to customers having slightly higher credit scores, with the available credit of over $3,250. CompuCredit remained unable to reveal that the half of this amount would be withheld for the first three months. It also remained unable to reveal that it will keep a check on the customer’s purchases for first three months.

The worse deceptive act of the CompuCredit was the marketing of a Visa credit card for customers having charged-off debt. According to their marketing, the old debt balance of their credit card will be immediately transferred to the card and reporting to consumer reporting agencies that it is paid in full amount. The enrolled customers didn’t receive Visa card until they paid 25 to 50% of their charged-off debt.

FTC Actions against Credit Repair Firms

FTC took notice of the deceptive proclaiming and false business practices which was being made by credit repair firms. FTC raided 33 credit repair firms. Few of the false claims which these firms were making are as follows:

1: They were claiming that they can eliminate the accurate and negative errors from their customers’ credit report. It wasn’t true in most cases. A common thing is the bankruptcy which lasts for at least ten years on your credit report.

2: They were charging the up front fee without providing any service. They were collecting fee before providing credit repair services to their customers.

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10 Best Credit Card Managing Tips

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There are certain rules for both the issuer and holder of credit card. These rules are applied in 2010 and are followed very strictly by the lending companies as well as by the card holders. The basic rule for the issuer of credit card is that it can not change the rate of interest and fees structure. All transactions will be done under signed agreement.

Authority of Card Issuer

Credit Cards

Those companies who are providing credit card facility can apply changes to the account of the card holder according to the signed agreement. Issuer can change the rate of interest if your credit score drops. This happens because of the card holder’s change in behavior of transactions. If you minimize the usage of your card, it will decrease your credit score. Credit issuer can also close your account after a short notice.

Maintaining Good Credit Score

One can maintain a very good credit score by following the terms and conditions and by paying the borrowed amount in time. Do not close your account unnecessarily.

Tips for Managing Credit Card in 2010

Following are some tips that will help you to manage your credit card in 2010;

1. Pay off Holiday Purchases in Time

Try to avoid outstanding balances for a long time. These balances creates negative image of your account. Try to save more money in your account and make your credit score good. According to the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, or CARD Act, card issuer has the rite to charge interest on the outstanding balances of your account. So of the balance is more, you will be paying more interest.Try your best to maintain a very low out standing balance to avoid extra payment as interest. Also focus on your credit limit. Never cross your limit to maintain a good credit score.

2. Check Credit Card Mails

According to the CARD Act, it is the duty of the card issuer to inform the card holder about the changes and credit score of the account.

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6 Ways to Avoid Checking Accounts Fees

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Normally many banks are charging different fees for checking accounts and people are not in the condition to pay extra and more for the checking accounts. There are many ways through which you can save fee against checking accounts. Following are six ways to save you from fee against checking accounts.

1. Pay for those services that you really need

It is very important to find out that what you need and what you do not need. Select and pay for those services which you need. If you need just simple ATM, bill pay or debit card transactions, try to find a bank that provides such services for free. Do not pay fee against every item. Try to find a bank which provides you a package with fewer fees.

2. Use online banking and check out the differences on internet

Normally there are many types of checking accounts. Search internet and find difference in rates of different accounts. Many banks also offers free services if you use more banking services. Do not open more than one account if there is no need of that account to save more money which the banks charge against different services.

3. High yield accounts so that you can maintain very low balance

Normally banks deduct a fee if you are not maintaining the balance that was decided at the time of opening account. There are some high-yield checking accounts that allow you to maintain a very low balance but there are some requirements that you have to accept, such as using a debit card for 10 or 15 transactions per month, having a monthly direct deposit or automatic bill payment, and accepting electronic statements. You can select such option if it suits you. Read the full story

Seven Steps To Improve Your Fico Score

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Credit reports are extremely important for your financial well being as they will surely be considered each time you get a car loan, mortgage or credit card.

credit score

The application process requires a complete review of your credit report and most importantly, your FICO score. You might not give this number much attention but for lenders, it is the biggest determining factor that helps them decide whether you are eligible for creditor not,for the what interest rate you will receive.

Thus in order to increase your chances of receiving the loan or credit card, you will have to maintain the highest FICO score possible, which is possible if you follow the following steps.

1. Go through your credit report when applying for a new loan or credit card. Check for any type of errors or incorrect information.

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9 Tips for Using Business Credit Cards

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Nowadays credit cards are mostly preferred  by the small business owners that are in search for short-term loans.

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Unluckily, during these days the tightening credit environment has also led to tighter terms for business credit cards, and the standards for approval for new credit cards have become more tough.

If you’re a small business owner, then what are those ways by which you can take advantage of the benefits of credit cards and at the same time avoid their pitfalls?

Tips for using Business Credit Cards

Below I have given nine tips to use business credit cards in a tight economy.

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How To Raise Your Credit Score

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A credit score, together with credit history, determines whether you are eligible for a loan or not. If you successfully maintain a high credit score, you’ll be allowed to have the best credit cards, the lowest interest rates, and you won’t face any difficulty while finding financing for large purchases such as auto loans or home mortgages.

raise credit score

Most of the people are always worried about their credit score, and are constantly looking for ways to increase their score. Although it’s not really important to have a perfect score, or a credit score over 800, it is important to maintain a good score for several reasons.

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Borrowers, Lenders See Alternative To Banks In Person-to-Person Loans

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Due to the recent economic problems, banks have become extremely careful and rigid in giving out loans. Most of the banks have tightened the grip on borrowers,  canceling home-equity loans and cutting limits on credit cards. This has opened a new way for Americans who are now turning to a timeless source of credit: one another.

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Nowadays, person-to-person lending, facilitated by Web-based companies, is becoming increasingly popular. Due to tightened credit situation prevailing, person-to-person lending has turned into an attractive alternative.

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Is Paying Off Your Credit Card Debt Important In This Economy?

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Everyone wants to live a debt-free life without any tensions. It has always been important to pay off your debt but recently the times have changed.

how to pay your debt

 

Your first priority of paying off your credit card debt may have stepped down a bit. Nowadays, the credit card companies have many people trapped and their rules and conditions keep on changing to keep them that way. Its about time you rearranged your list of priority an gave something else, which is more important, the first priority.

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Top Four Credit History Blunders

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Your credit score may be the ultimate factor that decides whether you will or will not get a small loan for your business, or a mortgage for a house or any other kind of loan. Therefore it is necessary to keep your financial record clean and you must do everything in your power to keep it error free. Although many different factors contribute towards your credit score, but these are some of the biggest mistakes you won’t want to take to the bank.

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1. Don’t max out your credit card

Try not to go beyond or near your credit limits, especially on multiple cards as it gives banks and lenders the impression that you’re living off of your credit cards, and you are unlikely to be able to pay them back. Ideally, you should never carry more than 30% of your available limit on any credit card.

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Understanding Your Credit Score

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The first thing that is checked when you apply for a credit of any sort is your credit score. Although all of us may not know what a credit score means, but be sure that we all are rated by it and the credit score decides every offer we receive. Thus understanding your credit score is of utmost importance, and for future reference at least basic knowledge should be acquired.

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How is a Credit Score Calculated?

Credit score is computed as an average of several elements from your credit report. This report is typically broken into five different sections and each of these sheets will represent a piece of the final score.

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