Credit rating repair is a relatively new field and has been fuelled by just how difficult it can be in this economy to obtain credit. The loops and hoops people have to jump through – on top of the massive deposit they need to save, means people can’t afford for bad credit to stand in their way – particularly when they suspect it shouldn’t be there in the first place. If you are one of those brokers or prospective borrowers who are unsure whether credit rating repair is a legitimate option for you or your clients – we might be able to alleviate some concerns.

By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs and www.fixmybadcredit.com.au.

15 COMMON CONCERNS WE HEAR EVERY DAY AS CREDIT REPAIRERS…

1. Does the debt need to be paid?

As we are an evidence based firm, it doesn’t matter if the debt was paid or unpaid. The service is in looking for whether the listing was legitimate or not rather than necessarily appeasing a creditor’s request for payment initially.

2. Won’t just paying the listing allow me (or my client) to obtain finance without needing credit repair?

Most clients believe that paying the default or judgment will “make it all right again” only to find out that a PAID default is almost as bad as an UNPAID default to many lenders. Only a CLEAN credit rating will ensure your options are not unnecessarily limited.

3. When can a listing be removed from my credit file?

If a listing has been placed correctly, it cannot be legitimately removed. However, in as many as 91.7% of cases the listings HAVE NOT been placed correctly and in accordance with legislation and are successfully removed.

4. If the creditor says “no” is their decision final?

Most definitely NOT! In fact in most cases, the Creditor will say No, No, and No again…this is why most times it is difficult for an individual to dispute their own credit listing themselves. The difference in using a credit rating repairer is based on our thorough knowledge of credit reporting legislation and industry legislation, we go about proving that the Creditor has NOT complied with the legislation and the default has been placed unlawfully and requires immediate removal.

5. Is a default with a small debt amount easier to remove?

Unfortunately this is not always the case. The dollar value of the debt makes very little difference – there can be just as much work in removing a small debt as a large one – as in most cases it is about doing the work to show unlawful placement of a credit listing. This is why MyCRA does not charge per debt amount. Because as you may already know – defaults for as little as $100 can stop someone from getting a home loan.

We use a tried and tested system that has seen the successful removal of defaults from $100 to one at $750,000.00.

6. Can you provide a time frame on removal?

We’d love to say that all creditors follow the rules and comply with our requests within the legislated timeframes but hey, we’re here because in so many cases they DON’T comply.

In most cases the delays are directly attributable to further non-compliance by a creditor – we can never know how long they’ll take to respond. The best anyone can do is give average timeframes.

7. What are the average time frames?

We have removed listings anywhere from 12 hours and 23 minutes (business hours) right through to almost a year.
On average, we let clients know they should aim for 45 – 60 days. But of course this is no guarantee, as every case is different, and we don’t know how long it will take until we actually get the word that we’ve got the creditor to agree to remove that listing.

8. How do I measure the costs involved?

We like to think we offer excellent value with our rock solid commitment to ride the creditor (as much as we legally can) until ALL possible avenues are fully investigated to the maximum extent commercially open to us. Like a dog with a bone, we don’t give up. If you were to engage a Lawyer at say $350 per hour, it’d cost more than $5200 per default and still have no guarantee of success, so yes, we’re great value.

Some people feel if there listing is only a small $$ value listing, that it should be easy and cheap to have it removed. The process for removal often includes Legislative Compliance Officers reviewing hundreds of pages of documents for each separate default listing and then comparing them to more than 2000 pages of legislation looking for that one (sometimes very small) point that would deem the listing unlawful and require its immediate removal. Our fees are fixed so there is no risk of them “blowing out” no matter how many hours we work on the case.

To look at costs in another way, you can compare them with the amount you would pay in interest on a non-conforming loan.

If you were to enter a non-conforming loan of $350,000 on a 30-year term at 9%, versus a standard loan at 7%, you would be up for an additional $487.62 per month. Over the first three years of the loan, that adds up to a staggering $17,554.34 just in interest alone – without taking into account set up fees etc. You can verify this and measure it against our costs here on the  MyCRA Credit Repair Calculator

What can be removed???

9. Can you remove commercial listings?

Yes – we’ve had great success in removing commercial listings. Though a point to remember is that as there’s much less legislation protecting businesses, so in some cases it can take a bit longer.

10. Can City Council Judgments be removed from my credit file?

City council judgments can and do get regularly removed and in almost all cases, the process is sped up by our dedicated Judgment and Court Action Legislative Compliance Officers and full-time in house Legal Counsel.

11. Can you remove credit card listings from my credit file?

Credit Card listings are just like any other listing and can be removed as easily as any other.

12. If I have paid the listing, does that mean it can’t be removed because I have effectively claimed fault?

In a large number of the clients we help, many didn’t know they had an actual default until they were refused further credit. They may have had a rough spot or a disagreement with their creditor over the bill but it was all sorted out, the bill was paid and the client moved on. There still may be grounds for removal in many situations, and paid listings are removed just as regularly as any other listing type.

13. If there is an unpaid amount, wouldn’t the creditor refuse to remove my listing?

The creditor may not WANT to remove an unpaid listing, but if the creditor has not complied with the legislation relating to that default type, they have no choice – it MUST be removed.

14. Can a discharged bankruptcy be removed from my credit file?

Any acts of Bankruptcy, which include Part IX and Part XIIII Debt Agreements, are controlled by ITSA (Insolvency Trustee Service Australia) and the Acts of Bankruptcy are permanently recorded on the NPII (National Personal Insolvency Index). We do not remove bankruptcies.

15. Do Default and Judgment removals follow the same process?

We have developed very specialised proprietary systems for Court Judgment, Court Writ, Default, Clear-out and Overdue Account Listings. While many of the processes are similar in that legislation needs to be complied with, the Judgment Process stands out as being VERY different.

We hope we have helped answers most of your common concerns. If you have any questions not covered here, please call one of our friendly and very helpful Credit Repair Advisors on 1300 667 218 for a no obligation chat. You can also find out more by visiting our main website www.mycra.com.au.

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