MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: bad credit

  • Telcos may be forced to reign in their mobile roaming charges

    Going overseas? Often you are told to be wary about using your mobile in case you are charged for international roaming. And with good reason – many clients get what’s commonly called “bill shock” after returning from overseas. But it was announced last week that the government is cracking down on these charges. We look at what this means for you and your credit file.

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

    Recently we gave you a breakdown of things to look out for with your credit file when traveling. In this blog post, titled How An Overseas Trip Can See You With Bad Credit we looked at ways in which you could be at risk of getting a bad credit rating when traveling overseas. Number 3 on the list of ways you can cop bad credit on an overseas trip was phone charges:

    Many phone companies charge you extra for calls you make and receive while you are o/s. Call your telco provider and make sure you know all the facts before you take your phone on a holiday with you. It might be better to get an overseas phone or SIM for your trip instead.

    We help a number of clients who have had a default or other credit listing placed on their credit file during or after the course of a bill dispute following what customers call “excessive” “outrageous” and “unfair” mobile roaming charges which see them with whopping phone bills they either can’t pay or refuse to pay.

    But it seems telcos may soon be forced to reduce their mobile roaming charges.

    The Australian reports in its story New Move to Cut Mobile Roaming Charges,that the Australian and New Zealand governments have combined to stop telcos on both sides of the Tasman from hitting travellers with excessive mobile roaming fees.

    Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and New Zealand Communications Minister Amy Adams today released a draft report that looks at ways to cut charges and improve transparency.

    “The draft report makes it clear that telecommunications companies are stinging consumers on trans-Tasman mobile roaming charges and that their profit margins are excessive,” Senator Conroy told reporters in Canberra.

    The findings have already prompted the federal government to protect Australians travelling further abroad.

    The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has been told to create an industry standard for mobile roaming so charges for call, text messages, internet surfing are transparent.

    Senator Conroy said the standard should be in place within a year.

    “One of the most common complaints that I hear is from people who return from overseas and are confronted by a mobile phone bill that runs into the hundreds or even thousands of dollars,” he said.

    Both Ministers said the frequency of travel between nations highlights the need for common and reasonable pricing for international roaming.

    They are now seeking feedback on the draft report from the telecoms industry, ahead of formulating their final responses.

    In the meantime, there are many who are currently facing these billing issues. The important thing to remember is – whenever any changes are made or agreements are reached, whether it be with your billing charges or your accounts, or when going overseas, you should always request things be sent to you in writing for confirmation.

    If you are worried about what may have been reported about you on your credit report, you are entitled to obtain a copy of your credit report for free from the credit reporting agencies in Australia (you can do this once every 12 months). A report will be mailed to you within 10 days of your request.

    If you think a default on your credit file is wrong, or you want to dispute your credit report, contact a professional credit repairer to discuss your suitability for credit repair. If the credit listing is incorrect, contains errors or just shouldn’t be there, a credit repairer can help prepare your case and give you the best chance of having the default or other mistake on your credit file completely removed so you can apply for credit with a clean slate. Contact a Credit Repair Advisor at MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs on 1300 667 218 or visit our main website www.mycra.com.au.

    Image: adamr/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Debt Struggles Plague Queenslanders and threaten their credit history

    Queensland is according to those in the know, still experiencing the economic implications of disaster following the recent floods. Ratings agency Fitch has released its latest study which still shows the State as the worst-performing in the nation. We look at why this may be occuring, and the ramifications of mortgage delinqency for the credit file.

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

    A mortgage ‘delinquency’ – is classified as such when a borrower is at least 30 days behind in repayments. According to Fitch, Queensland has more delinquencies than any other state in Australia.

    According to The Australian yesterday, Queensland has six out of the 10 worst-performing regions in the nation led by Ipswich, Gold Coast east and west, Logan City, Caboolture Shire and the Sunshine Coast, which has experienced major property market “volatility”.

    It also reports Queensland has the highest rate of 90-day delinquency in the country (mortgages about to default) – that rate is 0.78 per cent vastly more than the national average of 0.63 per cent.

    Fitch analyst James Zanesi said the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cuts in May and June would help ease the mortgage stress but the benefits were yet to be felt by home owners.

    Fitch estimates there is a four-month lag between rates being cut and troubled mortgages starting to improve.

    Mr Zanesi said the unemployment rate was one of the most important factors in directing the future of the property market and mortgage stress. The Fitch report showed the Western Australian market was performing well, with the state’s delinquency rate below the national average.

    According to a story Borrowers Struggling in tourism areas in the Brisbane Times, the large proportion of Queensland arrears also has to do with investment and tourism in sea-side suburbs along the east coast.

    Here is an excerpt from that story:

    RP Data research director Tim Lawless said the biggest falls in the ”lifestyle” market had occurred in Queensland and NSW.

    Prices of units in Cairns have fallen 22.2 per cent from their peak, while units on Victoria’s Surf Coast have lost 6.8 per cent.

    ”All these markets really have quite a similar performance in the sense that we’ve seen some material declines in values,” Mr Lawless said.

    The ongoing sharemarket slump has also choked off housing demand from some Australian retirees, many of whom have deferred plans to retire on the coast, he said.

    ”All those people that were aspiring to put their feet up at the Gold Coast and retire, a lot of them are rethinking because they’ve seen a halving of their share portfolio and their retirement savings aren’t what they used to be,” Mr Lawless said.

    The ongoing weakness in beachside regions suggests the poor performance of regional tourism is hurting the value of holiday home investments.

    On the Gold Coast, for instance, Fitch analyst James Zanesi said many of the borrowers who were falling behind on their repayments were investors, rather than owner-occupiers.

    ”When house prices are going down you might have a borrower who is trying to hold onto a home because they don’t want to make a loss.”

    For investors – a housing market slump can significantly hurt their chances of staying in the clear with their credit file. But it often comes down to decision making.

    When property prices go down and buyers are scarce, many struggle with repayments. Add perhaps a little drop in employment in an area meaning perhaps rental rates come down when more people choose to live where the work is, and you have a property worth less, with no tenant or rental returns less than than forecasted. Many investors feel they are in a no-win situation – so they figure the best thing to do is wait and cross their fingers for improvement.

    But just as I advise families struggling to make repayments on their residential home – burying your head in the sand about debts is never the safest option.
    Anyone whose mortgage has gone into arrears has a serious problem if they can’t make the repayments. They have to look the situation square in the face – without pride getting in the way and make some tough decisions on what to do next.

    For investors, it might mean cutting their losses and selling for less – yes less than what they purchased the home for. If the alternative is to suffer bad credit from mortgage arrears – then it can often be the kindest option. When the opportunity arises they can easily re-enter the property investment market without any credit blemishes. If they wait around for the bank to take the home, not only will there be defaults against their name, but there could also be a bigger debt from the bank once costs are incurred.

    For those families struggling to pay the mortgage on their residential home, it is a similar issue. If the reason for arrears is simply due to unemployment or illness, the family needs to contact their lender and attempt to work out a variation on their repayments – preferably prior to any arrears – and certainly prior to a default. See more on how to apply for a financial hardship variation with your lender.

    If the problem gets bigger, less temporary, then the best thing for them could be to sell. It is certainly preferential to going Bankrupt and having their credit history scarred for life. It is also better than facing 5 to 7 years without access to credit through having a default or similar listing noted on their credit rating.

    Defaults – which are noted after a repayment is more than 60days in arrears effectively destroy a person’s credit rating for 5 years. They are not only refused a home loan, but most mainstream credit including mobile phone plans. It’s pretty serious.

    Anyone who is finding it hard to meet mortgage repayments should contact creditors and attempt to work out a payment plan.

    Most banks want to work with people to help them out of a rough patch. But if they fail to contact, and fail to pay, they will be defaulted.

    Image: Kittikun Atsawintarangkul/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image 2: jscreationzs/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • New Credit laws passed Parliament yesterday which may protect those who need it most

    It’s not the long awaited comprehensive credit reporting, but it is the Consumer Credit Legislation Amendment (Enhancements) Bill 2012 passed by Parliament yesterday and waiting for Royal Assent. The reforms will among other things, alter laws around financial hardship, and put the first national cap on payday loans – which should assist those people who are struggling with credit and access to credit. We look at what this Bill will and won’t do for people on the fringe, or people who are under hardship, and what the implications will be in terms of their credit file and maintaining a good credit rating.

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

    For someone who is struggling with debt, keeping your head just above water and avoiding defaults is the best thing you can do for yourself. This is why the ‘streamlining’ of laws around financial hardship is so important. For someone who is suffering temporary hardship to be able to discuss alternative arrangements with their lender other than being hit with a default on their credit file is so vitally important because if they are unable to secure a hardship variation, the consequences can be dire – which starts with defaults, and can end with more debt and defaults.

    The consequences of having a negative credit listing, whether that be a default, a Judgment, a writ or a Clearout is generally a ‘lock-down’ of mainstream credit services for the term of the listing which is between 5 and 7 years. Once that lower-interest option is no longer available to you, it’s time to seek aid in other areas, especially in times of emergency. So that is where the payday lenders come in, or non-conforming lenders in the mortgage marketplace. These lenders have a bigger ‘risk’ because you may have a bad credit record, so they charge more in interest to offset that risk.

    The Government has decided to crack down on payday lenders and cap their interest rates. Minister for Financial Services Bill Shorten said in a statement to the media yesterday, that these reforms will stop loan sharks from exploiting vulnerable Australians:

    “These laws will place reasonable limits on what lenders can charge. The cap on costs appropriately balances consumer protection while still allowing lenders a return that is commercial.”

    “The Gillard Government has moved to reduce the financial harm caused by lenders who ruthlessly impose excessive fees and charges simply because vulnerable consumers cannot obtain alternative access to credit. These reforms continue the Gillard Government’s ongoing commitment to deliver a fair go for all Australians,” explained Mr Shorten.

    The Enhancements Bill introduces a cap for small amount credit contracts where the amount borrowed is $2000 or less, and the term is 1 year or less. For these loans the maximum any lender can charge is an establishment fee of 20 per cent of the amount of credit upfront and 4 per cent for each month of the loan. This provides for maximum charges of $72 on a loan of $300 over 1 month.

    The legislation will also introduce a number of other reforms according to Mr Shorten:

    • Applying a cap to other credit contracts based on the 48% cap currently in force in some Australian States. The Commonwealth cap addresses the range of avoidance techniques lenders currently have devised to avoid that cap.
    • Responsible lending obligations to address high risk conduct by small amount lenders.
    • For seniors who use reverse mortgages, greater certainty as to future outcomes when they enter into such contracts that the amount they are required to pay cannot exceed the value of the equity in their home (through a no negative equity guarantee).
    • Simplifying the procedures for borrowers to apply for a variation to their repayments on the grounds of financial hardship, as it is in the best interests of both parties to try and resolve these situations as quickly and simply as possible.

    Some objected to the Bill, saying the Government had effectively gone soft on the payday lenders.

    In The Australian, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the final version was so weak it could have been written by the loan sharks.

    As a credit repairer, I am of the view that any restriction on interest rate for pay day loans is a welcome move. But I see the bigger picture. Some people who are forced into these situations are there because the system has failed them. Not all defaults deserve to be there, but they all have the same outcome for prospective borrowers. They are banned from obtaining mainstream credit.

    Where people are getting let down is in copping the mistake in the first place, and also in the correction of the credit reporting mistake. Whilst the powers that be say that there is a legitimate avenue for correcting credit reporting mistakes for the individual, any consumer who has had the pleasure of dealing with a big company for even small issues will attest to the difficulty in getting a straight answer, getting someone who knows what they’re talking about first time, and ultimately correcting the mistake. This is a common complaint of many of our credit repair clients. Most people are told if it’s paid up they can mark it as such but that’s about it. It’s a bit like David and Goliath, and in the end many just go away believing they are in the wrong.

    So in an emergency situation, people who are stuck with bad credit must turn to payday loans. Including those people that aren’t able to obtain a hardship variation for their circumstances, and have a default or other negative listing placed on their credit file.

    So I do applaud the new laws, but it’s not over yet.

    I am still waiting to see how the new credit laws within the Privacy Amendment Bill will impact on the ease of correction of mistakes in credit reporting as well as how overdue payments are going to impact their ability to get mainstream credit before I hang my hat up and say that the Government has done all it can to help vulnerable consumers and give a ‘fair go for all Australians’.

    If you are struggling with obtaining credit after being defaulted, and you believe the listing may be incorrect or unjust in any way, consider credit repair as an option to get an expert on your side who can help permanently remove unlawfully placed Defaults, Writs, Judgments and Clear-outs from your credit file. Call a Credit Repair Advisor today on 1300 667 218 to discuss whether you might be a suitable candidate for credit repair.

    Image: Daniel St.Pierr/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Australian Privacy Foundation says new credit laws will work against consumers

    The Australian Privacy Foundation (APF) has come out swinging at the Federal Government’s proposed amendments to privacy legislation, which incorporates amendments to credit reporting law. During the Senate inquiry into the Privacy Amendments (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012, the APF slammed the new laws as a “lost opportunity” to improve privacy, and specifically credit reporting practices. We look at the APF’s comments and what consumers should be concerned about in terms of these new credit laws for the health of their credit file, and ability to obtain credit in the future.

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

    The APF’s comments appeared in a recent IT News article titled ‘Australian Privacy Foundation slams Privacy Amendments’.

    APF board member Nigel Waters told the Senate inquiry that the proposed bill would “significantly weaken” privacy protections for Australians and fail to meet current international best practice standards.

    “While we are impatient for reform, we sadly feel that there are so many flaws in this package that it should not be enacted,” Waters said.

    “It should be withdrawn for further work to address the many criticisms that have been made in submissions.”

    IT News says Waters’ argument to the inquiry closely followed those made by the organisation in its written submission to the Senate committee, in which the APF accused the Government of cherry-picking recommendations from a 2008 inquiry into privacy reform.

    Here is more from this story:

    The APF was especially critical of amendments to the credit reporting regime, which the organisation said could be used against consumers, rather than helping to meet responsible lending obligations.

    Richard Glenn, assistant secretary at the Attorney-General Department’s business and information law branch, told the Senate inquiry earlier that morning that the revised regime would give credit providers “a greater richness” of information from which to make judgements about whether a person is eligible for credit.

    But Waters said the provisions would only accrue a “major loss of financial privacy for uncertain benefit”.

    “Although it will help in some ways, the balance, we fear, will be detrimental to consumers,” he said.

    Members of the financial industry called on the Government to delay the introduction of the credit reporting regime until later than the September 2013 deadline currently expected, for fear of being unable to become compliant with included requirements.

    Whilst I am in favour of any new laws which will facilitate an ease of correction of credit reporting mistakes, I have echoed the concern over the “loss of financial privacy” many times. One aspect I have maintained concern about is the additional information which will be made available to lenders in the form of late payment notations.

    It seems ludicrous to give Creditors more powers to effect a credit rating in the form of late payment notations (especially when those notations may not be subject to the same rules as an official credit listing would be) when they are having trouble getting credit reporting right as it stands now.

    Late payment notations will be added to credit files by licenced creditors even if a bill is one day late. The notation will remain on the consumer’s credit file for 2 years. See more in this story: Access Denied… How late payments may ruin your home loan application.

    In this post I urge consumers to be on their guard with this new type of bad credit – late payments – and I predict it will have an impact on those people that otherwise should qualify for a loan.

    Initially lenders will probably err on the side of caution, particularly if the economy isn’t great and adopt a policy of exclusion rather than inclusion to the credit market.

    Many people will take a big gulp when they think about all the bills they have paid late – often more through accident than not having the money – which could now see their loan declined. Who says how many is too many late bill payments? Would three a year be too many, or two in six months?

    And who says when this information will start being collected? I think if you want credit in the future (most of us) you should be on your guard now, be vigilant with making payments ON TIME every time to ensure these late payment notations don’t stop you from getting credit in the future.

    Despite new legislation giving consumers the legal avenue severely lacking in the current laws in some cases to be able to effectively dispute an unfair or incorrect credit file listing, it will continue to be up to the consumer to know the law to be able to apply it to their own case, and this is where credit rating repairers will continue to be needed – to close the gap and help enforce the legislation that Creditors are bound to comply with.

    Credit rating repairers will also continue to be needed – along with consumer groups such as the APF, to ensure that consumers are given a voice following the introduction of these privacy amendments. To put our hands up on behalf of consumers if needed and give accounts of any difficulties that may arise.

    Image 2: healingdream/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Facebook finally asks users to report phishing scams

    Most people have (or know someone who has) come across some type of scam via Facebook. They’re those dodgy posts that you shouldn’t click on that get sent from your friend’s accounts without them knowing; or those strange emails in your inbox; odd friend requests; or on rare occasions complete hacking of your account. Most savvy Facebook users take it as a given that this is going to occur and that no one can do a thing to stop it. They just count themselves lucky that they are not one of the users that falls for them. Well now Facebook has finally taken the bull by the horns and decided to get active in stamping out phishing scams. FB has set up an email address to report these attempts. We look at what this means for Facebook users, the potential identity theft risks from falling for a phishing scam which could endanger your credit file and how to spot one before you get caught out.

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

    Facebook’s security page requests that if its users spot phishing scams they should report them to Facebook and its eCrime team. The intention is to help hold scammers accountable and prevent identity theft and account hacking. Here’s an excerpt from their Security page:

    New Protections for Phishing.

    by Facebook Security on Thursday, August 9, 2012 at 7:31am •

    Today, Facebook is proud to announce the launch of phish@fb.com, an email address available to the public to report phishing attempts against Facebook. Phishing is any attempt to acquire personal information, such as username, password, or financial information via impersonation or spoofing.

    By providing Facebook with reports, we can investigate and request for browser blacklisting and site takedowns where appropriate. We will then work with our eCrime team to ensure we hold bad actors accountable. Additionally, in some cases, we’ll be able to identify victims, and secure their accounts.

    You might ask yourself how to spot suspected phishing emails. Our partners at the Anti-Phishing Working Group have put together some helpful tips to avoid being deceived by these messages:

    1.Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for login or financial information, and remember, unless the email is digitally signed, you can’t be sure it wasn’t forged or ‘spoofed’

    2.Don’t use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might not be authentic or you don’t trust the sender, instead navigate to the website directly

    This new reporting channel will compliment internal systems we have in place to detect phishing sites attempting to steal Facebook user login information.  The internal systems notify our team, so we can gather information on the attack, take the phishing sites offline, and notify users.  Affected users will be prompted to change their password and provided education to better protect themselves in the future.

    While rare, we hope that you forward us any phishing attempts you encounter. Together we can help keep these sites off the web and hold the bad guys responsible. As a reminder, you can visit www.facebook.com/hacked if you think your account may be compromised.

    You can find out more about phishing in our Help Center. You can also forward phishing emails to any of the following: APWG (reportphishing@antiphishing.org), the FTC (spam@uce.gov), and the Internet Crime Compliant Center (www.ic3.gov).

    This is great news for FB Users, and as it may be just the impetus needed to both deter and attack these predators.

    Technology magazine ZD Net’s Eileen Brown is likewise pleased with this new response, but at the same time, questions the appropriateness of where Facebook has decided to report this information:

    The challenge is that Facebook has hidden this information in its Security notes. This is not an area where the average user is likely to visit. Facebook should place an alert at the top of the home page drawing user’s attention to the importance being vigilant and careful.

    Hiding this page away does not show the duty of care that Facebook should show to its users — especially if it wants to avoid the potential consequences of a password or account breach.

    It is only a matter of time before someone tries it… She says in the article Facebook creates new email address to fight phishing.

    Phishing scams should be a topic that every online user is familiar with, but as we reported recently in our post Identity theft risks high for pre-retirees, some sections of the community can be more vulnerable to phishing scams, and they aren’t necessarily screaming out “identity theft” – they can be well thought out scams that look like legitimate requests for information etc.

    On Facebook, both young and old can be at risk of phishing scams. One prevalent scam reported by the ACCC’s Scamwatch recently is the Facebook password scam email.

    “…the scam email enters inboxes looking as though it is an auto-generated email from the Facebook Team. It announces to subscribers that as a security measure their password has been changed and that this needs to be confirmed. Attached to the scam email are two documents with file names beginning with ‘facebook_password’  that are supposed to include the new password.

    SCAMwatch warns you not to open these attachments. If you do, you will activate a very nasty Trojan or malicious software called the Bredolab Trojan and your computer will be taken over for use by the scammers at their will.”

    If via these scams, criminals are able to gain access to information like names, dates of birth and addresses then identity theft may occur. Fraudsters can build a profile with enough information to request duplicate identity documents – enabling them to have access to their victim’s good name through their credit rating meaning they could take out loans, credit cards, even mortgage properties in their victim’s name.

    Fraudsters are never so kind as to pay the credit back -meaning the identity theft victim is hit twice – financially ruined and then locked out of credit and with no ability to borrow for 5 to 7 years.

    How to spot a phishing scam

    Scamwatch has a great article on their website titled Phishing scams on social networking sites—don’t be tricked into giving your information away! Here’s what they suggest to look out for:

    Protect yourself

    Never send your online account details through an email and think carefully before you give away any personal or financial information.

    Never enter your personal information on a website if you are not certain it is genuine. Don’t click on the link provided in an email or call the phone number provided; instead, find the business’s contact details through a general internet search.

    Keep your computer updated with the latest anti-virus and anti-spy ware software, and use a good firewall.

    When using social networking websites:

    • Check the privacy settings and think about who you really want to have access to your personal information.
    • Be careful about what personal information you put on the internet, because scammers can use these details to guess your passwords or to commit fraud.
    • Check how much information about you is available on the internet—type your name into a search engine and see how many hits you get.
    • Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security—online ‘friends’ may not be who they say they are.
    • If you receive an email that appears to be from a family member or friend, look at the way the email is written and ask yourself whether the email sounds like it was written by that person.
    • If you receive an unexpected request for money from what appears to be a friend, try to contact that friend or their family or friends to verify the request. Do not use any of the contact details in the message.

    Great advice to take on board for any FB user – but it you or someone you know has fallen victim to one of these phishing scams – there are three things you may need to do immediately (among others):

    1. Change your passwords on your computer, bank, Facebook or any other relevant sites via a different computer. If you can’t because you have been ‘locked out’ of your accounts, you may need to contact your Creditors and Police immediately.

    2. Report the scam to the ACCC, and if you think you may be vulnerable to identity theft, it may be better to give them a call on ACCC Infocentre 1300 795 995 and they can direct you for further advice and possibly advise you to contact Police.

    3. Check your credit report. This is often the first way you might spot identity theft which has led to credit being taken out in your name. It is free to check every year from Australia’s credit reporting agencies and it will be peace of mind if it turns up clear. If there is anything on there you are not sure of, investigate and contact Police. If you confirm you have been a victim of identity theft, you can contact MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs to help with removing any bad credit which is darkening your name.

    Image 1: Pixomar/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image 2: Ambro/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Fixing credit mistakes with a credit repairer – 15 common concerns

    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.

    Image1: Ambro/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net Image 2: graur razvan ionut/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Identity theft risks for Australian online banking customers: what you need to know

    Commbank’s customers have been warned about phishing scams which could threaten the financial safety of its customers, but this scam applies across the board to all merchants, and all customers should take care not to fall for the viscious emails designed to steal your money from and your good credit rating.

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

    In June, for Cyber Security Awareness Week 2012, we explored the prevalence of phishing scams in Australia – particularly around merchants – banks, credit cards and even Paypal.

    In the posts Experts say getting hooked by Australian Paypal or Amex phishing scams could result in identity theft and following on with Company Obligations on Phishing Scams we looked at both the ramifications of falling for phishing scams in terms of bad credit from identity theft on your credit file and the possible obligations of companies to inform their customers when the company name is being used to promote a phishing scam.

    Commonwealth Bank is the latest company to warn customers about these phishing scams which are hooking many people with their clever requests and look-alike websites.

    The emails are to do with account verification.

    The phishing email asks the customer to verify their details due to a high instance of fraudulent activity. Once they click on the link, they are diverted to the fake bank website, where they enter their personal details and banking information into the so-called “customer” database. At which point if people take the bait they are in reality leaving themselves at very high risk of not only bank fraud, but identity theft through revealing their personal information.

    Commbank recently released a statement on its blog warning its customers about the prevalence of such scams in its post Alert: Identity theft targeting Australian consumers:

    The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is currently investigating a new identity theft scam which is targeting customers of financial institutions, including Australian banks. The scam aims to steal personally identifiable information such as your Internet Banking username and password, passport, driver’s licence, Medicare and birth certificate details.

    The scam manipulates consumers to believe they are using their bank’s normal Internet Banking website, when they are actually using a fake website controlled by the scammers.

    The fake website prompts the consumer to login with their username and password, upon which they are presented with a screen similar to below.

    The message states: “Due to recent frudulant[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][sic] use of NetBank services we require an Electronic ID Check to verify your identity. This is a one-off process.”

    If you see this message, we recommend you:

    i) DO NOT enter your personal details;
    ii) Contact your financial institution immediately. NetBank customers should phone 13 22 21;
    iii) Install and run a trusted anti-virus program on your computer;
    iv) Importantly, you may need to reset or reconfigure your Internet modem or router. We recommend contacting your Internet Service Provider to verify your modem or router has the correct DNS settings.
    v) In your web browser, enter the full address of your Internet Banking website beginning with https:// (for example, https://www.netbank.commbank.com.au). Entering the ‘s’ in https:// makes it is easier to tell whether or not you are interacting with the legitimate Internet Banking website. If you receive security warnings, or no response, it may be an indication you are affected by the scam.

    Commbank reports that these quite legitimate looking emails have not only been asking for account information, but even more alarmingly – identifiable personal information such as a copy of the customer’s birth certificate, copy of passport and copy of driver’s licence.

    This kind of information in the wrong hands is going to land someone in a whole lot of hot water with unpaid debts, and in turn threaten the clearness of their credit file. Not to mention the risk involved in just clicking on any attachment – opening the customer up for Trojan viruses and other cyber-nasties.

    If the fraudster is able to construct a fake identity from the personal information they have gained, it means they have access to their victim’s good name through their credit rating.

    The fraudster can potentially run up credit all over town in the victim’s name. If the crime is fairly sophisticated, most victims don’t know about it until they have a string of defaults weighing heavy against their name, and the obligation then to prove it was not them that instigated the credit in the first place.

    And so ensues a pretty stressful, difficult time for the victim. With this type of fraud they have not only lost money from their accounts, but are staring down the barrel of credit refusal for 5 years with a string of defaults they’re not responsible for. It’s not always easy to prove your innocence – sometimes people don’t know how identity theft has occurred and often the crooks are working from overseas syndicates and are difficult to trace.

    So here’s what the screen might look like – avoid it and avoid identity theft and its evil twin, bad credit.

    But if you have clicked on a link like this – I would recommend thinking about changing your passwords anyway before using any merchant from that computer again – just in case you’ve downloaded malware with your attachment.

    If you think you are the victim of identity theft, you should immediately contact Police. Also, if want to fix your bad credit after identity theft, talk to our Credit Repair Advisors at MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs about your situation and they can help you make the right moves to restore your good name. Call 1300 667 218.

    Image identity theft: chanpipat/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image screen shot phishing scam: courtesy Commbank blog site: http://blog.commbank.com.au/your-bank/alert-identity-theft-targeting-australian-consumers/[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

  • RBA keeps interest rates static

    The increase in savings in Australia and trend to debt reduction, coupled with improving housing market and retail sales figures must have allayed the fears of the Reserve Bank today.

    As predicted by economists, The RBA has kept its cash rate unchanged this month at 3.5%.

    The Australian reports today:

    In a statement accompanying the rates decision, RBA governor Glenn Stevens said: “With inflation expected to be consistent with the target and growth close to trend, but with a more subdued international outlook than was the case a few months ago, the stance of monetary policy remained appropriate”.

    He said that global economic growth had softened in recent months and that commodity prices had declined. Australia’s terms of trade had peaked nearly a year ago, he added.

    But Australia’s labour market showed moderate employment growth, despite job cuts in some sectors, he said. Inflation also remained low, although the carbon tax would affect prices over the next couple of quarters, Mr Stevens said. A key inflation index released yesterday, the first to reflect the introduction of the carbon tax on July 1, showed that consumer prices rose only 1.2 per cent over the year to July…

    Economists expect one or two further interest rate cuts this year, not only to underpin growth at home but also to help reduce the value of the Australian dollar.

    The cuts are predicted for later in the year, which if made, could further inspire and accomodate more buyers into the housing market, and set more people up for finance approval.

    For assurance that your clients meet all the criteria for finance approval, they need to have good credit. If you have bad credit clients that should qualify for finance, they may be suitable for credit repair. Talk to a My CRA Credit Rating Repairs credit repair advisor today about referring bad credit clients for credit repair on 1300 667 218.

    Image: jscreationzs/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • First Home Buyers Dive in Again But Will They Stay In the Water?

    Most agree that First Home Buyers are the key to the Australian housing market. How are they doing? Are they being attracted by the current market conditions? Or are they even able to dip a toe in with the current lending criteria forcing them to save for years just to get up enough deposit? We look at the factors impacting first home buyers – and why those buyers who present with a good income and a good deposit but bad credit can be saved.

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

    Last week AFG announced it had had its strongest July in 5 years…thanks to first home buyers.

    AFG told Australian Broker a “powerful cocktail of incentives” has helped them to process the highest amount of mortgages in July since 2007 – totalling $2.7 b.

    They report the percentage of first-home buyers has climbed to 17.3%.

    “Low interest rates, soft property prices and escalating rents create a powerful cocktail of incentives to get people into the property market,” said AFG’s general manager of sales and operations, Mark Hewitt.

    Is an improving housing market a reality? Or perhaps – as some experts have touted – simply the result of skewed indicators due to the June ending of government incentives in some States?

    Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan told the Financial Review last week that there were “consistent” indicators from various sources to the “beginning of a stabilisation in prices”.

    But he said it was too early to call a definite improvement. He pointed to the end of various state government home-buyer incentives in June, which had pulled forward demand and artificially inflated buying activity.

    Let’s hope house prices are stabilising, and more and more first home buyers have the confidence (and money) to enter the market again.

    So if you, as a broker are in the right market to see a resurgence of first home buyer activity, what are the factors impacting credit decisions?

    An article in The Australian recently, reported that an average couple will need to save for at least five years to reach the amount required for a first home deposit.

    The study by financial comparison company Rate City shows a first home buyer would take five years and seven months to save a 10 per cent deposit of $30,667 for a mortgage size of $276,000.

    And a dual income couple with a mortgage capacity of $540,000 would take more than five-and-a-half years to save a 10 per cent deposit of $60,000…

    A 10 per cent deposit is now the minimum amount required by many lenders, while many banks want at least a 20 per cent deposit before they relax their requirements for mortgage insurance.

    Rate City found it would take a first home buyer 13 years to save the recommended 20 per cent deposit plus $10,000 for fees.

    These people that have saved for 5 to 10 years to be able to buy a home in their area have got to be dedicated. This commitment to frugality is often undermined at the time of finance application by a little thing called the credit file. Well, actually it’s a big thing. The lending criteria for risk-management as it relates to the credit check has changed post-GFC just as the deposit and savings requirements have.

    So how can it be fair that someone who has scrimped and saved for 5 years to get the deposit together can be refused the pot at the end of the rainbow, purely on the say-so of, say a Telco company whose listing may or may not be lawful?

    And how can it be fair that a broker must turn these savers away? Or put them into a loan with a non-conforming lender at high interest rates which sees them struggle just to make ends meet every month?

    These questions often come back with a few different responses from brokers who don’t know about or use the services of professional credit repair firms…

    1. Yes, but if they have done the wrong thing and not paid their credit – they shouldn’t be given any more.

    2. If their listing is not lawful, they should take it up with the creditor before they come and see their broker.

    3. They can refinance the non-conforming loan and get into a standard loan after a few years.

    4. Exactly, I see clients like this, but unfortunately if they have bad credit for whatever reason, they are just not getting a mainstream loan. You can’t remove bad credit until the listing drops off. Don’t touch those clients.

    So what is the reality of bad credit clients? Let’s answer those 4 statements…

    1. If people have done the wrong thing and not paid their credit, they shouldn’t be given any more – it’s true. But what exactly is “the wrong thing?” Moved house and had bills come to their old address despite contacting the creditor to change their details? Had a dispute with a creditor that they thought was resolved? Been the victim of a creditor’s mistake? Had a period of temporary financial hardship which was ignored by the creditor? These are very common scenarios as to why the credit listing is deemed unfair. Often this is reason to request the listings removal from the client’s credit file.

    2. Clients often don’t know they have bad credit until they apply for a home loan. Then often when they attempt to dispute the listing with their creditor themselves, they have little success. There is a host of legislation which must be adhered to when placing listings on credit files. It is the legislation that creditors can hide behind when consumers come to them to dispute their credit listing. Consumers just need someone on their side who is equally knowledgeable in credit reporting and industry legislation, and with the ability to negotiate on their behalf to remove anything which is demonstrated to be unlawfully listed.

    3. Clients could enter into a non-conforming loan for a few years, and sometimes this is the only choice. But it is so much extra money in interest. On an average non-conforming loan of $300,000, the client will pay $15, 046.57 extra at 9% as opposed to a standard rate of 7%. (The cost of employing the services of a credit repairer to restore the good credit rating is miniscule when compared with this). If they are able to remove the bad credit, then they can be sent back to their broker to enter into mainstream credit, and save themselves thousands.

    4. Despite what creditors tell consumers, bad credit can be removed if it is unlawful. There are a host of reasons why it may be unlawful – and credit rating errors are more common than most people think. It has been reported in the past through a study by the Australian Consumer Association (now Choice) that as many as 34% of people surveyed had credit files which contained errors of some kind.

    The solution is, to refer the client to a professional credit repair firm once you find out their credit file is tarnished. They can do the work to repair the credit file whilst keeping in touch with you on their progress. The client can be sent back to you once their credit file has been repaired. You can have the best loan for them lined up and ready to go.

    Talk to a Credit Repair Advisor at MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs on 1300 667 218 if you think we can help you save more bad credit clients.

    Image: jannoon028/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Bad Credit Loans In Australia – Are They Right For You?

    After seeing a broker or bank – you find out you’ve got bad credit! After picking yourself up off the floor – you decide to proceed with that home or business loan anyway. But is your only option to seek out one of the many “bad credit” loans in Australia at a much higher interest rate? There could be an alternative for you…determining whether you have grounds to remove the bad credit tarnishing your credit file with the help of a professional credit repair firm. We have provided a basic credit repair suitability test in this post which you can use to find out whether it could be a better option for you than a bad credit loan.

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

    A bad credit report is a big deal. For between 5 and 7 years, you are generally refused mainstream credit with most lenders – especially in the current economic climate. Often people can’t even get a mobile phone plan.

    Despite this, many bad credit loans are available out there for people who are on the outer due to bad credit defaults and other credit listings. But do bear in mind, bad credit (non-conforming) loans generally come at a much higher interest rate, which could cost you tens of thousands more in interest just over the first three years of the loan. For example, on a standard $300,000 loan the difference in 2% from the standard variable rate of say 7% to a bad credit loan rate of say 9% could mean your family is paying as much as $15,046.57 more over those first three years just in interest. Use our credit repair savings calculator to find out what it could cost you.

    Recently savingsguide.com.au published a great article titled A Guide To Loans For People With Bad Credit. It features some pertinent advice about choosing a loan after being refused credit with a mainstream lender. It goes through the steps you may need to take to secure finance in Australia, and includes some final tips for securing a loan. The central tip is, prior to committing to a loan attempt to fix your bad credit issues first.

    “Loans for people with bad credit should really be a last resort, as opposed to the only option. See what you can do to repair your credit rating beforehand and hopefully begin looking for loans just as anyone else would,” savingsguide.com.au’s Alex Wilson says.

    Australians should not put up with bad credit if it shouldn’t be there…contrary to what a Creditor may tell you, bad credit in Australia can be removed from your credit file if it was listed unlawfully.

    If you’re not sure whether you would qualify for credit repair, take a glance at this suitability test. If even one of these 6 questions seems to fit your circumstances, you would be a good candidate for assessment for credit repair by a professional.

     

    Credit Repair Suitability Test

    1. Is the credit listing on your credit file unfair?

    If you believe the Default, Clear-out, Writ or Judgment on your credit file has been unfairly placed then you may have grounds to dispute the credit listing with your Creditor. A professional credit repair firm will build a case for its removal based on credit reporting legislation and also legislation pertaining directly to the Creditor’s industry and your specific circumstances.

    2. Is the credit listing on your credit file a result of identity theft?

    If you have been a victim of identity theft, the onus will still be on you to prove you didn’t initiate the credit. A professional credit repair firm can talk you through the steps to take once you have contacted Police which will help you to recover your good credit rating once again. The process will involve proving to Creditors that you didn’t initiate the credit in your name. It’s not always easy, but it’s a point worth fighting for.

    3. Have you been given the required notification of the credit listing prior to it being placed on your credit file?

    Creditors are bound by strict legislation when it comes to listing defaults, writs and Judgments on credit files. If you suspect you may not have been given the right notice by your Creditor, you may have grounds to dispute the listing and request its removal. It is essential that listings are placed accurately on Australian credit files, and we believe Creditors should adhere to Australian law at all times when placing listings on credit files. If you’re not sure it would be well worth calling a professional credit repair firm to assess your credit file for you.

    4. Does your credit report reflect that the Creditor has the wrong contact information for you despite you notifying them otherwise?

    If you have moved, sometimes bills get sent to your old address. Wrong addresses and phone numbers listed on your credit file can often mean the Creditor has not given you the appropriate notice or warning letters prior to the credit listing. If you think this has happened to you, then this mistake could mean the listing has been placed unlawfully on your credit file.

    5.  Is there an out and out mistake on your credit file?

    Creditors undergo system errors and issues all the time which can sometimes lead to credit listing mistakes. Human error is also a common reason for mistakes on credit files. Sometimes the wrong account can be attributed to you because of a similar name or mistakes with billing amounts or billing addresses can lead to debts you shouldn’t have. If you suspect a creditor may have made a mistake on your credit file, or you’re just not sure, contact a professional credit repair firm who can verify that for you and build a case for the credit listing’s removal from your credit file. It doesn’t have to be a big mistake to constitute an unlawful listing.

    6. Were you undergoing some kind of unusual hardship circumstances which you believe the Creditor has ignored prior to placing the default, writ or Judgment on your credit file?

    If you have told your Creditor you were undergoing financial hardship, then they are generally bound to help you make better payment arrangements as a solution to this hardship rather than immediately placing a credit listing on your credit file. If your credit report reflects this issue, a professional credit repair firm might be able to help you have this unfair listing removed.

     

    There are many more reasons why you might be suitable for credit repair based on your individual circumstances. If you would like an assessment for your suitability for credit repair, talk to a consultant at MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs who can assess how you might fare in removing bad credit before you commit to any bad credit loan in Australia.

    Image 1: Stuart Miles/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image 2: Master isolated images/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • FOS explains nature of systemic errors by FSP’s which lead to mistakes on credit ratings.

    We examine a recent Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) article which reports on instances of errors on consumer credit files in the finance industry. This type of systemic error can and does occur in every industry. This is why the presence of Industry Ombudsmen is vitally important to assist the resolution of disputes. A report like this also serves to illustrate the prevalence of credit rating errors across not only the finance industry but the credit industry entirely, and should serve to demonstrate the great need for assistance with credit rating inconsistencies in the form of credit rating repairers – who are helping clients to both recognise and make successful complaints about their credit file errors.

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

    The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received a number of complaints in the first quarter of this year relating to serious credit infringements being listed by a financial services provider (FSP) on clients’ personal credit files.

    In the winter edition of its quarterly Circular publication, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) reported (Systemic issues update – January-March 2012) on a number of complaints received in the first quarter of 2012 relating to serious credit infringements being listed by a financial services provider (FSP) on consumer credit files.

    Here is an excerpt from an article by Money Management on the FOS findings, titled FOS concerned over credit infringement listings:

    “FOS said it had contacted the FSP to advise that serious infringements had been listed even though the FSP had not sufficiently determined that applicants no longer intended to comply with their credit obligations.

    FOS also advised the FSP it would review whether serious credit infringement listings had been made against other customers without a reasonable basis to believe they would no longer comply with credit obligations.

    The FSP advised FOS that all the relevant disputes had involved third party tracing agents, but following a review of some of those listings FOS determined a high proportion had been made incorrectly and that the issue was systemic.

    In addition to asking the FSP to advise of the removal of incorrect listings, FOS asked the FSP to formally consider, case by case, any claims for non-financial loss from customers whose listing was made in error.

    In a separate but similar case, a complainant said his FSP had not correctly assessed his application for hardship assistance regarding a hire purchase agreement for which he had acted as guarantor.

    FOS found the FSP had listed a commercial debt on the applicant’s personal credit file that could not be considered credit under the relevant legislation and was therefore an inappropriate listing.

    Again, after a review FOS found a number of incorrect default listings and determined that the issue was systemic. FOS asked the FSP to correct the incorrect listings and to provide copies of its policies and procedures relating to default listing business guarantors on their personal credit files.”

    This report demonstrates it is important to champion for accuracy in credit reporting. A listing which has been placed incorrectly or unlawfully on a consumer or business credit file – or one that simply should not be there should be challenged. The consequences are generally bad credit for at least 5 years – so it is always a point worth fighting for.

    Most people put up with bad credit, even when it shouldn’t be there, because they find it too difficult to negotiate with their creditor. But having the correct information, going through the correct channels, with the right knowledge of legislation can make all the difference to a person’s chances of success at removing an incorrect listing.

    What a credit repairer will do for a client who wishes to repair bad credit, is look at their credit file and determine through investigation whether there is an avenue for removal of the credit listing based on legislation, and negotiate in the right way, with the right people and through the correct procedures for the listing’s removal.

    If you want to know more about credit repair – .visit the MyCRA main website www.mycra.com.au.

    Image: 89studio/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • How an overseas trip can see you with bad credit

    Going overseas? We tell you why this makes you vulnerable to being lumbered with bad credit, and tell you 5 things you should know to protect your credit rating when going overseas.

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

    You’re on that plane – drink in one hand, a copy of Lonely Planet in the other. It’s the trip of a lifetime, you’ve scrimped and saved for ages to get to this point – so excited to be heading off on your round-the-world-trip – with an extended stopover in the U.K. for some work. So long suckers!!!!

    You’ll miss your family and friends, but it’s your right of passage to do what millions of young Australians do every day, jump on a plane and see the other side of the world.

    But you are planning on coming back some time, right?

    And watcha gonna do when you get back?

    Get sensible again? Maybe save for a house?

    Or save for another trip?

    But thousands of young people find that one little thing can stop them taking out a mortgage, buying a car, or buying another plane ticket after they have been o/s – BAD CREDIT! And this is often why…

    You come back home a little paler, a little chubbier, a bit wiser, but a hell of a lot poorer. You apply for a credit card – but you nearly fall off your chair – the application is declined. For some reason – you have a Telstra default on your credit rating.

    “This has got to be a mistake!” You say, “I’m good for it – I always make my payments on time.”

    But there it is – bad credit – and there’s nothing you can do about it.

    After contacting Telstra, you find out it was the mobile phone account you had before you went overseas. There was this one last bill that you didn’t know about. And that bill was sent to your old address – again, and again, and then they put a default on your credit file when you didn’t pay it after 60 days.

    You thought you had fixed everything up, but it seems you hadn’t.

    Now the bill has tripled in size, and when you complain about the mistake on your credit file, Telstra tell you all they can do is mark it as paid if you pay it. It will be on your credit file for 5 years.

    This is the scenario of many of our clients who contact us to help dispute their credit report. Time and time again we see people who have gone overseas or even just gone to the next suburb and think they have settled accounts prior to leaving, only to find those ‘final accounts’ haunting them in a big way for years to come.

    Other people have gone overseas, taken their mobile with them, only to find they are hundreds of dollars in debt with no way to pay due to their phone bill.

    Well, before you take off – here are 5 things you should know to protect your credit rating before going overseas:

    1. Completely finalise your accounts

    Contact every creditor to let them know you are going overseas, and provide them with new contact details for you if you are moving out of your home. If you are going for an extended period of time – rather than just paying your last bill, make sure you have finalised your account and requested a closing balance. Once you have paid the final amount, get it in writing to ensure it is the final bill for that account.

    2. Cancel direct debits

    If you have a direct debit set up, this can sometimes be with a separate company to the actual Creditor – particularly with things like gym memberships, so make sure you cancel any direct debits coming out of your account – finalise any outstanding amounts – and get the notification of the cancellation in writing.

    3. Beware phone charges while overseas

    Many phone companies charge you extra for calls you make and receive while you are o/s. Call your telco provider and make sure you know all the facts before you take your phone on a holiday with you. It might be better to get an overseas phone or SIM for your trip instead.

    4. Beware splurging on credit cards

    It can be hard to keep a tally on what you’re spending while you’re overseas. But do check your balance regularly to make sure you’re not blowing out your budget and sending yourself into debt when you get back. And while you’re there, you might want to check for this….

    5. Beware identity theft

    Just because you’re in holiday mode, doesn’t mean your privacy should be as well. Your personal information is a goldmine for fraudsters, and while you’re in transit, you can be vulnerable to identity theft. If identity theft leads to fraud, you can even have credit taken out in your name, and land in all sorts of trouble with your credit file with incorrect defaults and late payments against your name.

    Keep belongings and personal information (especially Facebook logins) secure, and check all ATM’s and credit card machines for skimmers. Check your credit card online when you can regularly and watch you are logging in through a secure site. When you get home, grab a free copy of your credit file straight away. If there are any suspicious entries you may have been a victim of identity theft.

    Checking your credit file

    If you have come home from an overseas trip, and want to check what your credit file says about you, you should know you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report once a year from Australia’s credit reporting agencies.

    It might be a good idea to order this copy of your credit report prior to applying for any new credit and it will be sent within 10 working days. It will tell you whether you have any bad credit, or whether there are any mistakes on your credit report.

    If you think a default on your credit file is wrong, or you want to dispute your credit report, contact a professional credit repairer to discuss your suitability for credit repair. If the listing is incorrect, contains errors or just shouldn’t be there, a credit repairer can help prepare your case and give you the best chance of having the default or other mistake on your credit file completely removed so you can apply for credit with a clean slate.

    Image: kangshutters/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Mistake On Your Credit Report? Here’s How To Correct Them

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    Mistake on your credit report? It can be remedied! If your credit file has incorrect information, or the default listing is wrong, we look at what you can do to fix your bad credit in Australia.

    Bad credit is not pretty. Many times people don’t find out about a default or a mistake on their credit file until they are sitting in front of the lender – mortified, frustrated and heartbroken at the loss of a mortgage, business loan or car loan. This ‘bad credit’ listing will remain on your credit file for the next five years, and for the next five years you will be restricted on your access to credit and forced out of the mainstream market. Heck, even a mobile phone plan is looking unlikely. All because a credit provider decided you had been late paying an account.

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

    But what if the creditor has gotten it wrong? What if the wrong information is on your credit file or a mistake has been made on your credit file?

    Firstly, you are not alone. Thousands, maybe millions of Australians are facing this issue of credit rating errors caused by a mistake right now. Some of those people have tried to dispute an unfair credit listing, and many of those people have been unsuccessful. They have been told that credit listings are never removed, that they will remain on your credit file until the ‘drop off’ date. If they have been paid, they can be marked as such, but there will still be some notation on your credit file.

    Don’t buy into it!

    If a credit listing has been placed unlawfully on your credit file, if there is any mistake in any aspect of the credit listing, or the listing just should not be there, then you may have the right to have those inconsistencies removed.

    Some basic things to look for with default listing rules:

    1. More than 60 days must have elapsed since the account was officially in arrears.

    2. You must have received written notification of the default before it was listed.

    If either of these has not occurred, then you should contact the creditor in writing to request the default’s removal – as the creditor has not followed basic rules whilst listing the default on your credit file and it has been ‘unlawfully’ placed on your credit file.

    3. Has the default been listed for more than five years?

    The listing should have ‘dropped off’ your credit file, and you should request the creditor remove the default from your credit file.

    When it’s a little more complicated, or you want to ensure you have the best chance of the incorrect or mistaken listing being completely removed from your credit file, often it is best to seek professional help.

    Dangers In Disputing Your Credit Listings Yourself…

    Often you only get one shot in disputing a credit listing. If you alert creditors in the wrong way that you have issues with a credit listing, there is a danger they may make changes to records to correct the mistake, or delete certain records from their files in order to solidify evidence that the listing was applied correctly.

    Listings are not removed by creditors unless the credit file holder can provide adequate reason and lots of evidence as to why the listing should not be there, and this lack of evidence can also let people down in their case for removing an incorrect listing.

    Professional Credit Repair Law Firms

    A credit repair lawyer is uniquely qualified in disputing defaults and other credit listings which should not be there. They will investigate the disputed credit listing, request further information as required and draft a considered complaint to your creditor. They are well versed in the approx. 8,000 pages of legislation which relates to credit reporting, and they can cross-reference this legislation as it applies to your particular case.

    You may have a listing removed due to the creditor not complying with some of the more well-known credit reporting legislation, or a credit repair law firm could find more specific evidence which can aid the case for removal of the credit listing which you may never have found yourself. It is in the investigation and presentation of the case for removal and finally in the negotiation with the creditor that people can see the true value of a credit repair lawyer.

    Credit repair lawyers also know what avenue to take if the creditor refuses to remove the listing, and will if necessary escalate your complaint to courts.

    Who Chooses Credit Repair?

    People choose to use a credit repair lawyer when they don’t have the time, patience, negotiating ability, temper, or knowledge of legislation to dispute their credit listing mistake with the creditor themselves. People who want the best chance of getting a default removed will use a professional experienced credit repair law firm, just as most people would use a lawyer if they were defending themselves in court. It’s a bit like David and Goliath in many cases – so credit repair lawyers like MyCRA Lawyers provide the benefit of their experience to tackle the big guys on your behalf.

    Volume of Credit Rating Errors Or Mistakes

    A Veda Advantage (now Equifax) spokesperson, was recently interviewed by Channel 7 Australia’s Today Tonight, about the possible number of errors which are contained on Australian credit reports.

    “We give out about 250,000 credit reports to consumers every year. But only in 1 per cent of cases is there a material error on the file, so a default or an enquiry that’s incorrect,” Mr Gration told Today Tonight.

    But an Australian Consumer Association (now Choice) survey from 2004 revealed that 34% of the credit files surveyed in their small scale study contained errors or inconsistencies.

    A similar study was conducted in 2015 and in January 2016, where it was revealed that 12 years on, approximately 30% of credit ratings still contain mistakes.

    We think the current real figure is probably somewhere in between that. But in any case, there are far too many people with inconsistent credit reports and far too many people left in the dark about how to correctly dispute them.

    So it’s important to raise awareness, and show people how to give themselves the best chance at clearing bad credit.

    Image: digitalart/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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  • Help I have applied for my first home, but I have been declined! How do I fix bad credit?

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    Bad credit is common,  affecting millions of Australians and sometimes it goes undetected until your loan is DECLINED.

    This ‘surprise bad credit’ can see you declined on a home loan application. We show how it may have happened, and give you 7 steps to fix a bad credit report.

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

    Applying for finance for a home can be nerve-wracking. There’s the deposit – have I saved enough? There’s your income – do I earn enough? There’s the home – have I paid the right price?

    When all of these factors combine to give you, on the face of it, a good chance of approval for finance then there’s the issue of choosing the right home loan, at the right rate, with the right factors for your future. So you go through all of these sometimes stressful aspects of property buying, and you make the official application for finance with your chosen lender. It all looks good…

    Until you are slapped in the face with an APPLICATION DECLINED. You should qualify for a home loan, but you don’t because your credit report shows up with a default.

    You have no idea what the default is for…you always pay your bills on time…but that little default from what looks like a utility company, is messing with your future and caused the decline.

    How can they refuse me a home loan based on this, you ask? They can, and they do. You see, a default is an account in arrears greater than 60 days.

    If you have a default on your credit file, it tells the lender that you don’t pay your bills on time. They have a responsibility to ensure you can manage the debt you will accrue. This is evidence that you can’t manage your debts, you look like a risk to them, so they refuse you the loan, despite all the other factors being in your favour.

    What Do I Do Now?

    Now you know you have bad credit, you have two options. You can wait for 5 years. A default remains on your credit file for 5 years from the time it was listed, and after this time it ‘drops off’ your credit report. It will impact your ability to obtain credit generally for the entire time it is listed on your credit file. So – for 5 years you will have a hard time getting anything other than a credit decline anywhere, from mortgages to car loans to credit cards and even mobile phone plans.

    If you don’t want to wait, you can investigate whether it should be there at all.

    Mistakes can and do happen. Mistakes in credit reporting are most times only picked up by the credit file holder, so if you think there is something amiss with your credit file it is up to you to put it right.

    Here are the steps you need to take to correct errors on your credit file:

    7 Steps to Fixing Credit Reports

    1. Determine what account the default is for.

    If you don’t have a copy of your credit report, you will need to order one. If you haven’t ordered a copy of your credit file in the last 12 months, it will be free from the credit reporting agencies in Australia. They are Equifax (Formerly Veda Advantage), Dun & Bradstreet, and Tasmanian Collection Service (if in Tasmania). You may have listings with one or all of these credit reporting agencies. They will take 10 working days to send you a copy of your report. For a small fee, you can have one sent to you urgently.

    On your credit file, will be the company the default is with, and an account number. This should correspond with an account you have with them. If it doesn’t, or if you don’t have any accounts with the company in question, there is a good chance there may be a mistake on your credit file.

    2. Gather all your information first, and try and determine how the default got on your credit file.

    Before you call the company in question, sort out what you know about the situation. Have they made a mistake? How have they made it?

    4. Write to the Creditor to ask for information on the account.

    You may need to find out more about how the default got there. Every company keeps a record of its customers and you can write to them and request your account records to date.

    5. Decide on how you’re going to tackle them.

    Now you want to try and negotiate for the Creditor to remove your default. Don’t go in guns blazing – bear in mind, there is nothing to say they have to remove the default. Want you want to do is encourage them to do the right thing by you.

    6. It is going to be hard going.

    Most people find it really hard to correct their credit listing themselves –especially if it’s complicated. For one, the Creditor has to comply with a whole heap of legislation that crosses different codes, and if you don’t know legally where they may have made errors – it’s pretty hard to persuade them they have done the wrong thing. And who’s got time to learn all of that?

    Secondly, negotiating anything on your own behalf can be tricky – the old foot in the mouth routine can get you into trouble and see you stuck with the listing for the whole term. In reality, many people trying to fix their own credit rating get told they can have the listing marked as paid, but it is never removed. This is not enough to guarantee you the home loan. If you were able to show cause as to why the listing was put on your credit file unlawfully, there is a chance it will actually be removed.

    7. Consider getting a professional on board.

    For a pain-free approach – at any time, you can hire the services of a credit repair professional law firm. Most of them will look after getting a free copy of your credit file for you, order your documents from the Creditor as well as directly negotiate with them to remove your bad credit, based on the relevant legislation applicable to your case.  And most importantly, they will probably think of things you had never thought of to strengthen your case for the default removal. This is your best chance at getting the listing removed completely from your credit file, which will allow you to apply for finance with a mainstream lender again… Without the DECLINE!

    If you’ve done the crime, you may need to do the time

    If you’re a serial offender for late payments, if you are currently struggling to keep your head above water, then new credit- especially major credit such as a mortgage- is NOT going to make it all better. We don’t advocate wiping the slate clean because of a technicality, and contributing to your fall from grace once again when you default on your home loan. The credit reporting system was designed for you, to stop you from getting in way over your head and maybe 5 years without credit is a good time to learn some financial strategies for the future. This is where a decline can actually be helpful.

    But, if you firmly believe you are capable of making repayments on this home, if you know that the listing was put there unfairly, or perhaps even if the listing was accrued because you had a period of financial stress you have now recovered from and you weren’t helped in the appropriate ways at the time, then you may have a case for removing the default. If you are unsure, you can always talk to MyCRA Lawyers on 1300 667 218, who can make an assessment for you on your suitability for credit repair.

    Image: stockimages/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image: David Castillo/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

     

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  • Future thinking…building your brokerage business through relationships

    Building a great brokerage business, or any business for that matter starts one client at a time. We look at how client relationships can help drive your business into the future, whatever the market conditions are.

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

    For those of you who keep up to date with my blogs, you will know I read Australian Broker regularly.  An article struck a chord with me the other day, but it wasn’t until this morning that I realised why. I read Ben Abbott’s story Commissions to shrink as clients buy and hold on Friday, and my initial thought was “Oh no, not more reasons why brokers will lose clients.”

    The story features figures from RP Data showing housing hold periods have stretched out to 9 years for homes, 7.7 years for unit, and that the figures will still increase in 2012.

    Here is a short excerpt from that story:

    RP Data said that this inclination from buyers [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][to hold onto property] would only increase over time, and this would impact mortgage brokers who relied on transactional commission income to make a living.

    “The average hold period is likely to continue to increase over the coming years as private sector demand for credit growth remains below historic levels and sales volumes remain below their peaks,” research analyst Cameron Kusher said…

    “It appears that home owners are increasingly likely to keep their current properties rather than upgrade due to the significant cost,” Kusher said.

    RP Data suggested that increases in median home values over the period, leading to declines in affordability, were having a marked impact on the period clients held on to their assets.

    What interested me as much as the article, were the comments from brokers about it. Most were surprised that some brokers would rely on refinancing for income.

    Rather than see home owners holding onto property as a negative, those that commented saw it as a positive. Here was one such comment:

    “So what is the problem – your trail just keeps on growing! this will not mean a reduced focus on your clients. It gives you greater opportunity to build a lasting relationship with them…”

    It got me to thinking that there must be two different types of brokers in this market – those that are lucky enough to have built relationships with their clients over time and that will stand the test of time whatever regulations, whatever market conditions are put upon them, and those that are forced to live “hand to mouth” putting deal after deal together the best way they can and just crossing fingers that some of them fall the right way whilst every outside force seems to be trying to shut them down.

    So how do you revamp your business attitude to adopt the first policy in order to weather the storm? It starts with doing the right thing for each client. Then it means actually pointing out what you are doing so they are aware of it. Showing them where they are saving money, where they could go wrong, so they appreciate the extra effort you have gone to, to fit them into the deal that’s right for them.

    I made the connection to credit repair today, thinking about all of those brokers who don’t consider it a valuable resource for bad credit clients.

    I realised why – that some brokers can be stuck in that ‘now’ thinking – just concentrating on getting the deals over the line, compared with those who are willing to try every avenue to make clients for life.

    The fact is, many clients have bad credit history, but are entirely suitable to service a loan. So they are put into a non-conforming loan, which they can refinance on at a later date. But is this long term the best decision for every client?

    Many would benefit from at least assessing whether they would be suitable to repair their bad credit rating, prior to going into a non-conforming loan. Admittedly, credit repair is not suitable for every client. But the number of rampant mistakes and errors in credit reporting in Australia* would mean it warrants an initial assessment of their suitability. And so does the average saving you could make your clients.

    Here’s how you can show the client their saving…

    On an average $300,000 loan, at an interest rate of say 9% compared with a standard variable rate of say 7% they will pay $15,046.57 more in interest just over the first three years of the loan by entering into a non-conforming loan at this interest rate. If you jump on our website to the MyCRA Credit Repair Calculator, you can punch in the real interest variables and actual figures you have for their circumstances and show them how much they can actually save based on the cost of credit repair.

    And remember, creditors make mistakes all the time, and the onus is on the consumer to correct those errors – but most people don’t know how and when they attempt it, they get nowhere. The next time you hear a story about someone’s Telco issues or mix-ups, or any kind of error that finds your client locked out of credit – don’t tune out and send them on their way, or label them a non-conforming loan candidate straight away. Before you do that, do them a favour and send them to us to find out whether we can fix their bad credit for good. We have a previous track record of up to 91.7% success for every case we take on.

    Once we’ve cleared their bad credit we can send them back to you to get into a home loan they will likely stick with for 9 years. You pick up the trail, and your future is looking more secure every day.

    * The volume of credit file errors on Australian credit files is uncertain. A Veda Advantage spokesperson estimated 1% of the 250,000 credit reports they give out as a credit reporting agency to Australians every year contain a material error on the credit file. But the Australian Consumer Association (now Choice) survey from 2004 revealed that 34% of the credit files surveyed in their small scale study contained errors or inconsistencies.

    Image: chanpipat/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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