MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: credit card

  • How To Make Your CREDIT CARD work for you

    choose best credit cardIn this week’s ‘Make Credit Work For You’ post we look at credit cards. Do you currently have a credit card? Do you know what your interest rate is? Do you know if you really have the right credit card for your financial circumstances? With so many choices for rates, fees and rewards – it’s smart to spend some time thinking about the appropriate one for you. Knowing how to make your credit card work for you, which starts by picking the right card might just save you from credit debt and ensure your credit history is clear as you work towards larger financial goals.

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

    Almost half of Australians are in the dark about their credit card. According to a Choice Survey last month, 48% of Australians who used their credit card recently weren’t sure how much interest they would be charged.

    This “interest rate ignorance” has according to Choice, meant a big windfall for the creditors.

    Since June 2011, the average credit card interest rate has moved 176 basis points above the Reserve Bank’s cash rate, earning the banks an extra $630 million this year alone.

    Bit by bit, the banks have been sneaking their rates further away from the baseline. At the moment the average credit card interest rates sits 14.41% above the cash rate, up from 12.65% in June 2011, according to calculations from commercial comparison website Mozo.

    That adds up to a lot of debt – and a lot of uncertainty.

    “As a nation, we’re paying interest on more than $36 billion of credit card debt, yet almost half of us are uncertain what it costs us,” says CHOICE CEO Alan Kirkland.

    This “interest rate ignorance” points to a wider symptom of credit ignorance which has many households making poor financial decisions for their individual situations. It can be paralleled with the prevalence of high interest rate home loans for people with poor credit history. Whilst some people may need to choose this type of home loan – it isn’t always the right option, and can end up costing families tens of thousands more in interest unnecessarily.

    Whilst it is imperative to know the interest rate on your credit card – what is even more important to know – is that you have the right card for your circumstances. One which you can pay back – on time!

    Too many times people can be lured in to choosing cards with rewards or other gimmicks – which are not suitable for them and which can end up costing them severely for years to come.

    Facts about Debt and Credit Cards

    If you are more than 5 days late paying your credit card this will show up on your credit history as a ‘late payment notation’. This notation will remain on your credit file for 2 years. Multiple late payments will probably mean you are refused mainstream credit for 2 years, or only offered credit at much higher interest rates.

    If your credit card goes unpaid for 60 days or more – you will have a default placed against your name. Defaults remain on your credit file for 5 years.

    Any adverse credit listing will mean you are either refused mainstream credit, or only offered credit at higher interest rates. So you want to avoid this ‘credit death sentence’ by choosing the right card for you in the first place.

    Recently Savingsguide.com.au covered in depth the pros and cons of each different type of credit card, in their article How To Choose The Best Credit Card.

    credit cardHow Do You Use Credit?

    You need to ask yourself some great questions to be clear about your credit card usage.

    If you don’t know what you’re paying in interest – that would be a great first question to ask. The other question to ask – is how am I using my credit card? Is it for emergencies only, am I a hefty credit card user or somewhere in between? Do I tend to pay the balance off each month or carry it over? Do I have a current debt on my card I need to pay down?
    The answers will all determine which card is right for you.

    SavingsGuide make some suggestions about who should choose what card:

    They advise, if you are just going to use the card for emergencies – you are probably best looking for one with low or no annual fees.

    “This card is perfect for people who rarely use their credit cards, save their credit cards for an emergency or religiously pay off their credit card before the interest period.

    “If you’re never earning any interest on your card, it’s more important to save money on the annual fee than it is to consider how the interest rate would affect you.”

    If you use your card regularly – and if you pay the balance off each month –then you are probably the best type of person for a rewards program.

    “If you use your credit card regularly for everyday purchases and are capable of consistently paying it off within the interest-free period, then a rewards card might work well for you.”

    If you are having trouble paying the entire balance off each month – a low interest rate seems ideal.

    “If you’re totting up interest on a card, it’s essential to keep your interest rate as low as possible. Otherwise, you’ll find it increasingly difficult to get on top of the credit repayments.”

    If you have debt you need to pay down – you could switch to a balance transfer which allows you to pay off the card with low or no interest.

    “If you need some breathing space, being able to pay off debt without having to worry about interest for a couple of months might be exactly what the doctor ordered.”

    Tips to prevent bad credit history from credit card debt

    Create your own credit limit.
    Set yourself a limit based on what you can comfortably afford to repay. It’s important to realise that you will pay at some point for the credit you use. Make sure at worst case scenario you can afford to repay it. You will then have confidence in your spending without the temptation to overspend.

    Don’t exceed the credit limit.
    This will just mean you incur hefty charges.

    Pay off the balance each month.
    Ideally, pay off the entire card balance within the interest free period. If you don’t, you will be charged interest right back to the date you purchased each item. You not only lose the interest-free period on those past purchases, but until you pay off the balance there will be no interest free period on anything you spend in the future.

    Or, choose a low interest card, but still pay more than the minimum repayment amount each month.
    If you have debt which carries over on your card month to month you should look at a card that has a lower interest rate. It may not offer an interest free period, or hefty rewards points, but the lower interest rate should mean the carried over debt is more manageable for you, and will prevent you from getting into trouble with credit and ending up with defaults or late payment notations on your credit file (bad credit history).

    Avoid cash advances.
    Interest usually applies immediately on any cash advances from credit cards – whether the withdrawal is within the interest free period or not.

    You can also visit ASIC’s MoneySmart website for further information on how to choose the right credit card.

    For help repairing bad credit history, or more information on your credit rating, visit our website www.mycra.com.au or call MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs tollfree on 1300 667 218.

    Image: adamr/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image 2: naypong/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • VISA says ‘pens down’ to prevent credit card fraud

    Plastic fantastic transactions will no longer be signed off on as a proof of identity, but will require a PIN number to authorise. In the news today, VISA has announced it will phase out signature payments by April 1, 2013. We look at this decision, and address credit card fraud, and the ways in which your credit rating can be compromised because of it.

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

    It was reported by the Sydney Morning Herald today ‘Signing off: credit card giant ditches pens for PINS’, the movement to PIN and card-chip only transactions has been prompted by the need for increased security on credit cards.

    The move is expected to reduce signature-based credit card fraud which has been on the rise over the last two years – from 38 out of 100,000 transactions in 2010 to 52 out of 100,000 transactions in 2011.

    Visa spokeswoman Judy Shaw said the change was part of a comprehensive security plan to phase out the use of signatures in favour of PIN and card chips, which are already widely used by customers in stores and ATMs.

    “At the moment we’re working with financial institutions and other card schemes to discuss a uniform approach to chip and PIN use across the industry,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

    “It will include a communication program so that cardholders are aware of their PINs and know how to use them,” she said.

    But rival American Express will still allow customers to confirm purchases with signatures although cards are issued with chips.

    Garry Duursma, Vice President at eftpos services company Tyro, told SMH abandoning signatures will reduce the incidence of card-based fraud, but warned it could potentially open a new risk if the restaurant’s eftpos system isn’t properly integrated with the restaurant’s bank account system.

    This demonstrates that credit cards are not always the safest way to pay.

    In instances of credit card fraud, it is not always as simple as reimbursing the victim for unauthorised transactions.

    Whenever a criminal is able to access a person’s credit card details, or any of their personal information – there is a chance the victim can have not only unauthorised transactions issued in their name, but possibly new credit taken out as well.

    Credit card fraud can take on a myriad of forms – but it can be quite sophisticated, and in those instances criminals may gain access to additional forms of credit – new cards, loans even mortgages.

    If the victim is unaware of the fraud right away and their credit file ends up with defaults – they can be blacklisted from obtaining credit for 5 years. That one instance of credit card fraud can end up financially crippling the victim. They can’t borrow for anything – they can’t even take out a mobile phone plan.

    Here is one way someone may be a victim of identity theft through their credit card:

    In October last year, New York Police made major arrests of 111 people involved in five separate identity theft rings involving counterparts in China, Europe and the Middle East.

    The victims had credit cards skimmed at many New York shops, restaurants and even banks dating back to 2010.

    Then details on the credit cards where on-sold and duplicate cards were made that were then used to purchase and re-sell high-end goods such as electrical items.

    The Herald Sun reported at the time that authorities had calculated more than $US13 million ($13.4 million) was spent by the fraudsters on iPads, iPhones, computers, watches and fancy handbags from Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

    The ACCC’s SCAMWatch says a credit card scam can come in many forms. For example, scammers may use spyware or some other scam to obtain their victim’s credit card details. A scammer might steal or trick someone into telling them their security code (the three or four digit code on the card) and then make purchases over the internet or the telephone. If they know their PIN, they could also get cash advances from an ATM using a ‘cloned’ credit card (where the victim’s details have been copied onto the magnetic strip of another card).

    Of course, there is also a danger of someone using a credit card if it has been physically lost or stolen.

    Many types of fraud can also directly threaten the victim’s credit rating – such as account takeovers by fraudsters, and instances where criminals take out new credit in the victim’s name. It doesn’t even have to be for a large sum in some cases to be a massive blow to the victim’s ability to obtain credit. I have seen people get refused a home loan due to a default for as little as $100.

    Here are the ACCC’s signs to be aware of in relation to credit card fraud:

    Warning signs

    There are transactions listed in your credit card statement that you don’t understand.
    You have given your credit card details to someone you now suspect may not be trustworthy (perhaps over the internet).
    You have lost your card.
    You have kept your security information (eg your PIN or the access code on your card) written down somewhere near your card and you find that it is missing

    Some preventative steps against credit card fraud

    – Always check the ATM or EFTPOS terminal before using it. Look out for any suspicious boxes that could be skimming devices. If in doubt – don’t use it.
    – Always cover your PIN when making transactions.
    – Never let anyone walk out of sight with your credit card.
    – Consider paying cash on nights out and leave the cards where they are safe.
    – Always check your card statements and report any unauthorised transactions – however small – to the bank immediately. Sometimes ‘test’ withdrawals are made by criminals to see if the unauthorised transaction goes undetected, before more significant amounts are stolen.
    – Regularly keep up to date with what is on your credit file – which would reveal if defaults have been issued without your knowledge. People can check their credit file by obtaining a written report for free every 12 months, from each of Australia’s credit reporting agencies. But if they are suspicious of or vulnerable to fraud they can also for a fee obtain a credit report more often.
    – If there are any discrepancies of credit or adverse listings that should not be there they should act immediately to notify Police. This crime is not very widely reported. But it is only through people reporting it that any real statistics get collated. Likewise, if people want to try and repair their credit rating, the first thing I tell them is to make sure they have a Police report.

    For more information on restoring a credit rating following credit card fraud or any form of identity theft, contact MyCRA Credit Repairs on 1300 667 218 www.mycra.com.au.

    Image: adamr/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Consumer advocate Graham Doessel, showing ordinary Aussies how to avoid bad credit history from credit card debt

    A major source of bad credit history is credit card debt. People spend more than they can afford, and may even take out one card to pay off the other – and never really clearing their debts until one day their credit rating is tarnished. Credit success begins with choosing the right credit card. It’s important to read the fine print before you decide on a credit card. Avoid getting enticed by rewards and low interest periods, and take the time to understand what you can afford so you can choose the card that fits you and your lifestyle. That’s the key point to avoid bad credit history through credit card debt.

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

    Australian money saving website, Savingsguide.com.au posted a great article yesterday on choosing a credit card. They mentioned how essential choosing the right credit card is to your finances – it can be the difference between good and bad credit history. Here are their 5 tips for choosing the right credit card.

    5 Tips When Getting A Credit Card by Savingsguide.com.au:

    1. At The End Of The Month. If you’re unable to pay off your credit card at the end of the month, Yahoo! Personal Finance suggests looking for cards with 45 days of interest free and then cards that have the lowest interest on purchases. I would also suggest keeping credit use to a minimum until you’re able to pay it off at the end of the month.

    2.  Fee. If you’re planning on using your credit card frequently and for rewards programs, then an annual fee might be a worthwhile spend. You could be looking at anywhere between $50 to $250 a year, but if you’re redeeming your points for money-saving purchases like flights or accommodation, it might be a worthwhile investment. If, however, you’ve got the card as an emergency back up when you go overseas, you may as well just get a card that doesn’t have an annual fee.

    3. Interest Rate. When getting a credit card, it’s essential to weigh up whether any outlay on the card is a worthwhile investment. The same is as true of interest as it is of the annual fee. The card might have a high interest rate but if you can be certain you’re going to be able to pay it off at the end of every month, then those cards can also offer great rewards. Often, it’s stipulated you have to be earning over a certain amount to qualify to use the card.

    4.  Use It Everywhere. People look dismayed when they come to my work and pull out an Amex or Diners. Sure, we can transfer it. At the cost of a 3% surcharge, which usually precludes anyone from wanting to use it. Amex and Diners come with great rewards but a lot of businesses, at least in my town, have no interest in processing them so you have to rely on two cards. Recently, however, cards have been released where they are two cards in one (an Amex and Visa, or an Amex and Mastercard). So if you’re keen for the reward points, it could be worth investigating that option.

    5. Bonuses. Credit cards are big business, and they want to make sure that they keep yours. Hence, the amazing world of bonuses for your credit cards. The most obvious, and the most commonly used, is the protection should you be a victim of fraud. If it happens on your credit card, the bank will usually cover you as part of your credit card contract. If the same thing happens on your debit card, you’re not always as lucky. Other bonuses can include short-term insurance on items bought on your credit card or little luxuries like privileged access to concert tickets when they go on sale and the best seats. If a credit card fulfils all your other criteria, a bonus scheme could be a great way for you to save a bit of money throughout the year.

    Some great advice there on choosing credit cards. One important point is to not be sucked in by promises of rewards or other special deals when choosing credit cards – concentrate on the fees, interest and repayments. If you can afford all of that, then look at the possible benefits rewards can bring.

    Here is my advice to prevent bad credit history from credit card debt:

    Create your own credit limit.
    Set yourself a limit based on what you can comfortably afford to repay. It’s important to realise that you will pay at some point for the credit you use. Make sure at worst case scenario you can afford to repay it. You will then have confidence in your spending without the temptation to overspend.

    Don’t exceed the credit limit.
    This will just mean you incur hefty charges.

    Pay off the balance each month.
    Ideally, pay off the entire card balance within the interest free period. If you don’t, you will be charged interest right back to the date you purchased each item. You not only lose the interest-free period on those past purchases, but until you pay off the balance there will be no interest free period on anything you spend in the future.

    Or, choose a low interest card, but still pay more than the minimum repayment amount each month.
    If you have debt which carries over on your card month to month you should look at a card that has a lower interest rate. It may not offer an interest free period, or hefty rewards points, but the lower interest rate should mean the carried over debt is more manageable for you, and will prevent possible bad credit history.

    Avoid cash advances.
    Interest usually applies immediately on any cash advances from credit cards – whether the withdrawal is within the interest free period or not.

    For help with repairing bad credit history, or more information on your credit rating, visit our website www.mycra.com.au or call MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs tollfree on 1300 667 218.

    Image: worradmu / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

     

     

  • Personal information…the gateway to identity theft

    Hackers access databases searching for personal information that can be extracted and misused or traded to fraudsters for purposes of identity theft. We look at how your identity and ultimately your clean credit file can be put at risk. By GRAHAM DOESSEL.

    It’s Saturday night in Las Vegas. Thousands of pairs of shoes sit neatly in boxes on warehouse shelves in the dark. The store’s customers and staff are at home enjoying their evening. In the credit information office, the lights are off, the filing has been done. But in the dark, thousands of the store’s computers are being remotely accessed by hackers.

    The personal information of the shoe store’s customers is likely being transferred. It is likely this information will now be sold on the black market to fraudsters. This information could now be used to further attack those unsuspecting customers. Those customers could now be a target for identity theft and receive phishing emails in order to get further information from victims, including the credit card number.

    This may have been how the saga transpired for shoe company, Zappo.com on the weekend. In a story from the Sydney Morning Herald this morning it was reported that on Sunday Amazon.com owned shoe retailer Zappos.com announced it was hacked. Hackers broke into the credit card database. Up to 24 million of its customers’ personal information may have been accessed. The company said customers’ credit card information was not stolen, but names, phone numbers, email addresses, billing and shipping addresses, along with the last four digits from credit cards and more may have been accessed in the attack.

    Here is an excerpt from that story, titled ‘Zappo’s customers details walk out the door’:

    It is not yet known how hackers gained access to the database or if a zero day exploit was used, but a security expert said it is likely customer data will now be sold in the cyber underground.

    Robert Siciliano, a McAfee consultant and identity theft expert, told Mashable he expects whoever hacked Zappos’s site to now sell the data to people who run phishing scams.

    “They’ll sell it 10,000 accounts at a time, short money, like $100,” he said adding there is enough information for a hacker to approach affected users as either Zappos or the credit card company and then ask them for more data — the classic phishing scam — which might be supplemented with a voicemail “vishing” attack as well, Mashable reported.

    Zappos said it was contacting customers by email and urging them to change their passwords.

    Las Vegas-based Zappos said the hackers gained access to its internal network and systems through one of the company’s servers in Kentucky.

    And in the news last week, we get an insight in to the type of crime ring that hackers may sell this information to. AFP report titled ’50 held in Puerto-Rico based identity ring’.

    The U.S. Justice Department announced late last week it has charged 50 people with conspiracy in a scheme to acquire personal identification information on US citizens in Puerto Rico and then sell it through fraudulent documents.

    Typically, the documents consisted of forged Social Security cards and birth certificates. They were sold for prices ranging between $700 and $2,500.
    The documents were sold from April 2009 until December 2011 to buyers throughout the United States.

    “The alleged conspiracy stretched across the United States and Puerto Rico, using suppliers, identity brokers and mail and money runners to fill and deliver orders for the personal identifying information and government-issued identity documents of Puerto Rican US citizens,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer in a statement.
    The indictment alleges that identity brokers ordered the forged documents for their customers from Puerto Rican suppliers by making coded telephone calls.
    They would refer to “shirts,” “uniforms” or “clothes” as codes for various kinds of identity documents.
    “Skirts” meant female customers and “pants” meant male customers who needed documents in various “sizes,” which referred to the ages of the identities sought by the customers.

    Payment was made through money transfers while the documents were sent by mail.

    Some of the persons receiving the forged documents used them to obtain drivers licenses, US passports and visas, the Justice Department reported. Others are accused of using the documents to commit financial fraud.

    Sure this crime went on in the U.S. but it couldn’t happen here – could it?

    Well, to begin with – how many Australians have credit card details registered with Amazon, for example? We might live on an island, but U.S. crime can always reach our shores via the internet. Just look at the Sony PlayStation saga as a specific incident of how our details are not immune to theft on overseas shores.

    With identity theft being the fastest growing crime in Australia – it seems criminals here will be hot on the heels of the U.S. with newer, better, more sophisticated ways to get something for nothing.

    Interestingly, many hacks are actually not instigated to commit identity theft, but are statements to different industry bodies. For example the recent Robin Hood-style hacking of Texas security analysis company, Stratfor on Christmas Eve. Hackers obtained thousands of credit card numbers and other personal information from the firm’s clients and started making payments to several charities.

    “The assault was believed to have been orchestrated by a branch of the loosely affiliated hacker group called Anti-Sec and appeared to be inspired by anger at the imprisonment of Bradley Manning, the US army private accused of leaking US government files to WikiLeaks. An online statement from the group said the attack would stop if Manning was given ”a holiday feast … at a fancy restaurant of his choosing”,” the Brisbane Times reports.

    MP Malcolm Turnball and billionare businessman David Smorgon were amongst the victims who had relatively small amounts extracted from their credit card and donated to charities such as Save the Children, Red Cross and CARE.

    But for those hackers whose main aim is to extract details from databases and onsell them to fraudsters – we should all be very wary. And unfortunately, there is always that element of doubt about the security of our personal information in company databases.

    A leading fraud expert made this suggestion for online credit card use:

    In a story the Courier Mail featured in October last year, titled ‘Queensland Police Fraud chief Brian Hay calls for banks to bring in credit cards that can only be used in Australia to stop cyber-crime’, Det. Supt. Hay made some valid suggestions about how Australians can protect themselves from this type of fraud. One included for shoppers to have a credit card specifically for online purchases with a small credit limit. This is good advice to follow to prevent having large amounts extracted from credit cards if the companies with those details are ever hacked.

    Unfortuanately, it doesn’t stop identity thieves ‘phishing’ for further information on their victim for purposes of full-blown identity theft.

    If credit is taken out by fraudsters in the victim’s name, they can end up with defaults on their credit file – and this is not easy to recover from. First the victim has to prove they didn’t initiate the credit themselves. This would require documentary evidence and Police reports. But the identity theft victim would be virtually banned from obtaining credit until they are able to wade through the mess that has been created for them on their credit report, and clear their good name.
    For help with credit repair following identity theft, contact MyCRA Credit Repairs on 1300 667 218 or visit our main website www.mycra.com.au.

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  • Consumer debt reduction: Watch out for new bank fees

    Our last blog post was about debt struggles and solutions –and how people can protect their credit file. Featured in this post were recent findings from Dun & Bradstreet’s bi-annual debt survey, showing one in three Australians will struggle to repay their debts in the September quarter.

    The Sydney Morning Herald recently published an article featuring this survey, titled ‘Australians still hooked on credit’. It reported that many people are still heavily reliant on credit to purchase something they could otherwise not afford, despite the assessment of their household’s financial outlook now being at a 20-year low. But the article reports some sections of the population are reducing their credit use. It reports Mastercard as saying:

    “The austere mood caused the annual growth in credit card numbers in Australia to slow to 1.76 per cent in the 12 months to May. Purchases made on debit cards jumped 17.3 per cent during that time as consumers sought more control over their finances.”

    If the downward trend to reduce credit continues, people will become more reliant on debit cards and Eftpos to make their purchases.

    But as the Herald Sun reports in its article ‘Banks are busy working on ways to replace income lost from fees‘, people may be penalised for this change. It reports a new Eftpos tax will result in an extra 10c interchange fee and 1c EPAL scheme fee increase on Eftpos transactions starting October 1, 2011. Here is an excerpt from this story:

    The company that runs Eftpos, EPAL, has given banks until
    next month to opt in to its new, higher interchange fee structure.

    “Banks are about to start charging for something they previously provided for free,” said Jost Stollmann, chief executive of a rival player in the debit-card payment industry, Tyro Payments.

    “In fact they supplied this service for less than free: they paid 5c each time someone used Eftpos.”

    “Now EPAL has reversed that subsidy and created a new 5c fee to acquirers, which will flow through to retailers and merchants.”

    The Australian Newsagents’ Federation say the new Eftpos fee
    regime will impose fees of up to 21c for each Eftpos transaction, up 110 per cent on existing fees.

    “No retailer can negotiate the interchange fee with his bank. The new EPAL regime is all about raising bank fees,” the federation says in a new advertising campaign.

    The story explains how banks have cut out exit fees on home loans, and many of the other fees that consumers have traditionally complained about, but have cleverly sought alternative ways of replacing the lost fees. It reports one way of recovering lost revenue from exit fees is to increase ongoing fees on home loans. The story reports fees in this area have increased on average around $75 a year since 2009. Also some banks have announced increased upfront fees on some of their variable home loans recently. The highest upfront fee increase was $600 on one Commonwealth Bank product.

    So consumers will have to bear the cost of reduced fees in some areas, with increased fees in others. If people want to refinance to a cheaper interest rate to save money, they won’t pay exit fees to leave that home loan – but they could pay higher upfront fees on many of the new loans they may want to switch to. Hmmm….

    Is the process of saving money and reducing debt just getting more difficult to navigate?

    How do we know the best ways to save money?

    For those who, despite all of the obstacles to success are determined to reduce debt – the best place to start is to get interested and updated on ways to save money. We encourage people to get educated about debt, and ways to avoid a bad credit rating, which can ruin people’s ability to obtain good credit for 5-7 years.

    The fact is credit is an essential part of being money smart in today’s society. Unfortunately we need credit. People can’t go back to wacking the money under the mattress. They simply cannot function without savings records and credit history in order to obtain major credit like mortgages and personal loans. So to succeed, it’s a matter of being educated about smart ways to use credit.

    There are a number of great places to start getting educated. We love the advice given on Australian blog Savingsguide. Also extremely informative is ASIC’s Money smart website. Of course, we can’t go past a trusted favourite like MSN Money.

    If people find despite their education on money principles, they still can’t get ahead due to the disadvantage of having credit rating defaults, writs or Judgments – it may be possible to start with a clean slate by having them removed. Not all credit files can be repaired, but those which contain adverse listings with errors, which are unjust or just shouldn’t be there are good candidates. Credit repairers completely remove defaults, writs or Judgments from people’s credit files, allowing people the financial freedom to choose the best interest rates, and financial products which are right for
    them. For example, people who are living with a bad credit rating who invest in credit repair can potentially save thousands on interest by the ability to select a cheaper interest rate. Contact us at MyCRA Credit Repairs for more information.

    Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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