MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: credit file mistakes

  • Is your New Year’s Resolution to buy a home? Check your credit rating doesn’t have a shady past first.

    new year's resolution to buy a homeMedia Release

    Is your New Year’s Resolution to buy a home? Check your credit rating doesn’t have a shady past first.

    8 January 2013

    As the calendar has rolled to the 2013 New Year, many Australians have declared their intentions to knuckle down and put together a deposit for a home – but a consumer advocate for accurate credit reporting warns – before people apply for a loan, they should check they don’t have a shady past with credit they are not aware of.

    CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair, Graham Doessel says there are many reasons people can embarrassed with a bad credit rating and refused a home loan at the time of finance application, and the reason is not always as simple as failing to make payments on time.

    “People have got to be dedicated to be able to get together the minimum 10 per cent deposit that is generally required to buy a home today, but some people are getting to the credit check and are told they have bad credit history and they have no idea why,” Mr Doessel says.

    Prospective buyers may apply for a loan, only to be refused due to credit file defaults which show up on their credit report. Any creditor is able to place a default on a consumer credit file if a repayment is later than 60 days. Credit listings range in duration from 5 to 7 years depending on the listing type.

    Mr Doessel says home buyers do not always have bad credit because of something they have done wrong.

    “Paying your bills on time should, but doesn’t always guarantee a clear credit file. As credit repairers, we see a multitude of instances where the creditor has made a mistake and placed a default or other listing on the consumer’s credit file when it shouldn’t be there. Often it’s not until the credit file holder applies for credit that they are made aware of it, but at that time it’s too late, they often lose the home they are buying,” he says.

    “Credit file mistakes are common, and can be because of simple human or computer error but the end result is that the consumer is blacklisted from credit for at least five years unless they can prove the listing is unlawful.”

    Consumers can check their credit file for free every year, by requesting a copy from Australia’s credit reporting agencies.

    “It is good financial practice to request a copy each year, but there is never a more important time to make sure your credit report is accurate as BEFORE you apply for a home loan, so you don’t lose the home you have your heart set on. Credit reporting mistakes do happen, but the watchdog is you,” he says.

    If a default has been listed ‘unlawfully’ you have the right to request its amendment, or removal from your credit file.

    “If there is something amiss on your credit report, if you find have a shady past with credit that you believe is unfair, don’t let that one notation ruin your life. It’s not easy to dispute a credit listing, but if it shouldn’t be there, it’s a point worth fighting for,” Mr Doessel says.

    People can visit http://www.mycra.com.au/credit-file-request/ for help to get their credit report.

    /ENDS.

    Please contact:

    Graham Doessel – CEO Ph 3124 7133

    Lisa Brewster – Media Relations media@mycra.com.au

    Ph 07 3124 7133 www.mycra.com.au www.mycra.com.au/blog 246 Stafford Rd, STAFFORD Qld

    MyCRA Credit Repairs is Australia’s number one in credit rating repairs. We permanently remove defaults from credit files.

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  • 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.

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  • Veda throws new light on identity theft and credit fraud: 1 in 5 affected

    Identity theft numbers continue to climb. How can this impact your credit file and possibly lead to a wrong default listing? And what action can you take if you are a victim of identity fraud?

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

    Credit reporting agency Veda Advantage has revealed more results of their annual Australian Debt Study, of around 1,000 Australians that one in five have had their identities stolen or had their personal or financial data illegally accessed.

    The results, released on Thursday to the Sydney Morning Herald and published in the story Identity theft hits one in five: study, shows the figures have climbed higher than previous studies on identity theft. This includes the widely attributed study on identity theft commissioned by former Attorney-General Robert McLelland twelve months ago, which revealed one in six Australians had fallen victim to, or knew someone who was a victim of identity theft.

    It was reported that credit card crime such as skimming is one of the major problems plaguing consumers. Here is more from that story:

    Australians aged 35-49 are the most likely group to fall victim to identity fraud while 18-24 year olds are the least likely to report illegal access to their personal or financial data…

    …people earning more than $70,000 are much more likely to be targeted for bank account and credit card crime than those earning $40,000 a year or less and cases of identity theft and financial fraud are highest in Western Australia and NSW.

    Findings also show that almost one in three Australians suffered some form of credit crime and lost their wallet containing credit cards and identification.

    Matthew Strassberg, a Veda senior advisor said: “Identity crime is a thriving industry in Australia, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimating the cost of personal fraud to consumers at $1.4 billion dollars a year.

    “Whilst credit card fraud is a common form of identity crime, many people do not realise that with only a small amount of personal data, an identify thief could take out a second mortgage on a house, or open up a new line of personal credit and purchase items in their name or under a false identity.”

    Credit card fraud is the most common type of identity crime, but it is buffered by substantial bank insurance and good general knowledge of the steps to take should a person’s credit card be stolen – cancel cards, let the bank know etc etc – but the silent ‘killer’ if someone’s wallet is stolen or a home is broken into; or personal information accessed over the internet or through the various sophisticated computer viruses that are out there – could be the personal information that can be accessed and misused.

    We consider if someone is alerted to having money stolen from credit cards early, or perhaps is able to call their bank and stop fraud in its tracks – that they are the lucky ones.

    The unlucky identity theft victim is unaware of the fraud until their identity is misused, and their credit rating with it. When identity theft damages a person’s credit rating – it is because the fraudster has been able to overtake credit accounts, or has gained access to enough personally identifiable information about the victim to forge new identity documents.

    This gives the fraudster access to credit cards, loans, even mortgages which allows them to extract significant amounts of money without the victim realising it straight away.

    If credit accounts are not repaid – after 60 days the victim may be issued with written notification of non-payment and the intention for the creditor to list a default on their credit file. It is at this moment that some people who were previously unaware of any problems find out they have been victims of this more sophisticated type of identity theft.

    But often the credit file holder has also had their contact details changed – and this means it is not until they apply for credit in their own right and are refused that they find out about the identity fraud. This can be a significant time after the initial crime.

    It can often be difficult for Police to track down who was responsible for the fraud, and likewise, it can be difficult to prove to creditors the victim did not instigate the credit in the first place. People can be left not only owing thousands of dollars, but can also be left robbed of the ability to take out new credit. Major fraud such as this can completely debilitate a family for years after the crime took place. Bad credit sticks around for between 5 and 7 years, depending on how the unpaid credit is listed on the victim’s credit file.

    Knowing how to dispute a credit report which is damaged from identity theft is a science, as is all credit listing complaints. The onus is on the credit file holder to prove to the creditor they did not initiate the credit. This requires proof, including Police reports and documentary evidence.

    This is why many identity theft victims – and all victims of credit file mistakes – turn to professional credit repairers to repair their bad credit in these instances. Often there is only one shot at disputing a credit listing with a creditor. Seeing a professional can give people the best chance of correcting bad credit and having those mistakes (including mistakes from fraud) which appear on their credit report removed for good.

    If you are the one in five who has been a victim of identity theft, have you checked your credit file lately? Do you know whether you could be at risk of identity fraud and credit misuse?

    You can get a free copy of your credit file annually from one or more of the credit reporting agencies in Australia and you should do this to make sure your good name hasn’t been compromised.

    If there is something on your credit report that you don’t agree with, or you think you may have fallen victim to identity crime, contact Police and contact a credit repairer – don’t be embarrassed, and don’t put up with bad credit that shouldn’t be there.

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