MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: defaults removal

  • Vanuatu – What can we learn to help our businesses in Australia..

    VANUATU… It is a beautiful place and the people are some of the warmest, most friendly people I have ever encountered..

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    Pele Islane Vanuatu
    This is the view we had eating lunch on Pele` Island at Vanuatu

    Yesterday we did a tour of Pele Island. Prior to leaving the main Island (Efate), we stopped at a local supermarket and were asked that, if we could afford it, to buy a few books and pencils etc. for the school kids as they don’t have much… We bought a few items and were on our way.

    The island was beautiful and the snorkeling was breathtaking… (pardon the pun..)

    Then we walked 600m through a jungle track to the local primary school that services the 4 vilages on the island.. There were 72 children at the school and they were amazing..

    They sang 4 songs for us with the power of professionally trained performers.. absolutely amazing…

    Our tour guide, Morris (from Evergreen Tours) is a local from the island and was a support teacher at the school for a number of years.. He showed us the facilities at the school which included the 1 (one) text book that the teachers work out of for the grades 5 and 6 kids.. it was many years old and pages 1 – 14 were missing…

    We finished our look around the school grounds and handed our megre offerings of the few books and pencils to the head teacher.. and left..

    Today we went shopping and have been trying to find a few extra things (more exercise books, pencils, dictionaries etc) for the kids and have the realisation that we may make a small difference but how much we take for granted in good old Australia…

    Most locals make approx $1.50 – $3.00 per hour and yet the prices are higher than in AU.. they do everything with the biggest, warmest genuine smiles I have ever seen..

    Most of the clients that you (Our brokers and referrers) refer to MyCRA either didn’t know they had defaults or didn’t realise the implications of having the defaults before you explained it to them. In some cases, this new knowledge has cut them deep and it takes a little while for them to come to terms that they don’t have the same options as someone with clean credit.. A few kind words and a friendly smile can make a huge difference..

    Just a quick reminder that I am making myself available to groups to do presentations on credit rating repairs and how a broker / referrer can make more money and settle more loans.. If you have a group of 50 or more that you think would benefit from a quick 20 – 30 minute presentation followed by question time, please email me in info@mycra.com.au and we will try to slot you in..

    I have learnt a lot from these wonderful people and it will stay with me for a lifetime..[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

  • Identity Theft the ticking time bomb in Australia

    SAFETY of personal information needs to be taken more seriously in this country, to avoid Australian identity theft statistics rising to the percentages of those in the UNITED STATES, GRAHAM DOESSEL CEO of credit rating repair company MY CRA warns.

    “Identity theft is the curse of the 21st Century and that is becoming more evident in our industry of credit rating repair. There are more and more people needing help with repairing their credit file due to having their identity misrepresented in some way.”

    “With exposure of our personal information greater than ever before, opportunities for fraud are higher than ever” he says.

     This follows a recent investigation into VODAFONE for allegations of possible breaches of privacy by having customer information available on a publically accessible internet site.

     This investigation conducted by the Privacy Commissioner found the allegations were unsubstantiated, but his report, released 16 February did illustrate other areas of concern at VODAFONE in relation to privacy.

     “Vodafone did not have appropriate security measures in place to protect customer’s personal information at the time. Consequently Vodafone was in breach of their obligations under the Privacy Act. I was particularly concerned by Vodafone’s use of shared logins and passwords for staff and the broad range of detailed personal information available to them.” Privacy Commissioner TIMOTHY PILGRIM says.

    Vodafone agreed to review its IT security, and all appropriate staff including employees in retail stores and dealerships will be issued with individual login IDs and passwords.

    Mr Pilgrim said that this case should serve as a reminder to all businesses using customer management systems to ensure that they have robust privacy protections built in.

    The latest AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS data from a Personal Fraud Survey conducted in 2007 shows over 800,000 Australians were victims of at least one incident of personal fraud in the 12 months prior to interview, with over half of these victims incurring a financial loss.

    Research in 2009 conducted by Galaxy Research for VEDA ADVANTAGE showed 4.4 million Australians were affected in some way by identity theft, compared to 3.8 million in the previous year.

    The AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION now sites identity theft as the “fastest growing crime in AUSTRALIA.”

    The A.C.C. says compromised financial information can be used directly to attempt to access someone’s accounts, or be used to obtain credit cards, loans or any other credit in the victims’ name.

    Fraudsters have even been known to send SMS and emails from a compromised identity to victims’ friends and associates, asking for money on the victims’ behalf. This often involves a story in regards to the victim being stranded somewhere and requiring the funds urgently.

    Current U.S. statistics point to 8.1 million people being victimized in 2010, according to a report by JAVELIN STRATEGY AND RESEARCH. Although that’s still a huge number, it’s 3 million fewer victims than in 2009.

    So why have the U.S. statistics begun to improve? JAVELIN sites the top reason for the decrease is due to a significant drop in data breaches, or situations in which batches of personal information have become vulnerable to identity thieves.

    The number of breaches last year was down by almost one-third, to 407 incidents, or 26 million records exposed, according to the DataLossDB project. Again, still a huge number, but down – from 604 breaches, or 221 million records exposed, in 2009.

    “We definitely see evidence that the banks and other institutions are taking stronger precautions to prevent data breaches. Data breaches are a big deal. You are eight times more likely to be a victim of fraud if you get a data-breach notice.” James Van Dyke, president and founder of Javelin says.

    He also sites consumer-education efforts as possibly another factor.

    Mr DOESSEL says this demonstrates the importance of vigilance in the war against identity theft.

    “It is so important for Australians to educate themselves on how to keep their information secure, and to demand that any information they are required to give over to any person or company be treated with the utmost privacy” Mr DOESSEL says. 

    “Our message at MyCRA to someone who has found themselves a victim of identity theft is two-fold. Firstly don’t be embarrassed to report it to police – it is only through identity theft being reported that data gets collected and appropriate preventative measures eventually get put in place.”

    “Secondly don’t put up with the damage it causes to your credit file and to your life, get in touch with a reputable credit rating repairer who can help you to clear your credit file and restore the financial freedom you rightly deserve” he says.

    Visit www.mycra.com.au  for more information on identity theft.

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     LINKS

    PRIVACY COMMISSIONER’S STATEMENT:

    http://www.oaic.gov.au/news/media_release_vodafone_omi.html

     

    VEDA ADVANTAGE:

    http://www.vedaadvantage.com/news-and-media/article.dot?id=505933

     

    AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS:

    http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article13012009%E2%80%9310?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1301.0&issue=2009%9610&num=&view

     

    A.C.C. IDENTITY CRIME STATEMENT:

    http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/media/faq/financial_crime.htm

     

    U.S. STATISTICS:

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/09/AR2011020906064.html

     

     

  • Divorcing or Separating? – What you can do to protect your credit rating.

    If you are in the middle of a separation, My CRA can’t stress enough how important it is to look forward into the future to ensure that it does not impact on your credit rating.

    Emotions are running high – and sometimes tempers as well.  People often use financial ties to deliberately hurt one another.

    The most important and sensible decision the two of you can make during the separation is to cut all financial ties and as early in the separation as possible.

    Don’t hold on to joint accounts and assets ‘just in case’ you reconcile.  Even the most amicable of separations can potentially turn sour down the track.  The sooner you make the break, the better off your future will be – even if you do decide to get back together in the future.

    What happens if my ex has run up debt in joint names?

    As far as the credit providers are concerned if the debt is in both names, then you are both responsible for it regardless of who accrued it.

    For them, there is no such thing as a broken heart, just a broke person.  Your aim should be to clear that debt and repair your credit rating as soon as possible.

    My CRA can help you formulate a plan of how to attack the problem – starting with the cancellation of the account it originated from, advice on contacting the creditors to arrange repayments and finally helping you to repair your damaged credit rating.

    I have just separated from my spouse – what do I do now?

    It is recommended these steps be taken as early in the separation as possible to ensure protection of your credit rating.  If these steps can be accomplished together, you can both get on with your lives as individuals sooner:

    Cancel joint bank accounts.  We recommended that you use the money from these accounts to go towards paying off any debts you may have together.

    Pay off and cancel joint credit cards. If the debt on the card/s can’t be paid off, inform the creditor that you have separated and ask them to put a stop on the account so there may be no more transactions.  They could even make arrangements to transfer the repayments to two separate accounts.

    Resolve the mortgage debt.  Sell the home and divide the proceedings, or sell your share of the home to your ex-spouse or vice-versa. Before this takes place, notify the bank you have separated.  Make sure no further amount can be redrawn on the loan and that you receive separate statements whilst you are separated and both still own the property.

    Transfer names on other accounts. Phones, electricity accounts, rental properties, rates, car loans and store credit should all be transferred to one name as appropriate.

    Pay any unpaid accounts. No matter who has accrued these debts, the credit providers will still see you as responsible.

    Keep a record of all undertakings. Ensure you keep paperwork related to the separation, including cancellation or changes to any accounts for future reference.

    Employ a good family solicitor.  Legal advice is important as it relates to children, family businesses and property.  Also if anything runs off course with division of debt, they can give good advice on the next course of action.

    Notify credit reporting agencies. Let Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet, or Tasmanian Collection Agency know of your separation and any steps you have taken to separate accounts to date.

    Check your credit score. Request a copy of your credit rating and check each entry.  Sign up for Veda Advantage’s ‘Veda Alert’ facility, which sends you a copy of your credit rating report every 12 months and notifies you of any changes to your file.   This is essential particularly if settlement is drawn out over a number of years.

    Seek help from a credit repairer for any defaults, writs or judgements. Once accounts are paid, if you decide to deal with the credit reporting agencies directly, they will tell you that defaults are never removed but can be marked as paid.  However, at the moment these black marks against your name can be enough for credit refusal, particularly if you are trying to buy a new property on one income.  My CRA will be able to access your file and will assess whether they can remove the default for you. Our current success rate is 91.7% of all cases we take on having their credit file default-free.

    (15/10/2011 Update: turn around times have increased on some files to 45 – 60 days due mainly to the delays in processing from creditors and ombudsman services.)

    MyCRA is contactable on 07 3124 7133 or www.MyCRA.com.au

     

     

    Please Note: Our previous results of up to 91.7% have applied to consumer applications and past results are no indication of future performance.