MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: dispute credit listings

  • Interest rates cut to record lows at 2.5%

    interest rate cutsThe Reserve Bank of Australia has cut its cash rate to a low 2.5% – lower than during the GFC. The Sydney Morning Herald says several banks wasted no time in passing on the rates cut to their home loan customers. National Australia Bank and Bank of Queensland said they would both pass on today’s 0.25 percentage point cut in interest rates to the home loan customers in full. This is good news for home buyers with a good deposit and a good clean credit file – but maybe not such great news in the long term for the Australian economy.

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

    As Australian Broker reported today, the speech made late last week by RBA governor, Glenn Stevens, also indicated another rate reduction was on the cards, with Stevens admitting the RBA was becoming increasingly concerned about major areas of the Australian economy, particularly the passing of  mining and credit growth ‘booms’.

    Many brokers will be taking this information straight to clients, as 1st Street Home Loans founding director, Jeremy Fisher, outlined in an interview with Australian Broker earlier today.

    “First and foremost, we’ll get in touch with any clients that are due to settle and looking at making any necessary changes to their loans. And then we’ll go back and review any clients that are, I guess, a ‘watchlist’. So it’s pretty much just keeping our clients informed of the change.”

    Fisher said 1st Street sends out a bulletin to all their clients immediately following RBA cash rate announcements in order to keep them updated.

    “Then we just go back to our watchlist and touch base with everyone that’s kind of doing things as we speak – because that may or may not influence what they’re doing.”

    Mr Stevens told the Sydney Morning Herald he expected the Australian economy to continue to grow below trend in the near term as mining investment falls, and for inflation to remain consistent with the medium-term target as labour costs moderated.

    He added that the Australian dollar remained “at a high level” despite losing about 15 per cent of its value since early April, and welcomed a further depreciation of the exchange rate to help foster a rebalancing of growth in the economy.

    Several analysts said the RBA could ease rates again later this year as the country continues to grapple with a slowing economy amid an uneven transition away from mining-led growth.

    Taking advantage of interest rate cuts.

    With this interest rate cut, we feel it is worthwhile to ramp up our education efforts around credit history. Many people do not know what a credit file is – many more don’t know the process for being listed with bad credit, and more again assume that if there was something amiss with their credit file, that they would somehow be informed. They don’t realise that the onus is on them to check their credit history on a regular basis (at least once per year) just to make sure that errors have not been made on the credit file. Errors can happen to anyone – from all walks of life.

    People may believe their credit history is clean, but creditors can and do make mistakes with credit reports, and often it is not until people apply for finance that they have any idea they have bad credit. At this time the process of investigation and complaint can be stressful and can sometimes mean the prospective borrower misses out on the home loan while the discrepancy is addressed.

    The process of clearing an unfair credit listing can sometimes be very time consuming – especially if the creditor has not cooperated with requests to supply documentation in a timely fashion, or the matter has to be referred to a third party for investigation.

    So the message is, if people are thinking about buying a home in the near future – they should check their credit report first, and make sure it has the “all clear” before they apply for finance, and before they get their hearts set on any particular home. This is free for all credit active Australians once every year and we encourage any home buyer to request a copy of their credit report. It takes 10 working days or for a fee to the credit reporting agency, it can be sent urgently. But what it does is give peace of mind – not only to the Purchaser, but to the Broker or Bank Manager, and in some cases a clear credit file can help get the deal over the line with the Agent and Seller.

    If there are any inconsistencies or out and out errors on the credit file, the advantage to getting those removed is generally thousands and thousands of dollars in interest saved by being able to take advantage of those interest rate cuts with the mainstream lender of the buyer’s choice.

    To find out more about the benefits of using a credit rating repairer to dispute credit listings, contact a Credit Repair Advisor at MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs on 1300 667 218 or visit the main site for more information www.mycra.com.au.

    Image: renjith krishnan/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Suffering financial hardship? Speak up early to protect your credit rating.

    Media Release

    temporary financial hardshipSuffering financial hardship? Speak up early to protect your credit rating.

    6 June 2013

    Temporary financial difficulty has in the past led to accounts in default and years of restrictions to mainstream credit – but a consumer advocate says by acting early and taking advantage of new financial hardship laws, a bump in the road doesn’t have to mean you can’t borrow again.

    CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair, Graham Doessel says for those people suffering temporary financial problems, there is now a large incentive to talk to your bank.

    “If you suddenly lose your job, fall ill, separate from your spouse or have a specific period of intense financial difficulty – you should know there are laws that may be able to help you through this difficult time. By putting your hand up early– before your accounts go into arrears – you could save your credit file,” Mr Doessel explains.

    This comes after the Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) have this week embraced new financial hardship laws designed to protect consumers during times of temporary financial hardship, committing to a financial hardship package around consumer awarenesss.

    Steven Münchenberg, Chief Executive of the ABA, said in a statement to the media on Tuesday[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”][i] : “Our research tells us that only one in four bank customers know that banks offer hardship assistance. We would like to change that.”

    “If customers find themselves in financial difficulty, they need to take some action because money troubles don’t usually go away on their own. Don’t ignore the problem and talk to your bank as early as you can. Customers can also call an independent financial counsellor or ask your bank for a referral to an independent financial counsellor.”

    Mr Doessel agrees consumers have largely not been aware. He says he has helped many clients in the past dispute credit listings issued during a time of financial hardship, but he hopes that due to the ABA and banks playing a more proactive role in education, this will no longer be as prevalent.

    “In the past consumers have not been offered hardship variations with their bank, or they have not been aware they have a right to request one and have been defaulted – this locks them out of mainstream credit for five years,” he says.

    “If consumers are largely aware of their rights – then then they will request a variation to their credit agreement early and can avoid the long term consequences for what is often a very temporary issue.”

    He says the earlier consumers act, the better off they will be.

    “If they are able to secure a hardship variation prior to their account going into arrears at all, they may also avoid having the new late payment history recorded against their name, which could impact credit worthiness,” he says.

    Consumers experiencing temporary financial hardship should contact their bank and ask to speak with the Financial Hardship Variation division

    “Using the specific words ‘financial hardship’ will help make it clear to the bank what you need. Ideally, act before you fall into arrears on your account – to save your credit file when you recover from this difficult time,” Mr Doessel says.

    /ENDS.

    Please contact:

    Graham Doessel CEO Ph 3124 7133

    Lisa Brewster Media Relations media@mycra.com.au

    Ph 07 3124 7133 www.mycra.com.auwww.mycra.com.au/blog

    MyCRA Credit Repair 246 Stafford Rd, STAFFORD Qld

    MyCRA is Australia’s number one in credit rating repairs. We permanently remove defaults from credit files. CEO of MyCRA Graham Doessel is a frequent consumer spokesperson for credit reporting issues and is a founding member of the Credit Repair Industry Association of Australasia.

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