MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs

  • Carbon price scam warning for Australians. Advice to protect your good credit history

    The ACCC’s SCAMwatch has released a warning for Australian consumers and businesses about carbon price scams. Fraudsters are out there trying to pilfer personal information and banking and credit card details from unsuspecting recipients under the guise of pretending to be helping them recover carbon credits and compensation. We explain what this scam is in detail, and how your credit file could be compromised.

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

    Carbon price scammers are out in force again. The scam may come in a number of forms, targeting consumers and businesses across the country.

    Here are some examples for you to look out for provided by SCAMwatch:

    • People are telephoned and asked to provide their bank account details to a caller claiming to be from the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). They are offering a grant for mortgage assistance under the Federal Government’s Household Assistance Package of up to $100,000. These offers are false.
    • People have had phone calls seeking their personal banking details to pay carbon ‘tax’ compensation into their bank account – these are likely to be a scam.
    • Scammers may also know people’s names, addresses and phone numbers and may try to make an appointment to visit them in their home.
    • Scammers may set up fake websites which look very similar to official Australian Government websites. The sites may ask people to enter personal or financial details, or offer to sell people fake carbon credits.

    Here is how SCAMwatch recommends consumers and businesses protect themselves from these scams:

    Protect yourself

    The Australian Government will never call you to ask for your bank account details or to receive the Household Assistance Package. Government services are never paid via money transfer services, nor will they ever ask you to send money this way. The Australian Government website www.australia.gov.au is a safe portal for finding government services.

    If you receive a phone call or letter asking for personal information such as your Tax File Number, Veteran’s Affairs client number or banking details, do not answer straight away. Contact the Australian Taxation Office on 13 28 61 or your nearest DVA office on 133 254 (or 1800 555 254 if in regional Australia) to confirm that the source is legitimate.

    Never provide or confirm your personal or business details over the phone (including banking details or identification numbers) unless you made the call using contact details you found yourself and you trust the information.

    If you think that a call might be a scam hang up and check by using official contact details which you have found independently such as through a phone book or online search. Never use phone numbers, email addresses or websites provided by the caller.

    Never enter your credit card or banking details on a website unless you have checked it is authentic and secure. Legitimate websites which ask you to enter sensitive personal or business details are commonly encrypted to protect your details. A secure site is usually identifiable by the use of “https:” rather than “http:” at the start of the internet address, or by a closed or unbroken key or padlock icon at the bottom right corner of your browser window.

    If you are a business, make sure you only deal with people you know and trust. Avoid having a large number of staff authorised to make orders or pay invoices. This will reduce the risk of your business paying for something that it is not required or is not legitimate.

    If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

    Further to this, if people think they may have provided personal information to scammers then they may be vulnerable to identity theft.

    Apart from contacting their bank, here are three more things which are imperative for people to do if they think they might be vulnerable to identity theft:

    1. Contact Police. They can take some information about what happened and file a report – which you may need later if you do find your accounts and or your credit history compromised.

    2. Request a copy of your credit file. Check that everything is up to date, addresses are correct for you, and that there are no suspicious entries – like strange credit enquiries, or loans you have no knowledge of.

    3. Contact the Credit Reporting Agencies. Contact Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet and Tasmanian Collection Services (if in Tassie). Let them know that you may be vulnerable to identity theft. They should be able to alert you to any new entries if they arose that could point to someone attempting misuse your good credit history.

    You may also wish to contact the ACCC to report the scam.

    If you are having trouble recovering your ability to obtain credit following identity theft, we might be able to help. Contact a Credit Repair Advisor on 1300 667 218 to discuss your circumstances.

    Image: Stuart Miles/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image 2: David Castillo Dominici/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Will the spring boom be mowed down by bad credit?

    Spring has almost sprung – which is evident by the sunny weather spanning much of Australia today. We look at what this might mean for the housing market, and why this is the best time for people to get cracking on making sure their credit file comes up smelling like roses.

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

    Traditionally spring is the season where people dig out the clip-boards and the comfortable buying shoes and go get pre-approval for some serious house-hunting.

    Spring is a great time to buy due to more property on the market – transfers; people planning for moving prior to the new school year; people with pools selling when it’s warmer; and homes generally look prettier in the spring – can contribute to this rise in good stock. And for the same reasons, more buyers can be available at this time, which potentially means more borrowers.

    But RP Data’s Executive General Manager, Craig McKenzie told Australian Broker Online today that the 2012 spring selling season would be largely determined by levels of buyer confidence in the market place. He warned a lack of confidence would hamper activity.

    “Until such time as there is a sustained recovery in the consumer mindset it seems unlikely there will be a vast improvement in sales activity,” he said.

    The Housing Industry Association’s chief economist Harley Dale also echoed this belief.

    “The consistently weak consumer confidence is weighing very heavily on new housing investment, far more so than is the case for retail expenditure,” he said.

    “Combine that low confidence with very tight credit conditions and excessive taxation, and you have the unpalatable recipe for the recessionary conditions facing new housing.”

    I would argue nothing exudes buying confidence like pre-approval for a home loan. But this thinking can sometimes see people come unstuck if they’re not careful. If people don’t know what is said about them on their credit report before they apply for finance – they will find out after. If the news is bad – if they have a bad credit listing there – this would mean they are refused credit, and would also have created a credit enquiry on their credit report. “Tight credit conditions” mean any blemish on the credit report – including too many credit enquiries – can see a person refused credit.

    Most people think if they had any kind of black mark on their credit report they would know about it. But unfortunately “surprise” bad credit is pretty common. Bills and notices get sent to the wrong address; mistakes happen; listings are put there unfairly; or in some cases the wrong person cops the bad credit of someone else entirely. But if people apply for finance and their credit report comes back with nasties – the banks probably won’t be very understanding – they consider these blemishes require them to undertake too much ‘risk’ on the loan.

    In most cases the best way to alleviate bad credit history bringing undone all the hard work and savings that have gone into getting a person ready to buy is by using the free yearly credit report to check that everything on their credit file is as it should be before applying for finance.

    The very people who should be ordering a copy of their free credit report are the people who think their credit file should be returned clear. It only takes 10 days to receive it in the mail, but its piece of mind and ‘confidence’ to know that everything is as it should be.

    No amount of “fast talking” or explaining will take back that credit refusal if it occurs. The only thing that will fix a bad credit listing is to address the credit listing at its source – with the Creditor and if it shouldn’t be there – request its removal.

    But why should people use a credit repairer?

    For people who have ever tried to call up and fix their phone troubles, they can be on hold for hours; they can be passed from one person to another; and in the end, still hang up dissatisfied. Clients say it is a similar situation when trying to dispute a credit listing.

    Most times they are told (eventually) that listings can only be marked paid and cannot be removed. But this is not true. If a listing has been placed unlawfully on a person’s credit file, then it should be removed.

    What it takes to negotiate the removal of a credit listing

    • Ability to review pages and pages of documentation
    • Ability to be patient and go through the proper channels to request documents and information
    • Ability to build a strong case as to why a listing has been placed unlawfully based on client information crossed with relevant legislation
    • Ability to negotiate directly with the people that matter within the company in question
    • Knowledge of how to escalate a complaint when necessary, for the best outcome of the client

    Working within the law, a professional credit repair firm gives people the best chance of completely removing bad credit which should not be there. This way, they can apply for finance with a clean slate – achieving the interest rate of their choice, and saving themselves thousands.

    If someone is dreaming of white picket fences, the best way for them to confidently take charge of their “approvability” is to take charge of their credit file and what is says about them. With a clear credit file, they will be able to confidently apply for pre-approval, without stress, negotiating that best price on the house of their dreams.

    To order a free copy of your credit file, or for more information about professional credit repair contact MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs on 1300 667 218 or visit our main site www.mycra.com.au.

    Image 2: dan/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image 3: anankkml// www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • 5 Loan Solutions For Bad Credit

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    MyCRA Expert Credit Repair Lawyers Can Fix Your Bad Credit So You Can Be Approved!
    MyCRA Expert Credit Repair Lawyers Can Fix Your Bad Credit So You Can Be Approved!

    If you have a default, Clear-Out, Judgment, or Writ noted on your credit file – then you have one of the 4 common types of ‘bad credit’ which show up on Australian credit reports every day. It may be something you have been aware of since your Creditor put it there, or it could be something that slaps you in the face right when you are applying for a loan for a house, car or credit card. But if the question you really want answered is…’How can I get a loan with bad credit?’ we show you 5 ways you might still qualify for a loan while you have a black mark on your credit report.

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

    1. Apply with a lender who does not use credit scoring

    Recently Your Mortgage magazine published the Six ways to get a loan with bad credit, written by Smartline Mortgage Adviser, Kim Wight. Here is her first piece of advice on applying for credit:

    Most lenders use a computer-based system called credit scoring to assess your home loan application, says Ms Wight.

    “This means that the data collected in your application is given a rating or score and if the computer scores you as a bad risk, the application is declined before a real person has a chance to look at the application or hear your story as to why you have had credit problems in the past. In other words, ‘computer says no’,” she explains.

    “By applying with a lender who does not use credit scoring, your application – and the reason for your past credit problems – will be assessed by a real person, who can evaluate your personal situation past and present and use this information to make their decision on your application; it can be a case of, ‘human says yes’.”

    2. Apply with a non-conforming lender

    A non-conforming lender specialises in loan products for higher risk clients. These lenders are an alternative for those people who do not meet the lending criteria of traditional institutions for a variety of reasons, which includes bad credit clients, limited documentation, and low or no deposit clients. With the higher risk also comes a higher interest rate – usually 1% to 3% more than the standard interest rate.

    On the downside, this may add thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. Also non-conforming home loans lenders will require stricter repayment conditions and may penalise late or irregular payments. On the other hand if the payments are consistent and on time for a period of 1 or 2 years some may reward borrowers with interest rate cuts.

    If non-conforming home loans borrowers make regular repayments over 3 years they may be able to refinance their home loan with a standard variable interest rate home loan.

    But this type of loan should really be a last resort for borrowers – and we show you why.

    Norm is looking at a $300,000 loan. The interest rate with the non-conforming lender is 9%. There is a difference of 2% from the standard variable rate of 7% on the loan he was applying for before he found out he had bad credit.

    Norm and his family will pay $15,046.57 more in interest alone with the non-conforming loan just over those first three years prior to refinancing. Use our credit repair savings calculator to find out what it could cost you.

    But how do you apply with a mainstream lender if you have bad credit?

    3. Save more deposit and avoid mortgage insurance

    If you save over 20% deposit, plus your stamp duty and legal costs, you may be exempt from mortgage insurance. The mortgage insurance covers the lender in case you don’t repay the loan. If you can provide the bank with an ample deposit, their approval may be all that is necessary to secure the loan. If your financials stack up, and you have a great deposit, the bank may decide to approve you despite that black mark on your credit file.

    4. Prove to the bank that you can repay the debt

    Your Mortgage also says it is necessary to show a good repayment history if you wish to be considered for a loan while you have bad credit. And this makes sense. If you can’t demonstrate you have moved past those previous problems, by paying your accounts on time – the bank will probably wish to decline your application – whether that be with a mainstream lender or an alternative lender.

    “If you have had problems in the past, you need to show that you are now back on track by ensuring all current financial commitments are being paid on time,” Wight says.

    “This includes not only your loans and credit cards but your rent and utilities as well. Evidence of regular savings will also strengthen your application.”

    The other very essential thing to remember is that honesty is always the best policy when applying for credit. The worst thing you can do when you attempt to look into a loan with bad credit is pretend you don’t have it and hope that mainstream lenders don’t notice. Ah…they will – and this indiscretion will severely hurt your chances of obtaining credit.

    5. Determine whether the bad credit should really be on your credit file

    Sometimes bad credit history is legitimate. It is put there because we haven’t paid our bills on time, and the creditor, having done all the right things, has been left with no choice but to note it on our credit file.

    But in other cases our credit listing shouldn’t be there – because it was issued to our credit file unlawfully. Here are a few quick examples of how bad credit history may be unlawful:

    The listing is unfair (you don’t deserve to have the default in the first place); the creditor has defaulted the wrong credit file (eg system mistake or identity theft); the creditor has not given correct notification prior to the default – just to name a few.

    In these cases and many more, it is in your best interests to check whether you might be able to have the bad credit listing removed from your credit file, so that you can apply with a mainstream lender. If in doubt – get it checked out.

    You should repair your bad credit through a professional for a number of reasons…

    1. Most creditors will tell you they can’t remove the listing.

    2. You need to provide legislative evidence in order to prove the listing was placed unlawfully.

    3. Negotiating with creditors in the wrong way could lead to a fight on your hands and/or documents and client notes ‘disappearing’.

    The best way to see if you may be suitable for credit repair is by contacting a specialist credit repair company or a lawyer.

    You can contact a MyCRA Expert Credit Repair Lawyers Credit Repair Advisor on 1300 667 218 or visit our main site for more information www.mycralawyers.com.au.

    Image: Stuart Miles/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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  • W.A Government to toughen up on identity checks to combat identity fraud

    Western Australia’s Births Deaths and Marriages just got that little bit harder to swindle with the introduction of tighter identity controls to prevent identity theft and fraud. The changes come into effect next week and will mean anyone who applies for a birth, death or marriage certificate or a name change will have to provide at least three forms of current identification. We look at what these changes will mean in preventing fraud and subsequent bad credit history that shouldn’t be there, and why the positives of increased security outweigh any ‘inconvenience’.

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

    Attorney General Michael Mischin told Perth Now yesterday these tighter measures are designed to ensure those who are entitled to access personal information can do so easily, while deterring those who are not.

    “In the past few years thousands of West Australians have been affected by identity crime with millions of dollars stolen from innocent people,” Mr Mischin said.

    Under WA law people can face up to seven years jail if they produce, use or supply another person’s identification when there is intent to use that information to commit a crime, or facilitate someone else to commit a crime.

    The nature of this form of identity crime is pretty complicated, but the payoffs for the criminals would be huge. This type of identity fraud involves the use and misuse of someone’s personal information. Fraudsters may have one piece of the identity puzzle that they may have obtained from somewhere – say a credit application dumped un-shredded in a rubbish bin, personal details from social networking, or perhaps a stolen wallet containing a licence or bank account. What the fraudsters then do is look at piecing together different bits of information – requesting replacement copies of basic identity documents, even changing addresses until they have enough information to commit fraud. The icing on the cake for this type of identity fraud – would be obtaining a replacement copy of an actual birth, death or marriage certificate.

    If fraudsters had this type of document, they could easily apply for new credit in their victim’s name – even going so far as to mortgage a property in their victim’s name.

    The ramifications of this crime would be absolutely devastating for the victim. They would not only be in debt thousands and thousands of dollars, but also facing a series of defaults against their name which would stop them getting credit in their own right for a very long time (up to 7 years).

    Western Australia has not been without its share of well-publicised fraud cases. One such bout late last year involved the mortgaging of properties owned by overseas investors.

    In 2010 Wembley Downs retiree Roger Mildenhall had his Karrinyup investment property sold without knowing anything about it. And in 2011 Nigerian-based scammers sold a Ballajura property without the owners’ knowledge.

    The previous owners were living and working overseas at the time and didn’t discover the property had been sold until they returned to Perth to inspect the property.

    The real estate agent involved has told investigators that he received a phone call from a man claiming to be the owner in February of 2011 inquiring about the property. Shortly after, the agent received an urgent request to sell the property as funds were needed for a business investment, later revealed to be a supposed petro-chemical project –  Landgate announced in a statement in September last year.

    Following this, the WA Government was prompted to upgrade its security measures for overseas-based property owners.

    “WA property owners living abroad who are concerned about identity theft can now lodge a caveat over their property to reduce the risk of being targeted by scammers, under a raft of anti-fraud measures introduced by Landgate,”Lands Minister Brendon Grylls said at the time.

    “They could remove the caveat only by attending Landgate’s Midland office in person and completing a 100-point identity check”, Mr Grylls said.

    Under the range of increased security measures, all transfers of land executed overseas now requires a 100-point identity check, signatures to be witnessed by an Australian Consular officer and the sales will need to be independently checked by at least two senior Landgate officers.

    The introduction of new security at the Births, Deaths and Marriages Departments seems a no-brainer, and a change which should be going across the board in every Australian State.  A person’s identity and their credit file are the flag for their financial life, and to allow any fraudster opportunity to mess with that through less than bullet-proof security of their personal information is to do them a great disservice.

    If you have been a victim of identity theft – whether you have lost money or not – don’t forget three important rules…

    1. Tell Police and/or the ACCC. We must report these crimes – however “embarrassing” it may be.

    2. Tell your Creditors. Just because nothing has happened yet, doesn’t mean it won’t in the future. Alert them to your identity theft vulnerability before you become a victim and your bank accounts or credit rating suffers.

    3. Check your Credit File. Make sure you have not had credit taken out in your name. If you haven’t – warn the credit reporting agencies that you may be vulnerable to identity theft.

    If you find defaults on your credit file which should not be there, you may require help to recover your good name. Contact a Credit Repair Advisor on 1300 667 218 to discuss your suitability for credit repair or visit our main site for more information www.mycra.com.au.

    Image: photostock/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • What Is Credit Repair? How you can fix a bad credit rating

    Many people have only a vague idea of what a ‘credit rating’ is or how they get one, until they are banned from credit.

    If you are refused credit because of your credit rating, then you find out quite quickly what that elusive credit file really does, and why a clear credit rating is so important. Lenders or ‘Creditors’ that you have borrowed from have the ability to report about your repayments on a central national database – called your credit file. What Creditors say about you determines whether or not someone else will lend you money or services in the future.  This system is not always accurate. So we look at what happens if you are given a bad credit rating, have a negative listing on your credit file, or also commonly termed a ‘bad credit score’ and how credit repair may be appropriate to fix your bad credit.

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

    Recently, A Current Affair ran a story about well-known Australian actor, John Jarratt and his bad experience with fixing his credit rating after a listing was placed incorrectly on his credit file. The story, titled Phone Bill Fiasco demonstrated the difficulty John had in dealing with his Creditor and recovering his good name. John said he wanted to tell his story for all those ‘little guys’ that find it difficult to stand up to these companies over billing mistakes that see them refused credit.

    We look at what John could have done, or anyone else facing a similar situation, could do to resolve those credit listing complaints and fix their bad credit that shouldn’t be there.

    Can a bad credit rating happen to you?

    You’re sitting in front of your mortgage broker, heart in your throat, being told that the house you spent months searching for, the house you paid hundreds for inspections for, the house that your family is head over heels for, is not going to be yours.

    “I’m sorry mate, your credit file shows up with a default listing, and the lender is not willing to lend you the money based on this,” your brokers says.

    “What!” you reply. “I haven’t ever defaulted on my payments, it must be a mistake – what was it for?”

    “Well unfortunately your credit file only gives the amount, an account number and a business, so you will need to research it from there,” your broker explains.

    Once you pick yourself up off the floor, you begin to try to get to the bottom of what’s happened to your credit file.

    You call the credit reporting agency, and they give you a copy of your credit file.

    After what seems like days on hold to the company in question, you have no luck resolving this so-called outstanding account. You feel like you are just going around in circles with no joy – until finally someone from the company tells you to pay the outstanding amount (of which you’re not even sure you owe) and the matter will be settled.

    So you do, of course, expecting the matter to be at an end. Only to find your listing has merely changed to ‘paid’. Your broker says this will probably not change the outcome of your borrowing capacity with the lender.

    So you spend more hours on the phone with your Creditor, before being told that default listings are never actually removed, but can be marked as paid. That is the best they can do.

    For 5 years this listing will haunt your dreams – well your financial dreams anyway – as you are refused not only the home loan, but even a new credit card, a car loan or mobile phone plan.

    What is the solution to bad credit?

    The best solution to fix bad credit is to have it removed from your credit file.

    Contrary to what your creditor may have told you, bad credit can be removed, if it should not be there in the first place. If a listing has been placed unlawfully on your credit file, or it contains errors, then it needs to be removed from your credit file.

    You just need someone on your side, who can give you a hand with all of the legislation mumbo-jumbo, look over your records and see what went wrong, spend time dealing with your creditor for you (which includes knowing who to talk with and how to talk to them the right way so you get the best result), and working on your behalf with all parties – including the credit reporting agencies to give you the best chance of actually having that listing off your credit file permanently. This is what professional credit repairers can do for you.

    I can’t afford a lawyer!

    Many of the more reputable credit repairers will have one or more lawyers on staff, but their services come at a fraction of the cost a Solicitor would. It is a specialised field – we know a whole lot about one aspect of the law – as it applies to credit reporting. This allows us to pass on our knowledge at a fraction of what it would cost you for a Solicitor. We also have a working relationship with most Creditors, and have spent the time to know how to negotiate with them most effectively to get the best outcome for listing removal.

    Some credit repairers work differently to others. At MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs, payments are made in stages. We charge an assessment fee, which is fully refundable, in which we obtain and review your credit file. Next, once we determine you are actually suitable for credit repair, you are charged the next stage of fees – to actually prepare your case for the listing or listings to be removed from your credit file, and present that case to your Creditor and any appropriate higher authorities. As no cases can be absolutely guaranteed, we reserve the final stage of payment for when your listing is actually removed from your credit file. See a schedule of MyCRA’s current costs.

    Where are the savings in using a credit repairer?

    We outlay on average 20 working hours per default. Not only will you save yourself this time, but in comparison to legal costs – at say, $250 per hour (you could be up for about $5,000 per default) you will save money. If you are lucky enough to be successful in having the listing removed, you will also save thousands in interest as you will be able to borrow with a mainstream lender, rather than go into a non-conforming loan at a high interest rate.

    Families with a bad credit rating who enter into a $300,000 loan with a non-conforming lender will be paying a staggering $15,046.57 or more just over the first three years of the loan. This is credit repair saving is calculated based on a standard variable rate of 7% versus a non-conforming interest rate of 9%.

    Why can’t credit repair be guaranteed?

    It would be nice to guarantee every client that they will have their bad credit rating removed. But although we have a previous track record of up to 91.7% of removal in cases we take on, there are people who unfortunately don’t get the outcome we hope for. At rare times, despite our best efforts, and despite sometimes there being moral grounds for removing the listing, there can be found no legal avenue for requesting your Creditor remove the listing from your credit file, or we simply run into a stalemate with our negotiations with your Creditor. Unfortunately despite a whole lot of work on your file, sometimes after a final Management Review we are forced to close it. For this reason, we reserve the final stage of payments for once the listing has actually been removed.

    How long does credit repair take?

    If we had a crystal ball we could tell you how quickly your Creditor is going to respond to our requests to supply the documentation on your account, or how quickly they will respond to our formal complaint, whether they will dispute the complaint and if so, whether we will need to escalate the complaint to the Creditor’s Ombudsman and also how much legislation we will need to review to formulate your case. Since there are so many unpredictable factors to credit repair cases, we can’t give you a firm time. What we can tell you is that we aim for 45-60 days for our cases. But do understand there is no onus on the Creditor to remove the listing. Most times we give them the best persuasive case so they are encouraged to do so, or we can help encourage the removal via their industry Ombudsman but at times, they can really drag the chain in helping us help you – so do bear that in mind.

    What do I need to do to get started repairing my credit rating?

    We can do it all – from requesting a free copy of your credit file on your behalf, to requesting your account information, to dealing with your Creditor. All you need to do once the listing is removed, is to call the credit reporting agencies and confirm you clear credit file and you are on your way again with a clean slate.

    For a consultation, call us tollfree on 1300 667 218 or visit our main website www.mycra.com.au.

    What we ask from you, is your complete honesty in regards to your case, and the belief that we will do our utmost to make sure you have your financial freedom back again.

    Image 1: photostock / www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image 2: David Castillo Dominici / www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • 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

  • Dating scam victims most likely to be vulnerable to identity theft

    The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) Consumer Fraud Taskforce has published results of an online consumer fraud survey conducted in 2010 and 2011. There have been some interesting revelations, particularly the likelihood that dating scam victims can suffer both financial loss and disclosure of their personal details (the building blocks of identity theft). We look at this survey in detail, and what the results could mean for the health of your credit rating.

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

    The AIC’s Online Consumer Fraud Survey was published last week.

    This report presents the results of the 2010 and 2011 surveys, which each ran for three months commencing from 1 January and encompassed National Fraud Prevention week that coincides with global awareness-raising activities. The theme of the 2010 campaign was Online Offensive—Fighting Fraud Online, which focused on the increased prevalence of online fraud. In 2011, the campaign Scams—It’s Personal aimed to increase awareness about personalised and targeted frauds and scams.

    Both surveys explored scams where respondents had been contacted by phone, SMS, email, letter, via the internet and/or in person by someone that they did not know in relation to:

    • having won a lottery or some other prize (lottery scams);
    • a request for assistance to transfer money out of another country (such as Nigeria; advance fee frauds);
    • a notification of an inheritance (inheritance scams);
    • a request from a business to confirm personal details or passwords (phishing scams);
    • a request to supply financial advice (financial advice scams);
    • an opportunity to work from home (a front for money laundering; work from home scams);
    • pursuing a personal relationship that turned out to be false (dating scams); and
    • other fraud types.

    It was found about 1145 people who responded to the survey lost almost $7 million in 2011 to scams.

    Dating scams were the most likely to result in financial loss or the disclosure of personal details, with almost half of victims reporting they had lost money. Dating scams are more complex and can use identity fraud, along with information gathered from social networking sites, to target and groom particular individuals.

    In 2010, people aged 45 to 54 reported the highest percentage of victimisation. In 2011 the age group with the highest victimisation rate shifted to those aged 65 years and over.

    Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury says it is important that anyone targeted by a criminal scammer report it to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on 1300 795 995.

    “Even if the amount of money or information involved seems small, the same scammer could be targeting other people and that information can help prevent more fraud,” Mr Bradbury said in a statement to the media last week.

    Here is an excerpt from the AIC’s report, on the findings of that survey:

    Scams were received by a large proportion of the survey respondents—89 percent in 2010 and 94 percent in 2011. While lottery scams, advance fee frauds, phishing and work from home scams were the most common types of scams received, they were not necessarily the ones that resulted in the highest levels of victimisation. Dating scams, although less prevalent, were the most likely to result in the disclosure of personal details or a financial loss when a respondent was exposed to them. This finding is consistent with scam complaints made to the ACCC (2012a) and indicates that it is not sufficient to just raise awareness about the most commonly received scam invitations, but there must also be a focus on the more obscure scams.

    The results of the number of people falling victims to scams, and the types of scams people have fallen for year to year have changed. This sends some messages about scams:

    1. Education is working. Once consumers are made aware of a scam in the community – it might be likely that victim numbers fall for that particular scam.

    2. Fraudsters are concocting new scams all the time. Because consumers are getting educated – fraudsters are changing scams all the time. Consumers need to be on their guard for new scams.

    3. Just because people have not identified a monetary loss, does not mean the personal details that fraudsters have been able to obtain will not be used at some future time for purposes of identity theft.

    4. The number of people reporting scams is still fairly low – are we all getting too blasé about scams – and at what cost?

    Here is another excerpt from the AIC’s report:

    One of the salient findings from the surveys was the low reporting rate to law enforcement and regulatory agencies. The main reasons provided for not reporting were not thinking anything would be done, being unsure of which agency to contact and perceiving that reporting was not worth the effort. A failure to report scams is problematic, in part because it reduces knowledge and understanding of the nature and extent of scams, not only for creating awareness about current threats, but also in coordinating law enforcement investigations and collecting evidence about small-value, high-volume frauds that may affect a large number of victims. A focus on the reasons why scams were reported, namely preventing others from being scammed, knowing it was the right thing to do and to assist in investigating and apprehending offenders, may be useful in the development of future education campaigns that encourage others to report scams.

    How scams can affect the victim’s credit rating

    For people who have fallen for this type of scam, generally they are robbed of money. But in some cases, the fraudsters can have enough personal information about their victims to be able to get credit cards or loans or even mortgage properties in their name.

    The costs can be significant long term for the victim and are magnified by the fact that fraud is not often detected until the victim attempts to take out credit in their own name and is refused due to credit rating defaults they didn’t initiate.

    It can be quite a shock for someone to realise their entire financial freedom has been taken away, along with any monies that have been stolen from them. Basically someone with credit file defaults finds it extremely difficult to obtain credit for 5 years while the listing is part of their credit record.

    Any kind of credit account (from mortgages and credit cards through to mobile phone accounts) which remains unpaid past 60 days can be listed as a default by creditors on the victim’s credit rating. Credit rating defaults remain on credit files in Australia for 5 years. The consequence of people having a black mark on their credit rating is generally an inability to obtain credit.

    By law in Australia, if a credit listing contains inconsistencies or is incorrect, the credit file holder has the right to negotiate their amendment or removal, but the difficulty is, to clear their good name, the identity theft victim needs to prove to creditors they did not initiate the credit. Not only are victims generally required to produce police reports, but large amounts of documentary evidence to substantiate to creditors the case of identity theft – another reason for vigilant reporting of scams when we come across them.

    For those respondents of the AIC’s survey that revealed disclosure of personal details, I sincerely hope they were advised to keep an eye on their credit report as well as their bank accounts.

    Often going unchecked until the time of credit application, an identity theft victim’s credit report can often be the first sign they have been duped – and by then they can have debts owing and defaults or other listings ruining their financial futures and ability to obtain credit in the future and any signs of the perpetrator of this event can be long gone.

    For advice on how to keep an eye on your credit report if you feel you may be vulnerable to identity theft or if you wish to try to recover your credit file following fraud – contact MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs on 1300 667 218 or visit our main website www.mycra.com.au.

  • Charging for credit repair – What method is best?

    Credit repair is a fairly new phenomenon. But it has been borne out of a real gap in the ability for the average consumer to handle the information on their credit report as it relates to agencies, the creditor and credit reporting legislation. So we are very much needed. But we also need to act with integrity. So what is the best way to charge clients for the service of credit repair? What is in the best interests of the consumer – a fee for service approach or a no-win-no fee approach? And what are the rules for how to best help consumers ethically?

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

    Recently I read an article in the Sydney Morning Herald Tougher Stand Taken on Credit Files about the new credit laws currently in Parliament and how they could help consumers. But it came with it a warning at the end about credit repair companies. It seems on the whole we don’t get a good rap out there. Consumers are warned against credit repairers because we are charging for something people can technically do for themselves.

    Yes, technically they can. There is no secret to that. But in reality, this is not happening.

    Consumers we meet are getting told that they can’t get their listings removed – at best they can be marked as paid if the debt has been settled. They have been told the debt is valid when it isn’t; they have also had information changed on their accounts; they have not been given the right amount of notice and more.

    Consumers are meant to know how to tackle these big guys without knowing the legislation. With this in mind, how are they meant to have success in removing their own credit rating errors?

    However NSW Consumer Credit Legal Centre, Karen Cox, in this article reports on some pretty dodgy practices amongst credit repairers out there, and this is also a concern of mine.

    “Some have used aggressive tactics to try to persuade the lender or credit reporting agency to remove legitimate listings.
    And in some instances that Cox’s staff have dealt with, the credit repair company has persuaded the consumer to enter Part IX insolvency arrangements, which they subsequently administer for a fee,” the SMH reports.

    So how do we rise out of these criticisms as an industry and provide the much-needed ethical version of credit rating repair? By addressing our fees and in turn our ethics.

    Earlier this year, I wrote an article on fee structure in the credit repair industry http://grahamdoessel.com/wp/credit-rating-repair-customer-costs-a-tale-of-two-business-models/, investigating the two customer payment business models current in the credit rating repair industry, ‘fee for service’ and ‘no win no fee’ payments.

    I also found in my research that the credit rating repair industry was falling way down in its credibility. Some companies weren’t advertising their fees, some were charging way too much and delivering too little – and this was creating mistrust across the board and tarnishing the reputation of what is actually a necessary service.

    Here are the two types of payment structure I investigated:

    Fee for service
    ‘Fee for service’ in the credit rating repair industry, means a fixed amount charged to a client for an agreed level of service. This is charged based on the level of service and or performance. This means that the fee structure is provided to the client up front, and as the client approaches each stage of service, the fee for that service will be due.

    No win no fee
    ‘No win no fee’ cost agreements are also known as conditional cost agreements. No win no fee broadly means that the client only pays credit rating repair costs if their claim is successful. I found that the definition of a “successful claim” varied greatly between credit rating repairers.

    I found that no one single method suited the industry entirely. Both had their merits for consumers and should be allowed to co-exist alongside some basic best practice methods which crossed both approaches.

    Pros of fee for service
    Upfront fees give the consumer more reassurance they will be told what they are going to get, how much it will cost, and because money has changed hands – the credit rating repairer will be bound to deliver what they have promised.

    This model allows the credit rating repairer to give better service to the consumer, through the increased level of commitment by the consumer.

    What I found important in a fee for service model, was the refundable assessment fee. This takes the benefits of fee for service to another level – by assuring those that enter into this business payment model are refunded any monies should they not proceed beyond the assessment stage of credit rating repair.

    Cons of fee for service
    The difficulty in a fee for service model is its restriction on consumers who can’t afford upfront payment, and can’t borrow due to a bad credit rating. At the same time, the fee for service credit rating repairer would likely impose less ‘defaults’ on consumer credit files.

    Recently MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs (who runs a fee for service model) implemented a payment plan system, to accommodate those clients who couldn’t afford to pay a large sum up front.

    Cons of no win no fee
    I found hidden costs let down this customer payment method significantly from a ‘best practice’ standpoint. Extra costs; and hidden costs dumped on consumers regardless of their success in credit rating repair can lead to confusion and anger over fees and charges.

    There is also the potential to skip vital steps in assessment which can lead to an inadequate volume of information prior to the engagement of credit repair – potentially leading to promises of credit repair not based in fact.

    Furthermore, should non-payment arise, the company may be forced to place defaults on credit files– a woeful situation that no credit rating repairer wishes to be in.

    Pros for no win no fee
    I found the no win no fee business payment model had merit due to the ability to help those people who otherwise could not afford credit repair.

    Other industries
    In deciding which customer business payment model to adopt for the credit rating repair industry, I address other professions where these debates have occurred.

    The financial planning industry is on the cusp of streamlining a fee for service payment model across the entire financial planning sector. This has been in response to demand for better transparency to combat criticism of conflict of interest – and uses a ‘best interest’ approach.

    This consumer ‘best interest’ approach has strong merit when constructing any best practice customer payment model in the credit rating repair industry.

    In the legal arena, the no win no fee model popular in personal injury claims has been criticised for misleading advertising and hidden costs, something which the credit rating repair industry should keep in mind when making any reforms.

    Recommendations for payment models
    I found both business models had merits for credit rating repair, provided these changes were made:

    – Refundable upfront fees
    –  Full disclosure of all fees, charges, terms and conditions on advertising.

    These changes would make customer payments fair and simple to understand.

    These best practice reforms would create transparency and credibility and would vastly contribute to providing a valid place for credit rating repair in Australasia’s credit reporting landscape in the future.

    Ethics in credit rating repair
    Ethics in credit rating repair should not be an anomaly.

    ”It [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”][credit rating repair] is a completely unregulated area,” Ms Cox says in the SMH article.

    But this is no longer true. The necessity for regulation has prompted an industry body to form – the Credit Repair Industry Association of Australasia (CRIAA).

    The newly published CRIAA Code of Conduct for the credit rating repair industry gives weight to ethical practice, fee structure and advertising, and sets some benchmarks in this area. See their website for more details as well as the full CRIAA Code of Conduct www.criaa.org.au.

    The opinion of Graham Doessel reflected in this article is personal and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the CRIAA or any of its members.

    Image: Pixomar/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

  • Australia has new privacy legislation to fight worldwide cybercrime

    New laws passed the Senate yesterday changing Australia’s privacy legislation to bring us in line with other countries and pave the way for Australia to accede to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime – effectively allowing Australia to work alongside other countries to share and access information to aid in investigations of cybercrime. We look at the implications for this new bill, and the benefit in investigating fraud cases which can not only lead to loss of monies but negatively impact the victim’s credit file.

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

    We have been following the passage of this Bill through Parliament for over 12 months, since its introduction into the House of Representatives in June. See http://mycra.com.au/blog/2011/06/government-brings-laws-war-cyber-crime-identity-theft/ and http://mycra.com.au/blog/2011/11/bill-fight-global-cybercrime-coming-year/ and looking at the possible impact these changes could have on identity theft numbers.

    The Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 amends the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987, the Criminal Code Act 1995, the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 and the Telecommunications Act 1997.

    The Government amended the Bill in the Senate to address some of the recommendations made by the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety, including privacy protections and aspects of the provision of assistance to foreign agencies. The Government has agreed in principle with 12 of the Committee’s 13 recommendations.

    The passing of the Bill means Australia is one step closer to acceding to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, meaning it would join 34 other nations that have already become a party to the Convention. The Convention is the first international treaty on crimes committed via the Internet and other computer networks, dealing particularly with computer-related fraud, child pornography and violations of network security.

    Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said in a statement to the media yesterday that the Convention will help make it easier for police to track down cyber criminals around the world.

    “In particular, this will help combat criminal offences relating to forgery, fraud, child pornography, and infringement of copyright and intellectual property.

    “The Convention promotes a coordinated approach to cybercrime by requiring countries to criminalise these computer related offences. The Convention also establishes procedures to make investigations more efficient to improve international cooperation,” Ms Roxon says.

    Privacy Protection or Privacy Invasion?

    One well publicised change to Privacy Law will be the increase in police powers of surveillance. Police will be able to enforce the retaining of data by internet service providers on persons of interest even before they have an arrest warrant.

    Whilst these legal changes are widely approved, some raised concerns during a Senate inquiry into online privacy that this part of the law threatens the Privacy of individuals and threatens human rights and civil liberties.

    There are so many reports that the world is effectively chasing the tail of cybercriminals – the extent of which is far-reaching and difficult to combat. Australia is reportedly now a prime target for fraud with many accounts of scams, bugs, phishing attacks etc etc often instigated from overseas shores.

    To find out more about how we as ordinary Australians fit into the cyber-crime puzzle, you can read our blog post about the ‘Dark Market’: http://mycra.com.au/blog/2011/09/insight-%e2%80%98dark-market%e2%80%99-cyber-crime-underworld/.

    And often by the time people know they have had fraud committed against them the dust has long settled on any trace.

    But the effects can be felt for years by their victims, especially if the fraudsters are able to steal an identity, and take credit out in their victim’s name. The victim is then not only faced with a mountain of debt, and a series of defaults against their credit file. Both of which are not easy to recover from. They have to prove it wasn’t them that initiated the debt – pretty hard when there is no actual ‘perpetrator’ that anyone can see.

    For the sake of people in this situation, and victims of other cybercrimes – in particular, child pornography which is possibly more rampant, more damaging and more difficult to investigate – we need to get united as we are on the Web.

    It may be a bitter pill to swallow for Australians to give up some of their rights to Privacy to be replaced with more privacy protection but we may all have to swallow it regardless.

    What you can do to protect your credit rating from identity theft

    Our message at MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs is: please take steps to protect your credit rating from fraud!

    Educate yourself – visit the government sites like SCAMwatch, Stay Smart Online, and the Attorney-General’s website. If you are interested in keeping up to date with what could be occurring – say in cyber-circles you can visit technology sites like ZD Net Australia, or Computerworld or even subscribe to MyCRA’s RSS Feed for updates on security issues affecting credit files.

    Know what’s on your credit file – grab a free copy of your credit file today from one or more of Australia’s credit reporting agencies, Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet, and TASCOL in Tasmania which will be mailed to you within 10 days.
    Your credit report is free every 12 months – take advantage of this by ordering a copy every year. Make sure there are no defaults currently attached to your file. If they shouldn’t be there or there are errors – you may be eligible for credit repair.

    If you feel vulnerable to fraud, for a fee credit reporting agency Veda offers an ‘alert’ service, which informs you of ANY changes to your credit file such as a change of contact details or a credit enquiry, which would point to you being a victim of identity theft – possibly BEFORE there are harmful defaults put against your name.

    For more information on identity theft, or help with credit repair following identity theft, contact MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs tollfree on 1300 667 218 or visit our website www.mycra.com.au.

    Image: Victor/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image 2: thanunkorn/ 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

  • Why Bankruptcy and Debt Agreements should be a last resort for debt struggle

    Struggling with debt can be the worst feeling, and the weight is so heavy it can even leave people feeling lost and depressed. There are so many reasons why someone may be going under with debts, but before you go Bankrupt, or enter into a Debt Agreement, make sure you have exhausted all your options.

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

    Last week, a post on credit card debt from Savingsguide.com.au caught my interest. It covered what to do if you are in debt…deep. It explores the option of Debt Agreements.

    Debt and its ramifications is a subject close to my heart, as both a former bankrupt, former broker and now credit file repairer.

    So how did I end up bankrupt? Essentially I took the wrong advice. I declared bankruptcy when I thought it was the only option. But let me tell you, there are a host of other options out there, all of which may be a better choice long term.

    It all started when I had my promotions company. It was doing pretty well. I had some high-end contracts even securing a McDonald’s contract. But finance was not my strong point (well not then anyway!) I needed to get someone in to help me with the accounts. I brought in a mate who I thought could do that side of things for me. But over four months he ended up stealing $135,000 which I had borrowed for the business and left me broke, with no way to make loan repayments.

    I sought legal advice straight away, and was told my only option was to declare bankruptcy. This didn’t sit well with me, but up to my eyeballs in debt, I reluctantly proceeded with it.

    I was then chatting with another lawyer, who said it didn’t have to be my only option. I rushed to attempt to have the bankruptcy halted or reversed, but it was no use. After to-ing and fro-ing with the authorities, it turned out I was stuck in the bankruptcy until the end of the term (three years).

    I couldn’t believe there could be such conflicting advice out there especially at a time of significant financial stress.

    So what did I learn about this experience, along with the knowledge gained as a broker and a credit repairer that can help you in a situation of debt?

    What It Means To Have a Bankruptcy Notation

    Both Bankruptcy and Debt Agreements – Part IX and Part 9 are an act of bankruptcy and fall under the Bankruptcy Act 1966. Because of this, both types of agreements will be noted on your credit file for 7 years which impacts your ability to obtain credit during this period. But what’s more, you will be given a Bankruptcy number, which remains part of your credit history for life.

    This Bankruptcy or related notation, will be a permanent record on your NPII (National Personal Insolvency Index).

    Having this in your past can also be disadvantageous to you in other situations. You could be asked whether you have ever had a Bankruptcy or Debt Agreement notation on your credit file at job interviews, in business situations, when being party to different organisations, when you apply for credit, even when trying to get a mobile phone on a plan –  and answering incorrectly constitutes fraud.

    So what are some solutions for people in deep doo doo other than entering Bankruptcy or Debt Agreements?

    Talk to your creditors

    I can’t stress how important it is to not bury your head in the sand in these situations. Talk to your Creditor about what they can do to help you.

    If Creditors have not commenced legal action yet, you may be entitled to relief under hardship provisions. It is essential to investigate this option.

    Most creditors don’t want you to go bankrupt. Most are willing to help you work out some kind of payment plan. If you tell them about your ‘financial hardship’ circumstances, and use those words, asking for a variation in your payments they will often accommodate you.

    In fact, with new laws having just been passed in Parliament this week, from March 2013 this process will be much easier and generally it is encouraged as a deterrent to any kind of credit file blemish or prior to someone having a court Judgment or a last resort-Bankruptcy filed against them. See more info on the Consumer Credit Legislation Amendment (Enhancements) Bill 2012 and what the benefits might be for you.

    Money Help, a website run by the Victorian State Government offers some help on how to apply for financial hardship variation with creditors in the correct way.

    “If you wish to ask for hardship consideration, it is always better to put your request in writing as this means you can keep a copy of the request as a record. It is more difficult to prove the details of a request made by phone. If you entered into your loan agreement after July 1 2010, or if your debt relates to a credit card, then your credit provider must respond to you within 21 days of your application.”

    Money Help advises people to work out what they can afford to pay prior to requesting a financial hardship variation. They explain the benefits in applying for hardship can range from more affordable payments, to putting a stop on action towards defaulting your credit file.

    My extra tip is for you to make it clear to the creditor what you are requesting. It would be a good idea to specifically request a ‘financial hardship’ variation to your repayments – in writing, so there is no confusion.

    If the Creditor refuses to consider your variation request, you may be able to contact the Ombudsman Service for the Creditor’s industry to escalate your request.

    What about if the creditor has already issued a default?

    If despite sorting out varied terms in your repayments with your creditor (which you are currently making), you find you have a default on your credit file, you may have grounds to request its removal.

    Basically, if a default has been issued which you believe is unjust, unfair, in error or shouldn’t be there, you have the right under Australian credit reporting legislation to have the inconsistency rectified.

    The problem with seeking redress as an individual is two-fold. Firstly, without extensive knowledge of credit reporting legislation it can be difficult to enforce ruling that creditors are bound with without knowledge of what the rules are.

    Secondly, people negotiating on their own behalf can run into problems in many cases. People have often attempted to remove the default themselves, and have been told defaults DONT EVER get removed. The best they can do is mark the listing as paid (if it’s been paid).

    Alternatively, a professional credit rating repairer works with creditors to negotiate on your behalf and work for the best outcome based on the creditor’s compliancy with the current legislation. They will also look at any other extenuating circumstances to determine if there is an avenue that can be investigated which results in having the listing removed.

    Contact us for more information at www.mycra.com.au or tollfree on 1300 667 218 for consultation with a professional credit rating repairer.

    Sacrifice and struggle is better than bankruptcy

    Some people prefer to just write off the debt, declare bankruptcy and not go through the struggle of making repayments on the debt, but let me tell you, looking for a reduction in payments or settling the debt at a lower amount is an option preferred by many Creditors, and should be preferred by you.

    Firstly, you may be able to avoid a Default or Judgment on your credit file, meaning when you’re back on your feet you might be able to borrow again and secondly, more doors are open for you in terms of job and business opportunitites without having that notation on your NPII.

    If legal proceedings have commenced it may not be lost

    Even if a Judgment has been filed against you, you still may be able to work something out with the Creditor in terms of repayments. You may be able to file an application for an Instalment Order, which gives you time to repay the debt and or ask for a reduced settlement.

    Please Note – This information is provided to help you in your research into debt management and should not constitute legal advice or replace getting professional financial advice from a financial counsellor. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Website directs people to where to go if they need help with debt, and we encourage you to seek help from them and do more research before making any financial decisions http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/815382

    Image 1: nuttakit/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image 2: Grant Cochrane/ 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.

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    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