MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: Start-Up Smart Awards 2012

  • Graham the ‘Credit Corrector’: consumer advocate for credit reporting accuracy placed 24th in Start-Up Smart Awards 2012

    Media Release

    Graham the ‘Credit Corrector’: consumer advocate for credit reporting accuracy placed 24th in Start-Up Smart Awards 2012 .

    17 May 2012

    Innovative credit rating repair company, MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs has been placed at number 24 in the Australian Start-Up Smart Awards 2012.

    Headed by entrepreneur Graham Doessel, who was once Australia’s most successful non-conforming broker – MyCRA was developed in a post-Global Financial Crisis economy as a solution to tighter lending criteria and loss of non-conforming lenders, and has quickly become a force to be reckoned with in the finance industry.

    Start-Up Smart also placed MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs amongst the Top Ten new trends for 2012 in the finance category.

    “As the banks toughen their lending criteria, the finance industry is witnessing the emergence of a new type of business – one that aims to make it easier for consumers to obtain credit and finance.

    My CRA, which appears at number 24, was developed for the sole purpose of giving customers the cleanest credit file possible.

    The idea behind the service is to give customers the best chance of getting approval, secure a lower interest rate or reduce the upfront fees that can be associated with obtaining credit,” Michelle Hammond reports in the article 10 trends from the 2012 StartupSmart Top 50.

    Mr Doessel says there are three main reasons for the sharp rise in demand for good quality credit rating repair in this economy. Firstly, with tighter lending criteria a clean credit file has become an essential ingredient to obtaining credit in this market. Secondly, the number of errors and inaccuracies on Australian credit reports which affect consumers is high; and thirdly, individuals who wish to address, dispute and remove inaccurate data from their credit file have found the task quite arduous.

    “Credit reporting is governed by strict legislation, legislation which most consumers have limited knowledge of, and often very little time to get to know. Plus negotiating with creditors can be tricky. Clients have to know who to talk to and the way to talk to them. Sometimes people can do more harm than good when trying to fix their own credit rating,” Mr Doessel explains.

    There are four credit reporting agencies in Australia, and three in New Zealand, with Veda Advantage holding the majority of these credit files – with a total of over 16.5 million credit files in Australia alone.

    Of these millions of credit files, it is not known how many contain negative listings. Some reports claim around 3 million in Australia. The number of negative listings which contain inconsistencies is also uncertain. A Veda Advantage spokesperson, Chris Gration was recently interviewed by Channel 7 Australia’s Today Tonight, about the possible number of errors which are contained on Australian credit reports.

    “We give out about 250,000 credit reports to consumers every year. But only in 1 per cent of cases is there a material error on the file, so a default or an enquiry that’s incorrect,” Mr Gration told Today Tonight.

    But an Australian Consumer Association (now Choice) survey from 2004 revealed that 34% of the credit files surveyed in their small scale study contained errors or inconsistencies.

    Mr Doessel says listings are not removed by creditors unless the credit file holder can provide adequate reason and lots of evidence as to why the listing should not be there.

    “It’s a bit like David and Goliath in many cases – so we are providing the benefit of our experience to tackle the big guys on the consumer’s behalf,” he says.

    The concept and formation of MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs has interesting origins. Forced to declare bankruptcy on his Promotions Business following a bad business partnership, Mr Doessel’s experience led him to a passion for the finance industry – particularly in cases of helping the underdog.

    He formed a highly successful non-conforming mortgage brokerage Mortgage Now – in 2004 which by 2006 was placed as a finalist in the Telstra Business Awards.

    Then by 2008 he was faced with two major obstacles – Cancer and the Global Financial Crisis.

    “Once I had recovered from cancer I found that the lending market had changed significantly. Suddenly, alternative lenders were folding and there was little way for those people who genuinely could service a loan but for their bad credit rating to obtain credit,” he explains.

    After extensive study of Australian credit reporting legislation, he devised a framework to correct credit rating errors. Mr Doessel found demand was massive for this service, and the business quickly took off.

    “It’s nice to do something which helps out people who would otherwise have never had the time, knowledge and skill to fight their own case. When I send people back off to their broker or lender to buy their dream home, that feeling is worth its weight in gold,” he says.

    For the future, Mr Doessel is hoping MyCRA can increase their level of success by improving the frequency of removal and closing the gap on their current default removal rate.  My CRA has a previous track record of up to 91.7% of cases having a default removed.

    The team hope to accomplish this through further increasing skill level and team numbers, building even better relationships with creditors, and continuing to educate consumers on credit reporting.

    With Mr Doessel’s heavy involvement with the Credit Repair Industry Association of Australasia (CRIAA) as an executive member, MyCRA has a strong policy of maintaining consumer advocacy and industry standards.

    MyCRA has also recently begun a Premium Corporate Partnership with the Finance Brokers’ Association of Australia (FBAA).

    /ENDS.

    Please contact:

    Graham Doessel – Founder and CEO MyCRA      Ph (07) 3124 7133

    Lisa Brewster – Media Relations  MyCRA              Ph: 0450 554 007
    media@mycra.com.au

    http://www.mycra.com.au/ www.mycra.com.au.blog

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

    http://www.startupsmart.com.au/business-planning/10-trends-from-the-2012-startupsmart-top-50/201203285875.html?displaypage=unknown
    http://www.mycreditfile.com.au/about/
    http://www.mycra.com.au/media/television.php
    http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/09/1076175103983.html

  • Graham the ‘Credit Corrector’ placed No.24 in Top 50 – Start-Up Smart Awards 2012

    Entrepreneur Graham Doessel is delighted to announce placement at number 24 in the Australian Start-Up Smart Awards 2012 for his credit rating repair company, MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs.

    Graham was once Australia’s most successful non-conforming broker. Now he’s a full-time ‘credit corrector’ and consumer advocate challenging creditors to improve accuracy in credit reporting – one listing at a time.

    An excerpt from the Start-Up Smart Awards website explains the beginnings of MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs:

    “At the busiest time in his career, Graham Doessel was diagnosed with cancer. Up to his ears in work, he was forced to step back from it all in order to make a full recovery.

    While Doessel was receiving treatment, he witnessed the negative impact of the global financial crisis on credit applicants. In the wake of it all, Doessel decided to do something.

    He developed My CRA for the sole purpose of giving customers the cleanest credit file possible.

    The idea behind the service is to give customers the best chance of getting approval, secure a lower interest rate or reduce the upfront fees that can be associated with obtaining credit.

    Doessel’s life experience, as both a broker and as a consumer at the wrong end of consumer credit reporting, drove him to create MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs from the ground up.

    After extensive study of Australian credit reporting legislation, he was able to come up with a framework to correct credit rating errors.

    It was now possible to work on behalf of a client and actually repair their credit rating, instructing creditors to remove negative listings where they were listed incorrectly or unfairly.

    That’s how MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs was born.

    According to Doessel, the most challenging part of starting up was getting leads and contacts, but this forced him to be creative and resourceful, particularly on a tiny budget.

    “There is a massive demand for what we do at MyCRA. The barrier to entry is very high but MyCRA overcame all of those challenges on limited to no budget,” he says.

    Doessel says the best part of starting his own business is “doing something that can make a tremendous difference to the lives of so many people, and getting paid to do it”.

    He is now an active executive member of the Credit Repair Industry of Australasia and has interests in a direct debit service firm,” the website reports.

    The recognition from the Start-Up Smart Awards has been significant, with Start-Up Smart also placing MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs amongst the Top Ten new trends for 2012 in the finance category.

    “As the banks toughen their lending criteria, the finance industry is witnessing the emergence of a new type of business – one that aims to make it easier for consumers to obtain credit and finance.

    My CRA, which appears at number 24, was developed for the sole purpose of giving customers the cleanest credit file possible.

    The idea behind the service is to give customers the best chance of getting approval, secure a lower interest rate or reduce the upfront fees that can be associated with obtaining credit,” Michelle Hammond reports in the article 10 trends from the 2012 StartupSmart Top 50.

    The MyCRA Credit Rating Repair mission is to empower people through negotiating the removal of listings, thereby restoring integrity allowing their clients and their families to regain control over their future.

    The reason consumers very often need help when removing listings is two-fold. Firstly, their often limited knowledge of credit reporting legislation (and lack of time to get to know it) leaves them unsure of how to apply the letter of the law in their own circumstances.

    Secondly, negotiating with creditors can be tricky. Clients have to know who to talk to and the way to talk to them. Sometimes people can do more harm than good when trying to fix their own credit rating.

    MyCRA looks after clients who are facing identity theft or Identity Fraud; those with default listings incurred during separation from their spouse or other partners; some have been disputing the bill which went to default stage and many people are just victims of the fallout from inadequate billing procedures – wrong names, wrong addresses, human and computer errors.

    Under current credit reporting legislation, consumers are entitled to obtain a free copy of their credit report from the credit reporting agencies once a year.

    But if people find inconsistencies on their credit report, they can run into difficulty.

    Listings are not removed by creditors unless the credit file holder can provide adequate reason and lots of evidence as to why the listing should not be there.

    Credit rating repair requires knowledge of the legislation, lots of evidence and perseverance. But for those people whose financial freedom is hindered because their credit file contains errors, it is a point worth fighting for.

    MyCRA was founded as a means of championing for the underdog in these situations. The company believe everyone should have the right to redress for mistakes in the credit reporting industry.

    For the future, MyCRA is hoping to increase their level of success by improving the frequency of removal and closing the gap on their current default removal rate.  My CRA has a previous track record of up to 91.7% of cases having a default removed.

    The team hope to accomplish this through further increasing skill level and team numbers, building even better relationships with creditors, and continuing to educate consumers on credit reporting.

    With CEO Graham Doessel’s heavy involvement with the Credit Repair Industry Association of Australasia (CRIAA) as an executive member, MyCRA has a strong policy of maintaining consumer advocacy and industry standards.

    MyCRA is proud to be a part of building a set of regulations for the credit repair industry through the CRIAA. They see the introduction of the CRIAA as a catalyst for enforcing change and bringing about a set of standards which will revolutionise the credit repair industry in Australia and New Zealand.

    MyCRA is also proud to be a Premium Corporate Partner with the Finance Brokers’ Association of Australia (FBAA).