MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: Tasmanian Collection Services

  • Buying a home? 5 things you need to know about Australia’s new credit reporting laws before you apply for finance.

    Media Release

    Buying a home? 5 things you need to know about Australia’s new credit reporting laws before you apply for finance.

    Some major changes have occurred to Australia’s Privacy Laws, and home buyers need to know about them before they apply for finance. A consumer advocate for accurate credit reporting warns potential home buyers they need to get up to speed with some of the main changes to credit reporting which could see more people refused a home loan in the coming months and years ahead.

    CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair, Graham Doessel says some simple mistakes made with repayments now, could see people blacklisted from credit even before the Privacy Amendments (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012’s March 2014 deadline for implementation.

    “Potential home buyers need to know that from this point on, they need to make every credit repayment on time to avoid having late payment information show up on their credit history and potentially ruin their chances of getting the home they want,” Mr Doessel says.

    Mr Doessel explains more about this change, and other factors in Australian credit reporting which impact your credit rating:

    1. Repayment History Information

    From December 2012, whether or not a credit account was paid on time will be part of your credit history and will be used when a lender is assessing your suitability for a home loan.

    The notation will remain as part of your credit history for 2 years.

    The Government intends for these reforms to decrease levels of over-indebtedness in the market.[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][i]

    But Mr Doessel is worried it could push more borrowers into higher interest rate loans due to being refused credit with mainstream lenders.

    “Many people pay bills late, for a variety of reasons – this doesn’t necessarily mean they intend for the account to go into default. But these late payers could find they end up refused credit, or charged thousands more in interest due to these notations,” he explains.

    2. Types of credit

    The new laws will now allow information on the type of credit accounts you have, and when they were opened and closed to be shown on your credit history. This will give lenders more ability to determine the relevance of each listed credit account for your specific situation.

    3. Credit limit of each account.

    The credit limit on each credit account will be used to assess the potential volume of credit the potential borrower could have access to.

    But there will be no way of telling what level of debt you actually have only what you could potentially redraw to.

    “It may be worth reducing unnecessary credit limits on your accounts before you make your application,” Mr Doessel says.

    4. Beware excess credit enquiries.

    Whenever a person other than you makes an enquiry on your credit history – that enquiry is recorded on your credit file.

    Mr Doessel says some lenders will decline a finance application due to too many credit enquiries, such as two enquiries within thirty days or six within the year.

    “By all means ask questions, and do your research on the best home loan for you, but when it comes to giving over your details, and making applications, leave that until you have decided which lender suits you best, to avoid being disadvantaged,” he says.

    5. It will still be up to you to ensure your credit file is accurate.

    With all of the new information available to lenders about your credit history, it is more important than ever for that information to be accurate.

    You can apply for your credit report for free every year by making a request to Australia’s credit reporting agencies – Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet and Tasmanian Collection Services (if in Tasmania).

    “It is up to you to ensure your credit file reads accurately,” Mr Doessel says, “and the saving grace for this legislation is the improvements set to be implemented in 2014 around access and correction of your credit file.”

    From March 2014, Creditors will be forced to justify disputed credit listings. Notably, your Creditor will have to substantiate the information they report on your credit file if you dispute it.

    “This change is crucial, considering the power the Creditor has to impact your ability to obtain credit for years to come. Up till now, there has been little obligation within the legislation for the Creditor to justify credit listings, nor remove incorrect data,” Mr Doessel says.

    If the dispute escalates, you can complain directly to the Creditor’s Ombudsman, and in some instances may have a right to remedy under the direction of the Privacy Commissioner.

    “Finally there is some real incentive for Creditors to take due care with adding listings to credit files and we as credit repairers ultimately have a better avenue to help our clients remedy their credit rating errors,” Mr Doessel says.

    /ENDS.

    Graham Doessel – PH 3124 7133

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

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

    246 Stafford Rd, STAFFORD Qld. 4053
    MyCRA Credit Rating Repair is Australia’s leader in credit rating repairs. We permanently remove defaults from credit files.

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    [i] http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Media-releases/Pages/2012/Fourth%20Quarter/29November-2012-FamiliestobenefitasprivacyreformspasstheParliament.aspx

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  • Consumer debt struggles and solutions

    A recent survey revealed that about one in three Australians said they will struggle to repay their debts in the coming September quarter. If this many Australians have money problems, then more should be done to educate people on our credit reporting laws, and what can happen to people’s finances, should they end up with a bad credit rating.

    When things get bad enough that repayments are getting missed, people need to be aware of the cycle they may be getting themselves into.

    Black marks on people’s credit reports remain there for 5 – 7 years, and can severely hinder their chances of getting further credit, from mortgages to mobile phone plans.

    If people are struggling to make repayments, they need to take a pro-active approach to managing the solutions.

    It is human nature for people to not want to admit their failings, but it is important for people to realise that the choices they make with their debts today can affect them as far as seven years down the track.

    All forms of credit, from mortgage repayments through to our utilities bills have the potential to affect our credit rating should they get too far in arrears.

    Debt survey

    Credit reporting agency Dun & Bradstreet released its bi-annual debt survey recently. The survey revealed that almost one third of Australians will struggle to meet their credit commitments in the September quarter. It also revealed that 37 percent intend to use their credit card to purchase something they could otherwise not afford. Twenty-one percent say their household debt will increase over the next three months, and almost half say an interest rate rise in the September quarter would negatively affect their household’s finances.

    “…the reliance on credit for household purchases in spite of apprehension about their ability to meet these commitments is worrying, as an issue that can affect their future credit rating and ability to access credit – often when they need it the most,” Dun & Bradstreet’s CEO Christine Christian says.

    Credit reporting explained

    Current legislation allows creditors of any form to list a default on a person’s credit file when the repayment is more than 60 days late. These default listings remain on a person’s credit file for 5 years. In the current market, most major banks are currently rejecting loan applications because of defaults, and many even for excess credit enquiries. So anyone who wishes to obtain credit should be ensuring they sort out any debt problems before they escalate to default stage.

    Under current legislation, people can see what is reported about them on their credit file, by obtaining a free copy of their credit report every 12 months. They may contact one or more of the credit reporting agencies, Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet and Tasmanian Collection Services and it will be posted to them within 10 working days.

    If people find defaults, writs or Judgments which they believe are unjust, contain errors or just simply shouldn’t be there, they do have the right to have them removed. Credit rating repairers can assist with this removal by negotiating directly with creditors on a person’s behalf.

    Solutions for debt to avoid a bad credit rating

    1. Contact creditors immediately. People may be able to negotiate either a short-term or long-term change to their repayments. Many creditors, especially the major banks have options available to struggling families to help them keep up with repayments. Many appreciate people keeping in touch and working out solutions everyone can live with.

    2. Put the spotlight on spending. Paul Clitheroe advises those who can’t make repayments to keep a spending diary for a week or two.

    “This will show you exactly where your money is going, and chances are you’ll find plenty of little-but-often outlays that quickly add up to much larger amounts. Cut back on these and you’ll free up money for repayments,” Mr Clitheroe says.

    3. Consider the difference between wants and needs. People
    should consider how many of the items they regularly spend money on are necessities, and how many can be sacrificed for the short term in order to ensure their long term financial future is safe? People could choose to live without life’s little perks – like the Foxtel account, magazine subscriptions, or eating out while they get on top of their credit issues.

    4. Downgrade if necessary. For people in serious financial trouble, it may be a matter of swallowing their pride and downsizing or selling the family home, or moving to cheaper rental accommodation until they get back on top of things.

    For people who have defaults, writs and Judgments which are unfairly disadvantaging them, and they feel they should not be there – they can contact MyCRA Credit Repairs. We permanently remove black marks from credit files.

    Image: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • Caught affluenza? How it can affect your credit rating health

    Affluenza is a disease of the 21st Century that can make us sick, and it can make our credit file sick with it –pulling us into a crazy cycle of spending and debt. Many of us are struggling to stay happy under a pile of ‘things’ and a pile of debt.

    The Wikipedia explanation of affluenza refers to it as “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.”

    It is the disease of consumerism and it is being fuelled by big corporations urging us to buy more, persuading us with clever advertising aimed at selling to our emotions. It drives us to work crazy hours leaving no time for ourselves and our families. It drives up the mental health problems, the suicide rates, the divorce rates, the drug addictions, fraud, the stress related health problems – all these things seem to be a curse of living in the 21st Century in the Western world.

    Recently Fran Sidoti from SavingsGuide.com.au posted an interesting article about this topic titled Affluenza, And What It Might Mean For You. She says it starts by wanting a big house, and then all of those things that go in it, and with it – but that when we have everything, we are still not happy. She suggests we take a step back and employ old-fashioned values like “building a strong family, especially with an awareness of role models like grandparents who wouldn’t recognise affluenza if it bit them. A respect for hard work and the money it earns is crucial, as is emphasis on philanthropy and charity.”

    Australians Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss’ book, Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough, poses the question, “If the economy has been doing so well, why are we not becoming happier?”

    Here is an excerpt from that book:

    “Our houses are bigger than ever, but our families are smaller. Our kids go to the best schools we can afford, but we hardly see them. We’ve got more money to spend, yet we’re further in debt than ever before. What is going on?

    The Western world is in the grip of a consumption binge that is unique in human history. We aspire to the lifestyles of the rich and famous at the cost of family, friends and personal fulfilment. Rates of stress, depression and obesity are up as we wrestle with the emptiness and endless disappointments of the consumer life.

    Affluenza pulls no punches, claiming our whole society is addicted to overconsumption. It tracks how much Australians overwork, the growing mountains of stuff we throw out, the drugs we take to ‘self-medicate’ and the real meaning of ‘choice’. Fortunately there is a cure. More and more Australians are deciding to ignore the advertisers, reduce their consumer spending and recapture their time for the things that really matter.”

    How many of us know someone who has gotten really sick – so sick that they lose everything – the house, the car, the job. If they are lucky enough to survive it, they always seem to have this new-found view of money. They often make that life changing decision to cut back on all those material things. They say they appreciate that the real joy in this world comes from spending time with family and friends and also dedicating some time to themselves.

    A new perspective on credit

    We should think of our credit file as a mirror on our finances. It can reflect our assets, our good history, but it can also reveal our financial shortcomings. It can be a reflection of our inability to stick with something, our disregard for repayments and it shows the financial potholes we fall into that are sometimes impossible to climb out of.

    How healthy are we looking?

    It is perfectly okay to use credit, as long as we make it work for us. We should use it to enhance our lives so that we can spend time with the ones we love, or to really improve our quality of life.

    Maybe we throw that long sought after holiday on the credit card and take the family away? Or take out repayments on an educational course that will change our working lives forever? Or perhaps we do buy a home, but after years of good saving. One that fits all the requirements of what we need, rather than what we want. A home we don’t have to work 24/7 to pay off because it is priced within our means.

    What we shouldn’t do, is spend money we don’t have, on things we don’t need, and ultimately find ourselves with what we don’t want – debt, unhappiness and a bad credit history.

    A bad credit rating can completely change our financial situation. The black marks placed there by creditors show up on our credit file for 5 years. Bad credit can limit our choices and can perpetuate the debt cycle by leading us to choose loans with higher interest rates and more fees, so the struggle to make repayments can be even harder.

    A clean slate

    If we want to try and start again with credit, it may be possible to wipe the slate clean, particularly if our bad credit rating should not be there.  Firstly, we can obtain a  free copy of our credit report from one or more of the credit reporting agencies, Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet and Tasmanian Collection Services (TASCOL). If after checking our credit file we find inconsistencies, we may be a good candidate for credit repair.

    A credit repairer can work with creditors on our behalf to completely clear our credit file of all defaults, clear-outs, writs and Judgments which contain errors, are unjust or just should not be there. This means we no longer have a bad credit rating, but a completely clear credit file, giving us the financial freedom to use credit whenever we need to.

    The rest is up to us.

    Visit MyCRA’s website www.mycra.com.au for more information on credit repair.

    Image: Salvatore Vuono/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

    Image: photostock/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • End of financial year best time to check our credit file

    Media Release: The end of the financial year is an opportune time for people to check their credit rating and get it in order, according to a national credit repairer.

    Director of MyCRA Credit Repairs, Graham Doessel says if people are reviewing their yearly phone records, bank statements, and credit card statements for tax time, it can be a good idea for them to request a credit report as well from credit reporting agencies,to cross-check any adverse listings which may have been placed on their credit file.

    “The problem with credit reporting in Australia is that many people are unaware of how the system works, and what their rights are. It is important for people to know they can apply for a copy of their credit file for free every year and the end of financial year is a great time to do this, because people already have their paperwork out,” Mr Doessel says.

    He says it is essential for people to know what is said about them on their credit report – as there is opportunity for errors to occur when creditors apply listings to credit files. Even if people believe they have a good payment history, their credit report may still contain errors.

    “Many of my clients have impeccable repayment histories and would have never dreamed they would end up with a default. Let me tell you mistakes do often happen. Sometimes simple human error by the creditor leads to adverse listings put there incorrectly,” he says.

    A small scale study conducted by the Australian Consumer Association (now Choice Magazine) in 2004, revealed a staggering 30% of credit files were likely to contain errors.

    “In our view, there are serious, systematic flaws which are leaving an increasing number of Australian consumers vulnerable to defamation, mis-matching and harassment,” the report said.

    A credit file exists for anyone who has ever been ‘credit active’ and is used by creditors to assess the risk and borrowing capacity of potential borrowers.

    The most common type of adverse listing is a default. Defaults are put there by creditors when accounts have remained unpaid for more than 60 days.

    Defaults remain on a person’s credit file for 5 years from the date of listing, and have the potential to severely impact a person’s ability to obtain credit.

    “Currently, any default can be enough for an automatic decline with most of the major banks. Many lenders are even rejecting loans for excess enquiries such as two in thirty days or six within the year. Some people nmay even be unable to take out a mobile phone plan in their name if they have defaults on their credit file.”

    “It also affects the type of home loan people may be eligible for, the interest rate they are offered and price of establishing the loan. The lending options become more expensive and limited” Mr Doessel says.

    People can contact Veda Advantage, Dun and Bradstreet and Tasmanian Collection Services (if they live in Tasmanoia) to request their free report. A creditor may have listed defaults with one or all of these credit reporting agencies.

    If people find errors, or feel a listing is unjust or shouldn’t be there, they do have the right to have incorrect information rectified.

    Mr Doessel says if people are in a hurry or it seems too difficult, they can use a credit repairer who can work on their behalf.

    “A credit repairer should be able to completely remove offending blemishes from someone’s credit file,” he says.

    Contact www.mycra.com.au for more details on how to check and repair credit files.

    /ENDS

    Please contact

    Lisa Brewster – Media Relations

    Ph: 3124 7133  Mob: 0450 554 007  media@mycra.com.au

    Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net