Truthfully, a charge-off is one of the worst things that could happen to your credit report and score. Charge-off happens after your account has become 180 days delinquent. By the time a creditor decides to charge-off your account, you’ve been late for six months. All those months of late payments take a tremendous toll on your credit score. But, you may be able to take advantage of a charge-off. Typically, creditors no longer allow you to...
Bankruptcy is hailed as one of the most catastrophic of financial events. Fortunately, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, bankruptcy, in many ways, is more like a new beginning. It’s a time to start over without all, or at least most, of your debt. Of course, starting over means getting new credit and rebuilding your credit score. Your access to credit it limited after filing bankruptcy. You don’t want to spend precious time...
Capital One recently got in trouble with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for deceptively marketing add-on services like payment protection and credit monitoring services. Consumers complained that Capital One representatives made it seem as though the services were required, when in fact, services like these are purely optional. Millions of cardholders will receive a refund for these services, including cardholders who tried to cancel the services but were unsuccessful. It’s wonderful that Capital One has to...
Credit cards have sort of a bad reputation, which isn’t completely the fault of the credit card itself. Often, people get themselves into credit card trouble by mishandling them. Nevertheless, that bad reputation has many people swearing off cards so as to avoid debt. However, avoiding credit cards can have other negative consequences. Difficulty Building a Good Credit Score Your credit score is based primarily on your history with debt instruments like credit cards and loans....
As you apply and are approved for newer credit cards with higher credit limits, attractive rewards, and better interest rates, you might forget about the cards you were using years ago. Because these old credit cards still impact your credit history – and sometimes even your monthly finances – it’s important that you pay attention to them, at least a few times a year. Be careful about letting old cards remain stagnant. If they remain dormant...
Retailers may start charging a fee to consumers who use their credit cards. For years, merchants have paid a processing fee for credit card purchases. It’s one of the reasons that many smaller retailers don’t accept credit cards. The recent change is the result of a lawsuit settlement between merchants and processing networks Visa and MasterCard. Merchants can assess a fee for credit card purchases, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will. Those stores that do...
The consequences of a credit card delinquency are too serious to ignore. Not only could you have to pay a late fee, your interest rate might increase to the highest default rate. Late payments past 30 days are reported to the credit bureaus monthly until you catch up again. The more serious the delinquency, the worse it is for your credit report.You only have a certain amount of time to correct a credit card delinquency before...
You can use your credit card free, but it requires you to “color inside the lines” so to speak. Make a mistake and it could cost you. Paying on the due date. Normally, internet and phone credit card payments take a day or two to post to your account. Which means that if you make an internet or phone payment on the due date, it would actually be late. You can speak to a representative to...
Of all the types of information that can be stolen, thieves steal credit card numbers the most. According to an Identity Fraud Report from Javelin Strategy & Research, most data breach victims in 2011 had their credit card numbers stolen – 43%. And only 22% of debit card numbers were stolen. Fewer people had their social security numbers compromised – 16% - and only 9% of checking account numbers were compromised. Credit card numbers could be...
Consumers can now check up on credit card issuers on the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website and find out what types of complaints have been filed against lenders as well as whether the issues were resolved within a reasonable time frame.CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a press briefing, “The Consumer Complaint Database is a major milestone for consumers and all those who are interested in knowing more about their day-to-day experiences.” The beta version...
