Neglecting overdue medical bills can hurt your credit score. So much so that it will have a long lasting and cascading negative effect on your credit card interest rates not to mention your overall self-esteem. I mean who actually likes to know that they have a bad credit score?

Below are some of the few things you can do depending on what sort of situation you are in. Whatever you do, Credit Report Source’s advice is to confront your responsibilities to the best of you ability and do whatever it takes to protect your credit score.

1. Don’t be afraid of your bills! Open and review all of your bills no matter how scary and depressing this maybe. Confronting your expenses is the first step in dealing with a problem should you have one.
2. Savings, savings and savings! I know this is difficult to do during a recession, let alone if you’re laid off. However, I recommend trying to skip a few times eating out or try to avoid unnecessary expenses. Take a look at your daily activity, can you skip buying a cup of coffee a day or two a week? Can you reduce your cell phone or cable bill for a month or two? There are probably other types of discretionary spending you can identify and cut back on. Take that money you would save and put it aside in an interest bearing savings account.
3. Flexible spending accounts. If you are employed, check with your employer and see if they are participating in a flexible spending or “cafeteria plan” type program. A flexible spending account allows you to put aside some money from your paycheck, tax free, which can then be used to pay for medical expenses. The money you put aside is usually placed into a debit/visa type card which you would use to pay for co-pays or medicine, etc. This is a smart way to avoid having to pay “out-of-pocket” for some of your medical expenses.
4. Communicate with your Insurance Company. Most companies, I like to think, do not want to harm your credit report in anyway. If you owe money, call them and setup a payment plan. They usually do this interest free. Unless, if you are unable to pay at all then see if they would allow you to put a hold on the account and collections activity until your employment situation is resolved. You generally would need a letter faxed from your employer stated that you are unemployed, etc.

We sincerely hope these tips are useful and would love to hear from you and your own experiences.

“Credit reports are unwieldy and oftentimes unintelligible to consumers, and credit scores are nothing more than a flat three digit number,” said Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma. “The Credit Report Card is just like a school report card. It grades consumers on each component of their credit health and allows them to easily understand what impacts their credit score, and provides guidelines on how to optimize their credit.”

Credit Report Card enables consumers to see the five major influencers on their credit score in detail, grades the consumer’s credit health overall, and provides specific steps to improve each specific metric, including:

– Credit card utilization
– Length of credit
– On time payment history
– Total accounts
– Credit inquiries

“The consequences of a poor credit score are much higher today than they were even a few years ago,” said Jim Bruene, Founder of Online Financial Innovations. “Not only can consumers be denied credit outright, they may face higher prices for insurance, apartments, and auto loans. Even worse, employers are using credit scores to screen-out job applicants. Today’s cost-conscious consumer must track their credit score and, when necessary, take steps to improve it.”

In addition, consumers can also compare credit metrics on a curve: ranking their credit metrics in relation to other Credit Karma members, providing consumers with a benchmark for understanding how their credit score compares across each metric. Consumers can see how a change in any key metric can impact their credit score as well as prioritize which areas to focus on based on potential impact on their credit score.

“Without Credit Karma’s new tool, the only real information consumers have at their disposal are seemingly arbitrary credit scores and lengthy unintelligible credit reports, which contain hundreds of variables and offer no real context or useful advice,” said Lin. “Since credit reports were developed for lenders for the purpose of evaluating borrowers and setting fees, there have been few services developed to educate consumers — many of whom could save a million dollars or more over their lifetimes through better credit management.”

About Credit Karma
Credit Karma, the consumer’s advocate for demystifying credit, is the only Web site that provides consumers free access to their credit score, plus a range of tools and information resources to help them monitor and manage the credit aspect of their financial health. Credit Karma’s goal is to help consumers easily digest the contents of their credit report and understand what makes up their credit score. Credit Karma works with a range of partners, including mortgage lenders, credit card providers, banks, and wireless providers.

Source: Credit Karma

MyIDScore.com, a proactive way for consumers to assess their risk of identity fraud, complements other identity theft prevention and detection offerings. MyIDScore.com provides consumers immediate insight into whether their personal identifying information is being used fraudulently to obtain assets, goods or services. A person’s identifying information includes name, Social Security number, address, and phone number.

“I find it alarming that my personal information can be accessible to someone that wants to steal my identity,” said Irene S., a concerned consumer. “By visiting MyIDScore.com, I can quickly get a reliable rating of my identity risk from a trusted source. Today, My ID Score is at low risk, which makes me feel safer and more in charge of my personal information.”

According to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) latest survey on identity fraud, it typically takes consumers months to learn that a fraudster has obtained credit in their name. Nearly 25 percent of victims of new account fraud in the survey did not learn about misuse of their information until at least six months after it started. The median time of discovery was between one and two months. In this case, time does equal money. The FTC reports that the sooner misuse is detected, the less damage thieves can cause resulting in reduced out-of-pocket losses for victims.

“Consumers often feel helpless against identity theft. With MyIDScore.com, consumers–for the first time–have a means to actively monitor the risk to their identity,” said Fred H. Cate, professor, Indiana University and national privacy expert.

Consumers can visit MyIDScore.com, follow the clear instructions and obtain their personal identity score as well as recommendations for what to do.

How It Works
My ID Score.com is a statistical score calculated by applying patented analytics technology to the ID Network(R), the nation’s only real-time, cross-industry compilation of identity information. Over the past seven years, ID Analytics has built this trusted network in cooperation with leading companies interested in fighting fraud. The ID Network contains more than 360 billion basic identity elements like name, Social Security number, phone number, date of birth, and address and includes two million reported frauds, and one billion consumer transactions.

“ID Analytics has been at the forefront of protecting both consumers and organizations from identity fraud since we created the industry-standard ID Score seven years ago,” said Larry McIntosh, chief marketing officer of ID Analytics. “Just as you can monitor your creditworthiness with a credit score, you can now confidently assess your risk of identity fraud with MyIDScore.com. Simply stated, MyIDScore.com is the most accurate and proactive service available to consumers to assess their risk of being a victim of identity fraud.”

Individuals with high-risk identity scores should take aggressive steps to investigate whether their identity information is at risk. These steps may include reviewing monthly bank account and credit card statements, requesting a free annual credit report, and requesting a fraud alert or security freeze on one’s credit bureau file. Consumers can check their MyIDScore.com twice every 14 days.

Companies seeking to offer their own branded version of MyIDScore.com or enhanced identity monitoring and alerts should contact ID Analytics at idmonitor@idanalytics.com.

About ID Analytics, Inc.
ID Analytics, the leader in on-demand identity intelligence, protects both organizations and consumers by providing unprecedented visibility into fraud risk and credit potential. Building on the success of its industry-standard ID Score(R), ID Analytics has pioneered a new generation of risk management solutions by combining the ID Network(R)-the nation’s only real-time, cross-industry compilation of identity information; Personal Topology(TM)-patented technology to dynamically interpret an individual’s identity characteristics and their connectedness to others; and proprietary Advanced Analytics(SM). Leading telecommunications, financial services, retailing, utility, ecommerce, and healthcare companies, as well as key government agencies, trust ID Analytics to protect their customers, drive new revenue, reduce financial losses, and comply with federal regulations. ID Analytics is based in San Diego, CA.

ID Analytics is a registered trademark of ID Analytics, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

Source: ID Analytics

These days, a credit score is so crucial that knowing one’s free credit score and free credit report information is top priority. To stress the importance of credit, CreditScoreQuick.com is offering a $1,500.00 scholarship for college bloggers who write about the significance of knowing what is on a credit report and how that information can affect one’s life.

About CreditScoreQuick.com
CreditScoreQuick.com is a leading resource of information about credit and credit scores. The site provides the latest techniques and tips to increase personal credit score reports. CreditScoreQuick.com prides itself on giving the most current and innovative information when it comes to a person’s credit worthiness.

An estimated 10 million Americans will be faced with the question: “Should I let my home go into Foreclosure, or do a Short Sale with my bank?” If the inevitable is coming, what is the best way to go? With millions of Americans facing a Foreclosure or a Short Sale in their very near future, many are asking the same questions:

Philip and his programs have been featured in the LA Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others. Additionally, Philip has been a frequent guest lecturer at UCLA Anderson School of Business and Management.

The fact is free annual credit reports are not really that useful to consumers because it wasn’t meant for consumers to use to fix credit history discrepancies. Furthermore, it’s not timely or current. Yet, I don’t see any of the media making that distinction? So who is fooling who?

Ok, here’s the thing, I’m not a credit reporting expert but I learned the hard way about credit scores and high interest rates. I couldn’t figure out why! I have a darn good credit history, applied for a Discover Card yet I was denied. Ordered my free annual credit reports but couldn’t find anything wrong with. I asked a friend who was in the lending business and helped me understand what was going on. Basically, banks, credit card companies and other credit institutions use a credit scoring method developed by FICO (I won’t go into detail but it’s an acronym) called a FICO score. Long story short, it uses the three major credit bureaus; Experian, Trans Union and Equifax to come up with a number from 0 – 850 (could be wrong). If you score high 700s you are less risky and will get a really good interest rate for loans if you’re below 700 you’ll get high rates or get declined. Oh and each credit bureau has their own credit score, my FICO score was 760 while my lowest score was a 695 at Equifax and highest was a 780 at Experian. Turns out that Discover based their decision on Equifax at the time!

I signed up for a credit report service and checked each report from the bureaus side-by-side and found several mistakes. The service I used didn’t have instructions on how to report errors in a credit file so I went back to my buddy in lending business and he basically helped me find letters that I sent to Equifax. He also recommended that I check an updated report to make sure the mistakes were eventually fixed. I did receive confirmation of the discrepancies from Equifax and they made the changes which bumped my score to 720. I re-applied and got my Discover Card…although I never use it anyway.

The morale of the story is that you need to check your report more than once and at all three bureaus since the scores vary widely due to misinformation keyed in by data entry folks at the bureaus or whatever…my gripe with the FTC and the media is that they don’t come clean about the very issues I raised above and whether the free annual credit report is appropriate for that use. Oh well

The FTC even issued a press release:

The Federal Trade Commission today released two videos that highlight the differences between AnnualCreditReport.com and those other sites that claim to offer “free” credit reports. Despite the musical claims of some TV commercials, the only authorized source to get your free annual credit report under federal law is AnnualCreditReport.com.

The FTC encourages people to post the videos on their own websites or blogs, and provides tools to help them do so. The jingles also are available as 30-second audio public service announcements at www.ftc.gov/freereports.

Credit Smart Pro, which markets DIY Credit Repair service, have announced the advancement of their Smart Path Technology. It is a revolutionary patent pending new technology designed by credit specialists, attorneys and program developers that enables Do it Yourself Credit Restoration.

The SmartPath technology allows Credit Smart Pro to utilize the same tactics provided by credit repair agencies. Advanced credit repair techniques such as identity optimization, the 1-2 punch and goodwill interventions are incorporated into SmartPath. SmartPath technology utilizes complex algorithms and dynamic flowcharts to provide a customized credit repair solution. This is then translated in an easy to follow step by step guide for users to repair their credit problems affordably.

Their system features:

• Unlimited disputes/deletions
• Escalated info requests
• Debt validation
• Goodwill interventions
• Personal Name and Address Disputes
• Inquiry Disputes
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Complaints
• Dispute Scheduling
• View Pending and Overdue Dispute Reponses
• Identity Theft Protection
• Supports Equifax, Trans Union and Experian
• Free Online Support
• Risk-free refund policy

About Credit Smart Pro
Credit Smart Pro’s online service will guide you all the way through the complexities of the credit repair process by asking simple plain-English interview-style questions about you and your credit. The intuitive process saves you time by only asking questions that pertain to your unique situation. Credit Smart Pro’s SmartPath Technology will then generate a custom credit repair campaign and guide you through it step-by-step.

The mis-information campaign has two chief players, according to Diez. “The credit reporting bureaus have a strangle hold on the government and press,” he says. “And the ratings-hungry media knows it can get more viewers when they report doomsday scenarios.” The problem, he says, is that the public is only getting half the story.

The other half of the story involves the good work of credit repair services. “Credit repair services make it possible to repair bad credit fast so that consumers can get the best possible rates on the loans they need.” As an indication of the trend, Diez points to the success achieved by visitors to ScoreMoreCredit.com, where he offers free tips and advice for people seeking to achieve a platinum credit score of 700 or above.

“People report achieving a credit boost of as much as 287 points in just 90 days,” he reports. “And that translates into all kinds of ‘found’ money.”

“A higher credit score is just the beginning of the story,” explains Diez. “It’s being approved for credit, getting the best possible interest rates, and saving thousands of dollars on a loan that make the happy ending for consumers.” And when you have a good credit score, “Companies will compete for your business by offering you a better rate,” says Diez.

High Credit Scores Mean Low Rates
Credit scores drive everything from credit card and mortgage interest rates to insurance premiums, utility service and job offers. A survey issued by Washington Mutual found if consumers could collectively raise the credit scores by 30 points, “they could save $16 billion in credit card finance charges alone,” reports Diez.

The savings can be even more dramatic for homeowners. Using myFICO’s updated rate data on a 30-year fixed interest mortgage for a home valued at $216,000, Diez outlines the specifics:

FICO Score Mortgage Rate Payment Monthly Savings
Under 620 7.89 $1566 0
700 6.52 $1366 $200
760 6.3 $1334 $232

“That $232.00 saved, if reinvested monthly in a mutual fund with an 8% average annual return on investment, would yield a return of $342,945.00 after 30 years.” instructs Diez, “It’s hard to find any investment that could match that kind of return, with or without the reinvestment, even during a recession.”

Credit scores affect renters, too. “Your lease application could be turned down by the landlord if your credit is less than perfect,” says Diez. And if you are approved, your credit score may influence the size of your security deposit. You credit scores also determine the deposit you pay for telephone, electricity or natural gas service. “When cash is as tight as it is now, it’s important to keep every possible dollar in your own pocket. Good credit scores let you do exactly that.”

“The bottom line,” says Diez, “Everything is negotiable with the right credit score.” That means a fast credit score boost is about the best thing you can do for your financial well-being… short of winning the lottery,” he observes. So he urges all consumers to get to know their credit scores.

The major credit reporting agencies are:

* Equifax (1-800-685-1111)
* Experian (1-888-397-3742)
* TransUnion (1-800-888-4213)

Credit Repair Services to the Rescue
Knowing your score is the first step. Diez urges consumers to “take the next step and seek the help of professional credit repair services. While he knows that most credit repair services are on the up and up, Diez acknowledges that “Considering there are no licensing requirements or certifications to pass, just about anyone can open a credit repair service and claim to be an expert.”

About Brian Diez and Score More Credit
Brian Diez is a credit repair expert dedicated to helping consumers who need fast credit repair. A nearly 10-year veteran of the financial industry, Diez turned his attention to credit repair in 2003. He met with former executives of major lenders, collection agencies, and the credit bureaus to learn how disputes were handled and how they were trained to deal with them to reverse-engineer his solutions. He launched ScoreMoreCredit.com to share those solutions with consumers who want to raise their credit score fast and achieve a ranking of 700 and up.

Diez’s free report, How to Fix Credit Without Getting Scammed, is available online at http://fix–credit.com. For additional information on credit repair services and fast credit repair, to download a podcast, subscribe to Diez’s blog, or to order any of Diez’s free resources on legal and ethical credit repair.

Source: Score More Credit

* Increased their interest rate 15%
* Increased their minimum payment due 11%
* Changed their due date 9%
* Lowered their credit limit 8%
* Reduced their rewards program 8%
* Closed their account 7%

“Despite efforts to get credit flowing again to consumers, for many, the exact opposite is happening,” said Adam Levin, chairman of Credit.com. “Even responsible consumers are discovering that a lowered limit or a closed account can impact their credit score for years. It is critical that business, government, public interest organizations and the media work together to significantly improve and expand credit and financial help and education.”

This national telephone poll was conducted for Credit.com by GfK Custom Research North America from February 20-22, 2009. A total of 1,004 interviews were completed, with 524 female adults and 480 male adults. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points for the full sample and higher for subgroups at a 95% level of confidence.

About Credit.com, Inc.
Credit.com, a leading consumer education and financial services company, is one of the Web’s premier personal finance sites. Credit.com was established in 1995 to give consumers access to comprehensive credit and financial education, straightforward answers, and “best of breed” credit products. The company’s goal is to help consumers of any credit standing navigate their financial life stages, from establishing and wisely using credit, to managing and rebuilding it. Credit.com works with industry experts to create clear paths for consumers looking to improve their finances. For more information, please visit: www.credit.com.

FICO 08 will eventually be the industry standard credit score despite not being available yet from Equifax or Experian. We should see FICO 08 at Equifax before the fall and at Experian as soon as they start losing customers to TransUnion or Equifax. Experian has alluded to the fact that their ongoing litigation with Fair Isaac over VantageScore is causing some stress in their relationship and delaying the roll out of FICO 08. The problem is eventually lenders are going to get sick and tired of getting caught in the middle of the ”Experian versus FICO” arm wrestling match and move their business elsewhere when they find out that Experian isn’t offering the new gold standard credit scoring model. When that happens you will be able to time the FICO 08 implementation at Experian with the second hand on your favorite watch.

So what is so different about FICO 08 and the other versions of the FICO score? There are three primary differences of note. They are:

1. Negligible Collection and Public Record Exclusion – The newest FICO score will ignore any collections or public records with an original amount less than $100. It’s important to note that for a collection to be bypassed by the score, thanks to the new logic, it has to be reported as a 3rd party collection agency account and not the collection department of a credit card company. If the collection shows up as “trade” then it will still count against your score even if it is less than $100. And, if the original amount was over $100 but it has been paid down to a current balance of less than $100 it will still count in your score. This is exceptional news for consumers who are haunted by low dollar collections caused by misdirected final utility bills and some insurance snafus.

2. Credit Card Utilization – Credit card utilization, the ratio of your current balances to your current credit limits on revolving credit card accounts, remains a highly important factor in your FICO credit score. However, in FICO 08 it takes on a whole new level of importance. Consumers who have balances that approach the reported credit limit will find their scores lower with FICO 08 than with previous versions of the scoring software. FICO’s research has apparently discovered that consumers who are highly utilized with their credit cards are more risky than they were in the past, hence the more punitive treatment.

3. No Piggybacking Allowed – This new version of FICO apparently has the ability to determine if an authorized user credit card account is an attempt to game the credit scoring system through piggybacking, which is the process whereby a consumer with poor credit would pay to be added to the credit card of someone with good credit as an authorized user. Fair Isaac will not disclose how they’re able to tell the difference between a legitimate authorized user account belonging to, say, a husband and wife versus one that has been made it to a credit report through other means, such as piggybacking. You will recall that FICO 08 was originally going to completely ignore all authorized user accounts. This new logic seems to split the difference between ignoring all authorized user relationships and doing nothing to discourage the use of piggybacking services.

So why does FICO 08 pose a problem for VantageScore? It’s actually quite simple. As long as FICO keeps improving what they refer to as their “classic” risk scores the less compelling it is for a lender to test, let alone switch, to a new score brand. Implementing a new version of FICO is much easier than implementing a whole new scoring model, like Vantage. In fact, a company called SubscriberWise has already implemented FICO 08 not more than two weeks after it became available.

The best advice for consumers who will begin to be scored with this new FICO score is for them to continue to do what they’re doing now. Continue to make all of your payments on time. Continue to work down your credit card balances as much as possible. Continue to apply for credit only when needed. If you can do all of these things then your FICO 08 score will be solid as a rock and, who knows, maybe your VantageScore will be solid too, although nobody will care.

About CreditCRM and Attorney Edward Jamison
Edward Jamison is the founder of Jamison Law Group and the creator of CreditCRM. He is an attorney and nationally recognized as an expert in credit repair and identity theft. Edward sits on the board of advisors for the National Association of Credit Services Organizations and has been the outspoken advocate for ethical credit repair since getting into the business in the year 2000. Edward has been featured as a credit expert on NBC, CBS, Fox, the Wall Street Journal, the Mortgage Market Guide, Mortgage Planner Magazine, the Mortgage Press, the Scotsman Guide, Broker Banker magazine and more.

Source: CreditCRM