Credit Guide

If you stop paying an account, and do not pay even after getting phone calls or letters of demand, the store or bank may apply for a court judgement. A judgement is granted when a court has ordered that you make payment on the debt or outstanding account. A judgment remains on your report for 5 years. The company may then come after you for the money, via the Sheriff of the Court who repossesses your things and auctions them off; or it may write off the debt. They have years in which to do so, which is a long time to have something like that hanging over your head. So to protect yourself from the uncertainty, and take a weight off your mind, contact Logan Attorneys. card consolidation credit debt

Or, years later, a collection agency may buy the company s list of written-off debts and make themselves some income by getting the money out of you. If this happens, you will pay a lot more than you should unless you consult a debt specialist like Credit Health who can reduce the debt by up to 50%. credit union

Even if you never hear another word, a judgement is a serious problem because it stays on your record and you should take steps to get it removed, by paying the account and then going back to court to ask the judge to remove the judgement. merchant credit guide co

If you decide on this route, whatever you do, don t do it alone! Not only will you pay probably twice what you should on the old loan, but going to court is a specialized and very time-consuming process. Our consumer protection attorney partners, Logan Attorneys, can help you, saving you up to 50% of the money and uncountable hours and effort! apply online for credit card

What is the minimum amount for which a judgment can be granted

Judgment can be granted for any amount but a court will usually not hear a case where the amount is very low as it is regarded as a waste of the court s time. There is no stipulated amount for the industry, but in general a credit bureau will not load a judgement issued for less than R100. When do stores or banks note adverse information on a credit report by card credit debt debt guide

At what point does a bank send through a message to the credit bureau, instructing them to put an adverse information note on your credit record The answer is, it varies. Each store or bank has its own policies. Credit bureaus generally require that in order to submit a default the lender or creditor: credit repair

• must be a registered subscriber (i.e. be paying the credit bureau for the service) active credit credit guide

• the default must be accurate (Q: who s checking ) credit score

• the account may not be in dispute (in other words, you have not phoned to query the account) bad car credit guide loan

• the consumer has been sent prior notice bad credit loan

• the amount is a result of a credit-related transaction credit definition derivative

What to do if you have default data on your credit reports

1. Find out the facts by getting your credit record bad credit mortgage

2. Contact the stores or banks that you owe money to and try and make an arrangement with each of them to pay back your debt. (NB! Be aware that if you ask to repay a smaller amount each money you will probably end up paying more interest!) the insider guide to credit

3. Once your debt has been paid, ask the store or bank to send the bureaus a written instruction to remove the default if their credit policies allow or at least update the information on your credit report to show that you have paid your debt. You can request Logan Attorneys to do this for you. business credit card

4. (NB! If you don t do this, AND check up later, it s probably not going to happen. Ask yourself all the time, who s interests are they looking after Yours or their own )
5. Request a copy of the written instruction from the store or bank for your records. (NB! Do not rely on someone s word! It can be denied! Get it in writing!)

This is not good for you! It is likely to seriously affect your ability to get another loan or bond, especially one on good terms (e.g. at a low interest rate). But here s a really good reason why it pays to educate yourself, as you are doing now, by reading this information: At their discretion, they can remove this information one the debt has been settled. AT THEIR DISCRETION. In other words, if they feel like it. banker complete credit guide

Q: But who s interests are they serving Why would they do this A: If they are asked, badgered, bothered, or pestered enough by you. Or by the specialists, Logan Attorneys, who can do it for you and save you the hassle. There must be a good reason in other words the account must have been settled by you. If you went into arrears for a good reason, like retrenchment, hospitalization, the liquidation of your employer, etc, you have a very strong case, but make sure it gets to the right ears! credit card application

How to do this (on your own): credit guide managing

• Lodge a formal grievance

  with the applicable credit bureau. credit card offer

• The credit bureau will then issue you a reference number. merchant credit guide company

• The credit bureau has 20 business days to solve the dispute. bad credit

• If the credit bureau is not able to settle the dispute in 20 days, they will contact you to provide you with a reference number and the contact details for the credit ombudsman. collection collection complete

• You can then forward the complaint to the ombudsman who will investigate or mediate accordingly. credit counseling

How do I know who has accessed my credit report

Each time a store or bank makes an enquiry on your credit report, a note is made on your report to reflect this. The enquiry notice shows the name of the store or bank as well as the date and type of enquiry that was done. What if I lose my job and I am unable to pay Don t despair if you fall on hard times. Take control and manage your debt by playing open cards with your credit providers to try and come to some type of agreement on paying what you owe. Unfortunately many businesses are not usually understanding of your circumstances and expect you to honour your obligations even where things do not go as planned. That said, they do want to get their money as effectively as possible, so changing the length of the repayment period by agreeing to pay less for a longer period of time is often possible. Remember that the store or bank is not obliged to change the terms of the original agreement but may do so in order to ultimately recover the full outstanding debt. complete credit guide higher

I have seen notices of companies that claim to be able to remove my name. What can these companies do for me

These companies are known as credit repair companies. The majority of them operate illegally. The credit bureaus do not generally support such companies as they often take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. They often take large up-front repair fees and do not deliver the promised results. If you do want to be proactive and restore your financial reputation, we recommend that you approach a specialized law firm, like Logan Attorneys, as they have experience and an excellent reputation for helping consumers. chase credit card

Who governs the Credit Bureaus

Prior to the National Credit Act, the credit bureaus were self regulated by the Credit Bureau Association (CBA). Fortunately, all credit bureaus are now required to register with and meet far higher minimum standards and the National Credit Regulator has placed the burden on credit bureaus to ensure that they only publish properly verified and correct information. Consumers have the right to report credit bureaus to the NCR ( www.ncr.org.za ) where they publish misleading or false information or fail to take steps to investigate and remove such information. complete credit guide hedging

Who is the Credit Ombudsman

The Credit Ombudsman was set up as a joint initiative with the credit industry. This is an objective body that was set up as a mediator between the consumer, the credit provider and the credit bureau. The ombudsman runs an independent office and reports to a board comprising of representatives from the credit industry, consumers and consumer protection groups bad credit home loan

Is there any value in submitting a complaint to the Credit Information Ombudsman

That depends on whether your complaint relates to false listing information that should be removed because it is incorrect or information that is negative but correct. The Credit Information Ombud cannot help you improve your financial reputation by rescinding judgments or negotiate the removal of defaults. You will have to call us or visit Logan Attorneys (who provide a free quote) for that type of service. That said, if there is incorrect information on your credit record you should generally take the following steps: bad credit personal loan

What is an administration order

If you find yourself unable to manage your debt, you may apply for an administration order. If your debt does not exceed R50 000 you can apply for an administration order that may be granted by the Magistrates Court. The magistrate examines your financial position and appoints an administrator to whom you make regular payments. These payments are divided proportionately amongst the various stores and creditors that you owe money to. Unless set aside earlier or paid up, an administration order remains on your credit report for a period of 10 years. credit score guide

What does the Judicial Matters Act cover

This is a change to the law that controls court judgments on debts. Until this change came about, even after you repaid a debt in full, if you had a judgement against your name it would stay there for 5 years. Now, once you have repaid a debt in full, you can approach an attorney to have the judgment rescinded or reversed in court, and removed from your credit record. online credit report

Q: Can all attorneys do this A: Theoretically, although we recommend that you go to an attorney that specializes in this sort of work. Logan Attorneys specializes in representing ordinary people and helping them clear up their credit record problems. In fact, Logan Attorneys was instrumental in motivating for this change to the law because they believe that if you have repaid your debt you should be able to clear your name. They have been at the forefront of the fight to allow consumers to rescind judgments and thereby restore their financial reputation. credit guide

Credit Health

can also help you save money by negotiating a far lower settlement amount than you will otherwise pay with their Debt Settlement Plan and Debt Negotiation Service. bad credit debt consolidation

Why do stores or banks not give me a copy of my credit report

Stores and banks are not debt counsellors. In fact it is not in their best interests for you to know too much about debt because knowing the truth about credit means you will work to reduce your debt, and that means their profits go down. Asking their staff for help is not going to help. For example, they will probably recommend that you repay an old debt (in other words, a debt where there s a judgement against you) - to them or to their attorneys, and this could end up costing you twice what it should! credit guide process

• It is completely confidential and its marked by the computer so no-one but you needs to see it. online credit card application

• Best of all, its about getting free from debt slavery and making this the happiest, most empowered, most liberated, most successful time of your life! boston credit first guide

Assistance Online Shopping how safe is it really

By Iona Minton Most people spend their days in a constant rush with little opportunity to slow down or relax with family and friends. Sadly leisurely shopping sprees have become a luxury of the past and speed shopping in packed stores is the new norm. To avoid the crush and save time there has been a massive increase in online shopping. Why leave your comfortable couch or the office when you can visit the web for latest updates on books, music and DVDs You can even order your groceries or clothing online. Despite the obvious benefits many people still feel a bit uneasy about the ease of going online. The truth is there are some potential risks, especially when inputting credit card and other personal details on the web, which can certainly out-weigh all that convenience, when things go belly-up. credit card debt

The benefits of online shopping are fantastic; no annoying checkout queues, no parking hassles or shoving to get inside crowded shopping centre, no rude salespeople and buying online is often tax free, comments Shirley Dare, ClubCard and Financial Services Manager for Clicks. The dangers also need to be highlighted so that shoppers know what to watch out for, although most of these risks apply to all shopping experience both in-store and on-line. People should never let their credit card out of their sight. By the same token giving out credit card details online is basically the same thing as physically handing over a card. So common sense is the best defense against potential theft or hazards. Just be careful and use the same safety measures that you would in the real world and shopping online can be a life (and time) saver. back credit foreclosure

The most common and obvious thing to look out for is the legitimacy of the website that you are shopping on; make sure that the pages you type information into are protected by a Thawte, Verisign or another online website security providers certificate, do this by checking for anyone of their logos on the secured page(s). Other signs of online security are the closed padlock on the page and the s in the web address: https://.... Make sure you check this on each new page that you click through to. Also check that the website address is correct and that you have a direct link, dont shop on a site that requires redirection or go through the process of checking their security certificate again. Double check this by looking at the address of the site when online and make sure it is the same address you typed into your address bar, and that you have not been redirected to an unsecured site. credit card processing

These logos and signs are all protected to ensure that not just any hacker off the street can copy and paste them onto their site to fool the consumer into giving his/her credit card details and other personal details that could be used for fraudulent purposes. This is done through the use of public key certificates which require the digital signature provided by Thawte, Verisign or its equivalent, as well as the public key, which is information provided by either the singular user or in the case of large corporate companies there is a company public key which each user applies his or her own username and password to. Should any certificate be under suspicion there is a public access Certificate Revocation List (CRL) that the certificate in question can be checked against which lists all revoked and terminated certificates. The other way is to query the certificates authority using the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) to find out the status of a specific certificate. All certificates that are under question or have been terminated are listed here. The certificate provider, e.g. Thawte, authenticates the certificate by allowing users to click on it (the certificate) and be taken through to a page generated by the certificate provider, where the status of the certificate is displayed. Provided you are taken to a page on the Thawte website, if it is a Thawte certificate and the status is displayed as valid, you can take comfort that the secured webpage(s) (https://) which that website uses to capture payment details are being secured and the information you provide will be encrypted and sent over the Internet in an unrecognisable format. beat bureau consumer credit

Once you are certain that the site is secure be clever with your access details and make 100% sure they are safe at all times. When choosing a security password dont use something obvious like your birth date or name, try to make it difficult for anyone else to guess. It is always a good idea to combine numbers with characters as this will dramatically increase the difficulty of guessing the password, but be careful not to simply replace password with pa55word as that is a common mistake. A better option would consist of capitals and lowercase letters and numbers jumbled together. If it is a site that is regularly visited then change your log-on details regularly. Most browsers offer to remember passwords for you, always say no, otherwise accessing your details can be as easy as visiting that website with your web browser as you will be automatically logged on. Once all the shopping has been done be sure to log off correctly so the site is closed and that you, as the user, have been logged out. credit check

Never send emails which include your credit card details and always safeguard your cards. Banks will never ask any of their customers to send confidential information via email so ignore all requests like this. The website may even have the name of the bank in the URL address but this is no guarantee that the site is legitimate so steer clear of giving your passwords or usernames to anyone. Never shop online at an Internet Caf or public kiosk as key logging software can remember what you typed and allow fraudsters to see what your username and password are. This is a common form of identity theft, where using your actual login details they pretend to be you. Dont click on links to access sites for shopping rather type the url address in yourself. Also dont respond to specials that arrive via email from unknown senders and dont shop with sites or persons that you dont know or trust. No matter how good the deal looks! credit guide idiot pocket

When buying valuable or limited edition items people need to take additional precaution. Be sure that collectible items have a valid certificate of authenticity. Once the item has been paid for and delivered it will be extremely hard to refute this, says Quinton Cronje, Head of Marketing for Clicks. credit card consolidation

Check your monthly bank statements if you are a regular online shopper and check that each transaction correspond with the amounts you spent online, if there are any suspicious amounts report them immediately to your bank. All banks have 24 hour help lines, so dont wait, contact them immediately. credit scoring guide

Make sure that your computer at home and work (and roaming laptops) all have up to date anti-virus software and that this is regularly checked and updated. If all of these steps are followed then online shopping should be hassle-free and fun. Enjoy! apr credit card

QUICK TIP Ask your HR department about the security of their employee files. If stolen, they could be used to perpetrate ID theft against you or your fellow employees. QUICK TOOL Want NOT to become a victim of cyber fraud Read this article on password protection. Step 1: Evaluate the situation

Consider the answers to the following questions in order to gain a complete understanding of your situation: the complete guide to credit

• Exactly how much do you owe right now navy federal credit union

• Who do you owe it to guerrilla guide credit repair

• When do you have to pay free credit score

• Have you talked to the creditor or about options complete guide to credit and

• What are the consequences of not paying bad credit credit card

• How soon will this crisis be over free credit repair guide

Step 2: Investigate your options

Our financial experts have outlined your options for most common types of financial crises: low apr credit card

• Deep in debt If you have a steady income but have taken on too much debt, then you should develop a plan to pay off the debt over time. Alternatively, you may want to seek the assistance of a registered debt counselor who will be able to determine if you are over-indebted, and will work out a rescheduling of your debt. developer guide to the low

• Unable to pay small debts If you are unable to pay small debts such as medical bills and credit cards, contact the businesses directly to see if you can work out an agreement. In the case of a utility bill like you lights water or rates taxes, it may be okay to skip a payment in a crisis. Utility bills do not report to the credit bureaus and they only charge a small late fee. It is not a good idea to borrow money from a micro-lender to pay these bills. Instead, see if you can negotiate to pay in a few weeks or borrow from a family member. earned income credit

• Unable to pay large debts In the event that you cannot pay your bond, car or loan obligations, contact the credit providers immediately. Most credit providers have payment arrangement programs set up to help borrowers who are dealing with a temporary financial crisis. You should make every effort to pay a bond or loan payment on time during a financial crisis. Not paying on time can result in damage to your credit report and possible foreclosure of the vehicle or property. Consider using savings, borrowing from a family member, or reducing your expenses in order to pay your loans. Alternatively, you may want to seek the assistance of a registered debt counselor. card credit debt guide reduce

• Legal debts in collections If you have missed several payments and the creditor has determined that they cannot easily collect their debt they often hand it over to collection attorneys or collection agencies. These collections agencies often purchase the debt and take cession from the original creditor. These types of debts become extremely expensive (about 40% per annum), and it is in you best interests to have Credit Health negotiate a settlement with your creditor or collection attorney/agency. This normally takes the form of a once-off settlement negotiation in which the creditor agrees to receive an amount that is lower than the outstanding balance in settlement of the debt. The balance is written off. no credit check loan

• Job loss In the event of a job loss it will be difficult to make ends meet unless you have an emergency fund set up. If you were retrenched you should see if you qualify for UIF, and should make your claim as soon as possible. You can also contact your creditors to explain that you are temporarily unemployed and to see what sort of payment options they offer. Start looking for a job right away to minimize the amount of time you are unemployed. You should reduce your expenses and, if necessary, borrow a small amount of money to get by until you find a new job. Even if you do have an emergency fund set up, find a job as soon as possible to avoid depleting your saved funds. earned income credit guide

• Illness When you or a family member falls ill, you may be faced with thousands of rands in medical expenses. Make sure that your medical aid is fully appraised of your situation, and communicate regularly with their accounts department to determine the status of your invoices paid or unpaid covered or not covered. Keep in mind that you are ultimately liable for medical bills even if your insurance should cover the expense. This means that an overdue invoice could be sent to a collections agency/attorney and could damage your credit record. free credit report online

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