Individuals with problematic credit histories often suffer unfairly from high mortgage, insurance, and car loan rates. On top of that, they have difficulty getting approved for credit cards. The whole situation can get extremely frustrating. Frequently, I get emails from consumers wondering what they can do to rebuild their credit. The first thing I tell them is to get a credit card designed for people with bad credit. The second thing I tell them is written in bold: READ THE FINE PRINT.
The first issue that came up is that most of the companies in our opinion pander to their potential customer. This means that they will say anything in order to make the sale. For example; If you call some of the popular companies and tell them that you would like to build credit on your company and that your company operates from home would that be okay? A truthful answer would be that you can build credit but will be extremely limited in how much credit you will achieve. If you just take a moment to think about it, a bank will not give a home based business nearly as much credit as they would a company working out of an office or even a virtual office. These companies will pander to you and tell you "Yes, you can build business credit working from home" that's it!! They leave out the limitations because they don't want to scare you off.
"Bad Credit" Credit Card #1: This credit card charges a very low interest rate for an unsecured credit card. However, your first fine print glimpse reveals that there is a one time setup fee of $29. Not too bad. So far, since the next charge is a one time fee of $95. So far, we're up to $124 in expenses. That's got to be it, right? No. Add in another $48 for the annual fee and $6 per month in account maintenance fees. That's brings the cost of your new credit card to $244 the first year, and $120 each additional year. This is no small change, and a card such as this should be considered only if you cannot be accepted for a better unsecured credit card for bad credit.
Once your credit report is accurate, you'll want to raise your score as high as possible so you can get the best interest rates and other credit terms. First of all, there are some things you don't want to do if you're aiming to fix your credit score. The most important thing not to do is pay your bills late. Late payments, especially those over 90 days, are disastrous to your credit score, so avoid them at all costs. In fact, your credit history is the most influential component of your credit score. It should go without saying, but keep accounts out of collection. Collection actions can follow you around for 7 years, and obviously have a negative impact on your credit score. Your credit score is views recent credit history more heavily than your activity farther in your past, so if you've had a few fairly recent late payments, simply waiting for a year or so while continuing to pay your bills on time will raise your score too. After the late payments are approximately 24 months behind you, they will not have the same impact on your score.
"Bad Credit" Credit Card #3: This credit card is available as both a secured and unsecured credit card, based on the issuer's review of your credit history. The interest rate is average, even competitive. Now, the fine print reveals that there is a one time setup fee. However, based on your credit, this fee can be as low as $0 or as high as $49. So far so good, especially if your credit is not that bad. But, there must be a huge annual fee. Not exactly. The annual fee for a secured credit card is only $35, and for an unsecured credit card, this fee can be as low as $39 or up to $79. So far, the cost of this card ranges from $35 to $128. Now its time for the monthly maintenance fee. This one has to be huge. Or not. Its $0. That means the most you could possible be charged to obtain this credit card is $128, about half of what competing cards are charging.
We also found several companies claiming to be partnered with the IRS, This seems like an endorsement but if you did a little research you will find that the IRS does have a partnership program. This "partnership" program allows the partner to link to tax educational articles on the IRS website. Yes this is a partnership but it is NOT an IRS endorsement in any way, shape or form which several of these companies seem to imply. They are betting on you being naive and not checking. To me this is misrepresentation and fraud.
The first issue that came up is that most of the companies in our opinion pander to their potential customer. This means that they will say anything in order to make the sale. For example; If you call some of the popular companies and tell them that you would like to build credit on your company and that your company operates from home would that be okay? A truthful answer would be that you can build credit but will be extremely limited in how much credit you will achieve. If you just take a moment to think about it, a bank will not give a home based business nearly as much credit as they would a company working out of an office or even a virtual office. These companies will pander to you and tell you "Yes, you can build business credit working from home" that's it!! They leave out the limitations because they don't want to scare you off.
"Bad Credit" Credit Card #1: This credit card charges a very low interest rate for an unsecured credit card. However, your first fine print glimpse reveals that there is a one time setup fee of $29. Not too bad. So far, since the next charge is a one time fee of $95. So far, we're up to $124 in expenses. That's got to be it, right? No. Add in another $48 for the annual fee and $6 per month in account maintenance fees. That's brings the cost of your new credit card to $244 the first year, and $120 each additional year. This is no small change, and a card such as this should be considered only if you cannot be accepted for a better unsecured credit card for bad credit.
Once your credit report is accurate, you'll want to raise your score as high as possible so you can get the best interest rates and other credit terms. First of all, there are some things you don't want to do if you're aiming to fix your credit score. The most important thing not to do is pay your bills late. Late payments, especially those over 90 days, are disastrous to your credit score, so avoid them at all costs. In fact, your credit history is the most influential component of your credit score. It should go without saying, but keep accounts out of collection. Collection actions can follow you around for 7 years, and obviously have a negative impact on your credit score. Your credit score is views recent credit history more heavily than your activity farther in your past, so if you've had a few fairly recent late payments, simply waiting for a year or so while continuing to pay your bills on time will raise your score too. After the late payments are approximately 24 months behind you, they will not have the same impact on your score.
"Bad Credit" Credit Card #3: This credit card is available as both a secured and unsecured credit card, based on the issuer's review of your credit history. The interest rate is average, even competitive. Now, the fine print reveals that there is a one time setup fee. However, based on your credit, this fee can be as low as $0 or as high as $49. So far so good, especially if your credit is not that bad. But, there must be a huge annual fee. Not exactly. The annual fee for a secured credit card is only $35, and for an unsecured credit card, this fee can be as low as $39 or up to $79. So far, the cost of this card ranges from $35 to $128. Now its time for the monthly maintenance fee. This one has to be huge. Or not. Its $0. That means the most you could possible be charged to obtain this credit card is $128, about half of what competing cards are charging.
We also found several companies claiming to be partnered with the IRS, This seems like an endorsement but if you did a little research you will find that the IRS does have a partnership program. This "partnership" program allows the partner to link to tax educational articles on the IRS website. Yes this is a partnership but it is NOT an IRS endorsement in any way, shape or form which several of these companies seem to imply. They are betting on you being naive and not checking. To me this is misrepresentation and fraud.
About the Author:
Frank Miller has a Debt Consolidation Blog & Finance, these are some of the articles: No Credit Fearfulness In Getting Blemished Advance Low Fee Payday Loan You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.
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