The difference between credit counseling and debt settlement

Posted on Oct 28 2009 by

Dear Experian,

What is difference between credit counseling and debt settlement?

- CKB

Requesting your credit report after your application is denied

Posted on Oct 28 2009 by

Dear Experian,

How do I get my credit report when it has adversely affected a loan?

- CBR

Negotiating reduced payments can hurt credit scores

Posted on Oct 28 2009 by

Dear Experian,

I have several credit cards and am struggling to make house payments and credit card payments. If I make arrangements with a credit card company to pay the card off with a reduced amount, will that still affect my credit?

- SPS

Helping child in college establish credit

Posted on Oct 14 2009 by

Dear Experian,

My college freshman daughter applied for a credit card, was declined, and then applied for a secured card and was also declined. How can I help her build credit? She obviously has no history, but I am concerned that the two denials are going to hurt her score. I am at a loss on how she can build her own credit.

- UAR

Satisfaction of judgment will not cause the public record to be deleted

Posted on Oct 14 2009 by

Dear Experian,

I have two public records that appear on my credit report that I have paid off. Would submitting a satisfaction of judgment to the credit bureaus take those off of my record?

- JKI

Responsibility for a cosigned loan when the engagement is called off

Posted on Oct 14 2009 by

Dear Experian,

If I cosigned on student loans for someone I was previously engaged to, but the relationship did not work out, am I still jointly responsible for those loans?

- SDE

Reestablishing credit when your spouse dies

Posted on Oct 14 2009 by

Dear Experian,

I don’t have any credit. I never had to buy anything. I was married at a very young age and my husband did all the buying. What do I do now?

- NEK

Education level does not affect credit scores

Posted on Sep 30 2009 by

Dear Experian,

I just graduated and read somewhere that the higher your education the higher your score. How do I inform Experian to add my bachelor’s degree completion?

- FNS

It is possible to not have a credit report

Posted on Sep 30 2009 by

Dear Experian,

Is it possible not to have a report? I am a resident since 2003!

- NIC

Replacing lost PIN to thaw frozen credit file

Posted on Sep 30 2009 by

Dear Experian,

I placed security freeze on my account and have misplaced the pin needed to temporary remove freeze. How do I get a replacement PIN?

- EGM

Getting your personal report is the first step in getting help

Posted on Sep 30 2009 by

Dear Readers,

We receive so many letters that begin, “How can I…..,” and in most cases the problem is easily solved with one simple step. In almost all cases, the answer is that you need to first get a copy of your credit report directly from the credit reporting company.

Disputing information does not hurt your credit scores

Posted on Sep 16 2009 by

Dear Experian,

Does disputing information with Experian cause credit scores to lower?

- MIL

Going over the limit on your credit card

Posted on Sep 16 2009 by

Dear Experian,

What happens if your credit card goes over your limit? What are the best options in your opinion?

- JNT

You can get a free annual report even if you have frozen your credit file

Posted on Sep 16 2009 by

Dear Experian,

Does putting a security freeze on my file prevent me from getting my free annual credit report?

- CPI

Removing negative information from your report

Posted on Sep 16 2009 by

Dear Experian,

How do I get companies to remove negative remarks off my accounts? I also have an account with a zero balance that I paid off, and it’s still on my report.

- ALT

Income information isn’t part of a credit report

Posted on Sep 01 2009 by

Dear Experian,

My name was on one of my parents’ credit cards for emergencies. My name was taken off the card a couple months ago. When I applied for a credit card I got denied. The reason stated was, “Your total credit obligations, which include outstanding credit lines, are too high to meet our approval guidelines, when compared to your stated income.” What can I do to get it expunged from my record?

- LEN

Authorized user accounts can be removed from report upon request

Posted on Sep 01 2009 by

Dear Experian,

Is an authorized user responsible for the debt? If an authorized user is removed from the credit card, can the credit card also be removed from the credit report? I also read somewhere that credit bureaus will not take into account authorized users for credit scores. Is that true?

- CHS

Report shows all inquiries, but they may be counted as only one

Posted on Sep 01 2009 by

Dear Experian,

I was under the impression that if you sought after a specific type of loan, such as an auto loan, within a 10 day time frame that it would only post on your report once. However, one car dealer hit my credit three different times for the same auto loan application. Why are all three on my report?

- KIR

Credit report can’t show half a mortgage

Posted on Sep 01 2009 by

Dear Experian,

My son in-law and I purchased a house together in only his and my name. Can I contact the credit bureaus and let them know that only 50 percent of that dollar amount is my responsibility? That way I would have a lower credit ratio.

- RAE

Both of married couple’s credit reports are considered when applying for a home

Posted on Aug 19 2009 by

Dear Experian,

If you are married can you join your scores together to get approved on a house loan?

- BRI

Closing accounts after death of husband

Posted on Aug 19 2009 by

Dear Experian,

My husband died on July 10, 2009. I am closing out nearly all the credit cards he had. How will that affect my credit score?

- PRE

You cannot get credit report information for a specific date in the past

Posted on Aug 19 2009 by

Tweet Dear Experian, Is there any way to get information that was on my credit report in August 1994? – HNT   Dear HNT, Think about what it would take to produce a report from any day in the past.  Experian would have to keep a credit report for every person with a credit history [...]

U.S. credit report won’t transfer to the U.K.

Posted on Aug 19 2009 by

Dear Experian,

I have a great credit history here in the United States, but I’m planning on moving to England. Would I need to build my credit history from scratch once I settle in the UK?

- AGA

When paid off accounts are deleted

Posted on Aug 05 2009 by

Dear Experian,

If I pay off a negative account on my credit report, will it be removed from my credit and raise my score or will it remain on there seven years and not change my score? How does this work?

- TYK

Improving your credit is a matter of common sense

Posted on Aug 05 2009 by

Dear Experian,

I would love to get an answer on how to increase my credit score other than common sense answers like, “Pay your bill on time.” No duh. I’m past that. I didn’t pay on time, now what? Or, get a credit card. My credit is messed up. I can’t get a credit card. I hope you have some information that can actually be applied, like who to pay first. If it’s already in collection should I even pay it off?

- UPE