Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Facts Consumers Should Know Before Using A Credit Repair Company

By T. Price

Have you ever wondered about those ads you see from companies and law firms which offer to fix your credit for a low monthly fee? People with credit problems often ask me when it comes to improving their credit score whether they should hire a credit repair company or do it themselves? Unfortunately, there is no simple or universal answer to this question. However, I will shed some light on the subject if you're in need of a little enlightenment.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) "Everything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally you can do for yourself at little or no cost". While I agree with the FTC I also understand some consumers do not have the time, patience (or knowledge) to do the work themselves and the thought of "drive-thru-we-do-it-all-for- you-credit-repair" becomes very appealing. After all, everything a mobile oil change service can do for me I can also do myself at little or no cost (but you won't find me changing the oil in my car this weekend!).

Although some things are better done yourself, only you can determine if doing your own credit restoration work will be one of them. This is why understanding both the advantages and limitations of a credit repair company and the structure from which it operates are VERY important.

REFERENCES: Any legitimate company or individual doing credit restoration work for consumers will be able to provide you with at least half a dozen references. If the company or person is local you should be able to call these references. This is without question the most important point of consideration when hiring a professional to do the work for you.

If possible, I suggest you ask friends, family, relatives and professional contacts if they know of someone who does credit restoration work as a side business. By far the highest percentage of successful stories I hear from consumers are those which come from those who found a credit consultant via personal referral. I cannot stress this enough. It's the difference between going on a vacation with a close friend instead of a stranger.

CONTRACT: Unlike painting a house or putting in a driveway, credit restoration work (and results) are extremely broad. Therefore, the use of a contract is imperative. Most likely your credit challenges didn't occur overnight and they won't be improved overnight either. A good contract protects you as well as the service provider. The contract should be easy to understand without an Attorney and spell out the actual services which will be rendered as well as the service providers' limitations (i.e. they cannot guarantee the removal of any one particular item but can guarantee an overall increase in score overtime).

MONTHLY FEE: One of the most critical elements which affects "how" a credit restoration company operates is determined by its' payment structure. One of the most common payment structures of large companies or law firms doing credit restoration is that of the monthly "auto-debit" fee. In this structure the consumer usually pays $49 to $99 up front and then a monthly fee of $39 to $49 per month. While there is an advantage to this method (affordability) with it comes many disadvantages.

1.) The first disadvantage this structure creates is that it gives the company absolutely no incentive to work quickly or aggressively on behalf of the consumer. In fact, the opposite is true. The longer they take the longer they will continue to collect their monthly fee! In most cases this structure leads to slow results over a very long period of time. Looking at it logically, this shouldn't come as a surprise.

2.) The other challenge within this structure is the actual amount of time, effort and resources which a company or law firm can reasonably allocate on a consumer's behalf. Remember, any large business has a tremendous amount of overhead which quickly chews up most of that monthly fee. Out of that $39 to $49 there are monthly expenses including but not limited to: Advertising, Office Rent and Utilities, Employee Payroll and Taxes, Health Insurance, Phone Service, Office Supplies, Refunds, Computer Maintenance and Programming, Website Administration, Office Supplies and let's not forget postage for mailing letters to creditors, collection agencies and credit bureaus. A much simpler way to think of this is by imagining if you had a client paying you $39 a month; how much work would you be willing to do?

3.) One of the biggest challenges credit repair companies charging low monthly fees run into is being forced to rely on the use of Automated "Boiler Plate" Dispute and Correspondence Letters. Boiler Plate Letters are simple form letters which are used for ALL consumers (one format fits all). Once set up in a computer program with the consumers' information they are "shot out" automatically based on the consumers needs (i.e. late pay, charge-off, judgment etc).

The problem here is that when a credit repair company has thousands of clients they are shooting these form letters out for, the creditors, collection agencies and credit bureaus can take notice of these letters being used over and over and discover your correspondence is coming from a third party (i.e. credit repair company or law firm) and in some cases ignore it or (worse yet) mark the dispute frivolous and flag your credit report. I spoke with a man recently who was on the inside of a large credit repair company who informed me they had an archive of over 10,000 boiler plate letters on file to avoid this problem. Of course, they charged customers by the month.

NON-DISCLOSURE OF METHODS: One of the most troubling issues with 95% of large credit repair firms (especially law firms) is their non-disclosure of dispute tactics and methods. As a consumer it is vital that you are made aware of the methods they are using in dealing with your creditors, collections and the credit bureaus. If the organization or law firm violates laws or makes errors (I have witnessed both) you could be held liable for their negligence. In addition, this can actually make your credit worse and create problems which are very difficult to clean up. Anyone doing credit restoration for you should disclose "what" they are doing since you are paying for a service. If they won't, you better run the other way as they could be pouring gas on a blazing camp fire.

LOCATED IN HOME STATE: This is one of the most overlooked keys to successful third party credit restoration which consumers miss. It is absolutely vital when having someone else do your credit restoration work for you that they operate within your home state. Here's why: if a credit repair company or law firm mails dispute letters or correspondence on your behalf from another state, that mail will be postmarked from that state. If the credit bureau catches this they can (and in many cases will) mark the dispute as frivolous and flag your credit file.

It is known that many Credit Repair Companies and Law Firms will resort to or create a method to avoid and out of state postmark in order to get disputes postmarked from the consumers' home state (potentially violating postal regulations). For example. If they are in NY and you are in CA they will first have to mail your dispute letters inside an envelope from NY to CA. Once in CA someone opens the envelope and then mails your dispute letters from CA so they postmarked from your home state. I am not an expert on postal regulations but had one postal employee tell me the concept sounded extremely shady at best.

CUSTOMIZATION: It's for this reason that some of the most advanced forms of credit restoration are done completely customized for the client and even (in many cases) by hand. The best credit restoration companies I've seen are usually run by one person or a small number of people and are extremely customized for each client. The is the most effective but with effectiveness comes cost. Every one of these services I have seen charges a very large upfront fee and works entirely off of referrals. This type of service is simply impossible to perform for $39 or even $49 a month.

Unfortunately, if you are unable to find someone in your area (preferably an individual) by way of referral through a friend, relative or professional contact, then I recommend you take matters into your own hands and do it yourself. I realize most consumers do not want to hear this but the good news is that it will almost always turn out to be the highest paid work you will ever do in your life. How high? How does $500 to $2500 an hour sound? I understand that's a bold claim but not one I am unable to back up.

If you're ever going to finance a first or second home (which everyone eventually should for the tax breaks) the difference between good credit and poor credit will affect your interest rate. If you secure a $200,000 mortgage on a 30 year term and your interest rate is only 2% lower because of a high credit score, that 2% will save you $96,934.11 over the course of the loan (just because you had better credit). Take that $96,934.11 and divide it by the 30 to 50 hours you may spend working on your credit situation and you'll quickly realize credit restoration when done properly does not cost - it pays!

This is the end of our "7 Article Series" for the "Credit Secrets Bible". Hopefully this convinces you to buy it. Order your copy now by going to the website below. After all, you deserve it!

Terry Price is the founder of Consumer Education Group which publishes the Credit Secrets Bible (in print since 1994).

For more information on the CREDIT SECRETS BIBLE you may visit:

http://creditsecretsbible.ws

Monday, January 29, 2007

Credit Repair – The Single Fastest Way To Fix Your Credit

By Marc Chase

The most frequently abused rule of the FDCPA and FCRA it would be collection agents re-aging debts.

If a collection agent re-ages a debt, there is a great chance you can have that removed.

So what is re-aging?

First, let's look at the definition of re-aging debts.

Definition: Creditors change the date that the debt went bad. Usually they like to report the date as the day they bought the debt from the original creditor. Obviously, if they bought the debt 6 months after it actually went bad, that is not fair to you since it moves the date it will be removed from your credit report up by 6 months.

How it should be reported: A debt is legally considered bad 30 days from the date of your last payment. For example; If your last payment was January 1st 2001 the debt will go bad approximately February 1st. 2001

This date is important because the statute of limitations begins from that date. Think about it, if a collection agent buys the debt 6 months later and dates it from that day, that's 6 months more its hurting your credit. It's also a violation of the FCRA and an opportunity for you to have it removed from your credit report all together.

How big of a violation is this on behalf of the debt collectors?

Here is a lawsuit by the FTC Themselves.

One of the nation's largest debt-collection firms will pay $1.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by reporting inaccurate information about consumer accounts to credit bureaus. The civil penalty against Pennsylvania-based NCO Group, Inc. is the largest civil penalty ever obtained in a FCRA case.

For one reason or another, Collection Agents still have not learned to play by the rules. That's fine by us. Keep breaking the rules and educated consumers will keep using to their advantage.

Marc Chase is a Partner at My Credit Group Inc. – A nationally recognized authority on credit report repair and authors of “The official guide to credit repair & credit repair companies”

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Benefits to Businesses Accepting Credit Cards

By Debbie Dragon

Many business owners report a sharp increase in profit when they begin accepting credit cards as a means of payment. Credit cards allow customers who do not have the money on hand to make purchases from you despite their personal shortage of cash, and they also open the door to customers who simply make all of their purchases by credit card or debit card each month- as there are many people who prefer to make a single payment for all their monthly expenditures when their statement arrives.

Online businesses greatly benefit from accepting credit cards, as payment can be made immediately over the Internet and your business can quickly ship their purchase without having to wait for a check to arrive by mail, and then waiting for the check to clear the bank before sending orders out to customers.

Service oriented businesses will notice a large decline in the number of past due accounts when they start accepting credit cards for payment. A business that sets up a merchant account not only has the ability to accept credit card payments for their professional services, but it also allows them to accept ATM and debit cards as payments, and of course the traditional methods of check or cash payments. Basically, you’ve increased the ways in which a customer can provide payment and increased your business methods for billing and collecting. Accepting credit cards for payment reduces your business overhead and can greatly improve your cash flow.

Using Merchant Accounts to Lower Overhead and Increase Cash Flow

If you have several outstanding receivables that are past-due, you are likely to be experiencing a problem with cash flow. When you offer customers the possibility of making payments by credit card, ATM or debit card, you will clear up the past-due receivables faster.

For large purchases or services you provide that might be considered expensive to the majority of your customers, you may need to offer your customers the ability to make payments on their account. If you do not accept credit cards, you have to extend the credit to the customer yourself- and hope that they will keep making their payments over time. You can minimize your risk by allowing the customer to make the payment to you in FULL, by credit card- while at the same time the customer has the ability to pay for their purchase in monthly payments to their credit card.

Accepting credit cards lowers your overhead. Consider this: it will cost you less money in transaction fees to accept a $60 payment from a credit card than it will to create and print an invoice, and mail it to the customer. (This is not even considering a customer who needs to be reminded to make the payment several times once the invoice has been sent!)

When a business provides the ability for customers to pay using credit cards, the number of bad debts the business has is decreased. That increases the cash flow and reduces overhead costs- both necessary in improving the profits of a business.

Merchant Accounts are Accessible to All Size Businesses

There was a time in the not so distant past that it was very difficult to be approved for merchant accounts. In previous years, a business would need a high volume of credit card usage in order to make the fees for having the ability to accept electronic payments affordable. Currently, it is very inexpensive to set up merchant accounts whether you are a large business with a physical location, or a small business operating only online thanks to the increase in merchant account providers available to businesses.

This article has been provided by Creditor Web. Creditor Web has the articles and other credit card processing resources to help you choose the right provider.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Deals for Frequent Travelers - The Benefits of Hotel Credit Cards

By Morgan Hamilton

Hotel credit cards are much less well known than their airline affiliate counterparts. Nevertheless, hotel credit cards can offer frequent travelers many benefits that simply can not be matched by other types of travel credit card reward programs. This is particularly true if the traveler frequently travels to the same destination or uses the same hotel room.

While the benefits of hotel credit cards are usually greatest when applied towards future stays with the same hotel chain, hotel credit cards often offer other benefits, including the ability to convert rewards points into free airline miles and other perks.

Hotel credit cards almost always work on a points based system. For example, hotel credit cards offered by a particular hotel chain may provide one point per dollar charged on their hotel credit cards on normal purchases. Typically, purchases made at the issuing hotel chain or at subsidiary hotels gain more points than similar purchases made elsewhere.

The hotel credit cards rewards points can be cashed in for free stays, free room upgrades, and other hotel based perks. This is very handy for travelers who frequently stay at the same hotel. Business travelers who are reimbursed for their hotel stays frequently pay for all of their hotel bills with their hotel credit cards and then use the accumulated rewards points for free hotel room stays on family vacations or other personal trips.

Those who are more interested in accumulating free airline air miles than free hotel room visits are typically better suited by foregoing hotel credit cards and applying for airline credit cards instead. However, for those who are interested in both free hotel stays as well as free air miles, many hotel credit cards allow their users to convert their hotel credit card's rewards points into free airline miles. These free airline miles can typically only be used on affiliate airlines, so the traveler should make sure that the airline that is affiliated with the hotel credit cards is one that flies to destinations that they plan to visit.

Hotel credit cards provide benefits that are of great use to certain travelers. Business travelers who stay at the same hotel or use the same hotel chain frequently often use hotel credit cards in order to use their points on family vacations and other travel events.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Hotel Credit Cards, including assistance with the Visa Credit Card Application. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting find-cards-now.com.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Low APR Credit Card: Know How It Works!

By Mario A. Churchill

The people of today are hooked into the use of their credit cards in every purchase transaction that they engage into. So it is not to be doubted that there are several of the credit cardholders who happen to suffer from unpaid credit debts.

The main reason for this is that these users tend to let their impulse rule over them. Meaning, they tend to purchase things which are in truth not of great use to them. The result is that they have to pay for a lot of interest charges and add the fact that they earn debts for themselves!

With the lavish use of the credit cards, more and more money get wasted. But with the onset of the fierce competition among the numerous credit card companies, these businesses provide attractive offers to lure great numbers of clients. All these credit card issuers think of getting ahead of their competitors. Part of the handsome offer of these credit card issuers is the low APR. What is a low APR all about and how can you benefit from it?

The APR or the annual percentage rate is the determining factor for the computation of the total interest rates and other fees which you as the cardholder need to repay aside from the principal amount you have taken as a loan. Legally, the laws in the United States emphasize vividly that all lending institutions should clearly post their APRs as empowered by the Truth in Lending Act provision. In this manner, all of the credit card holders will be familiar with the effective ways on how they can manage their loans and finances.

The low APR credit cards are those which offer lesser or up to 0% interest rates. The introductory phase is all about getting low interest charges. But as the credit card applicant, you must be attentive to the time duration when such low APR can become applicable. You may end up plainly relying on the concept of low APR credit card but only to find out skyrocketing fees to be settled after some time.

Generally, the low APR credit cards function for just about six to nine months span of time. Other than that, you will need to settle your interest rate charges because business is still business. And credit card business is all about profiting from the interest charged on the cardholder.

Do not believe most of the promotional strategies done by credit card firms such as the exposition of the low APR credit cards. These things do not last for long.

They are basically all about tempting the customers to join their business. Low APR credit cards may vary in terms and conditions. Different transactions will then have diverse low APR grants. For example, the APR for balance transfers are lower than that of the cash advance APRs. Furthermore, another different APR can be applicable to the late payment of dues.

You must know how the things called as low APR credit cards work. They can be used as catchy advertisements yet they may not entirely serve the purpose. You can direct the advantage of the low APR credit cards for your own enjoyment if you know the ropes and if you know the way of how you can maneuver things.

It matters that you are fully attentive to the workings of the low APR credit cards and not risk getting yourself into some serious trouble.

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on a credit card or to apply for a credit card checkout his recommended websites.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Building Business Credit

By Garrett Sutton

While bootstrapping your business and taking on no debt may be ideal, the reality is that most small businesses will borrow at some point to grow their enterprise, or even to get through a tough time. If you are an entrepreneur, the question will probably not be whether you will borrow, but whether you will do it successfully.

Fact #1: Small business credit reports are not always completely separate from personal credit scores.

You may have heard that small business and personal credit are completely separate. They can be. Some of the business credit bureaus, such as D&B and Credit.net, for example, do not collect information on individuals’ personal credit histories, so that information will not become part of the businesses’ credit score. But agencies such as Experian and Equifax also collect and maintain consumer’s personal credit ratings, and they may blend that information with the business’s credit score to produce a combined score for a small business.

You may have also seen marketing hype about how a business credit profile can overcome a bad personal credit file. In most cases, however, it’s important that small businesses have both good business credit, as well as solid personal credit on the part of the owners. This is especially true in the current environment where investors and venture capitalists aren’t handing money out to anyone who can breathe and has a business idea! Even established businesses will find it necessary in some cases to provide the business owner’s personal guarantees on some loans or credit cards.

That means small business owners must be diligent about protecting and maintaining and optimizing their personal as well as business credit ratings.

Fact #2: The Paydex Score isn’t the only score lenders use.

If you have researched business credit programs, you have probably seen them refer to the Paydex Score offered by D&B. While it is true that this is one important industry credit score, it is not the only game in town. In fact, there are lenders that will never use a Paydex score to evaluate your loan. They will rely on other credit reports and scores offered through Experian, Equifax, the Small Business Exchange, and other business credit bureaus. Some lenders report to one bureau, but not to others.

Knowing where you stand with each business credit agency is helpful if you are trying to borrow.

Fact #3: Paying your bills on time is not enough to guarantee strong business credit.

One company came to us after they had created a successful business, with over twenty employees. But they couldn’t get a business loan because they hadn’t taken the time to build a business credit profile and didn’t know where to start.

To build business credit, you must borrow or buy products and services from companies that will report your payments to the major business credit reporting agencies. If your payment history is not reported, it isn’t helping to build your business credit profile.

In addition, however, business owners should make sure they also have strong financial data about their company, for when it becomes necessary to ask a bank or financial institution for a loan. A business plan will also be helpful here.

If you understand what lenders are looking for, and approach a lender with a complete and well thought out proposal, you have a much stronger chance of getting approved.

Fact #4: When it comes to building business credit, you will want to get it right the first time.

Business credit reports are not covered by the federal law that governs personal credit reports. You do not have the same rights when it comes to disputing the accuracy of information in your file. Therefore, you want to make sure you start out on the right foot, or it can be difficult to get corrections or updates made to improve your rating.

And the sooner you start, the better. For example, one bank was recently offering “no documentation” loans to businesses that were at least two years old. A business that had a two-year history, regardless of how successful it was, would likely qualify. And the longer your business has been established, the stronger its chances of approval since so many fail in the first two years.

Even if your business will make no money the first year or two, it helps to set up the proper business structure and take basic steps to ensure your business appears legitimate and stable to the business credit bureaus. That means getting the proper occupational licenses, and a phone number that is listed with directory assistance in the businesses’ name, among other things. Your business will generally need some form of corporate structure to effectively build a business credit rating.

Your business credit plan should be part of your business planning from the beginning.

Garrett Sutton, Esq., author of Own Your own Corporation, The ABC's of Getting Out of Debt, The ABC's of Writing Winning Business Plans and How to Buy and Sell a Business in the Rich Dad's Advisors series, is an attorney with over twenty-five years experience in assisting individuals and business to determine their appropriate corporate structure, limit their liability, protect their assets and advance their financial, personal and credit success goals.

http://www.SuccessDNA.com

Friday, January 19, 2007

Cash Back Credit Cards Starting Guide

By Curtis Swap

If you are not earning some type of reward for using your credit card, you are missing out. One of the most popular and most useful reward offer is cash back. It is common to earn between 1 - 5% in cash back rewards depending on which card you select. Many cash back cards offer bonus cash back rewards for many of your daily shopping activities like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, office supply stores, and others. Other cards occasionally run programs to earn bonus cash back rewards based on certain criteria.

Offering a reward on a credit card really took off with the offering of a frequent flier mile for every dollar spent. Quickly consumers wanted other choices of rewards and cash back was offered and quickly became one of the most popular credit card rewards around.

Many companies have begun to take advantage of the brand loyalty from offering a credit card with a large cash back bonus as well. Companies such as Hilton and General Motors have issued credit cards that reward users with cash back on hotel rooms or cars.

You can even earn cash back rewards on your business and student credit cards. In fact this is one of the biggest growing areas, who would not want to earn 1-5% cash back for all your business purchases or when your kids are making necessary school expenses on their own student credit card?

Even large banks are getting into the act by offering cash back on debit card purchases. Whichever cash back credit card you pick, nothing can beat receiving a nice cash back reward for doing your everyday purchases!

Cash back rewards are usually given to you monthly or yearly. Some companies make you request it whenever you have reached a certain level. There is no reason not to get a cash back or reward credit card if you are not earning anything, you are just giving up these great free rewards to the credit card companies! Be sure to do your research before picking the card that is right for you as the choice of cards can been overwhelming at first.

Curtis Swap is a credit card expert who runs http://www.CashbackCreditCards.org

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Learn How To Read Your Credit Report

By Roy Chan

Credit reports are much easier to read now than in the past, because years of pressure from consumer advocates and regulators led to significant changes in the credit- reporting industry. The rise of identity theft was a key consideration for lawmakers when Congress wrote the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, which amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act. During that process, consumer advocates and others called attention to the growing importance of consumers understanding how the credit system works.

These days, bad marks on your credit report can determine whether you land the job you're applying for, how much you pay for auto and homeowners insurance, and your credit card interest rate, plus whether you have to pay your utility or cell phone company a deposit.

But, despite tougher laws, including free reports for consumers, centralized fraud reporting, and more pressure on creditors to respond to consumers' complaints, the credit-reporting industry is still, to a large degree, a black box, and credit reports are not nearly as clear and understandable as they could be. Consumers still get confused.

You should focus on identifying what's bad on your reports and the information you'll need for planning your repair effort. There are many different styles and formats of credit report, but most of them derive from one of the three super-bureaus that supplied the information being reported. Each of the three main credit bureaus uses a different format, plus each bureau's format varies depending on whether you request the report online or order it by phone or mail.

On top of that, regional credit bureaus, from which mortgage lenders and others often buy reports, use their own unique format to list your credit information. The instructions are organized around identifying the basic information you need for repairing bad credit:

1. Credit name (and type of creditor)
2. Account number
3. Status
4. Lateness patterns

Some of the information, such as your name and address, won't be new to you, but it's useful to know what the credit bureau has listed anyway. Tiny mistakes in any of the most mundane information can affect your credit rating, especially if it means you've been confused with someone else with a similar name.

Also, each credit bureau offers information on its web site on how to read credit reports and how to submit a dispute, and also will mail you that information if you request your report by mail. When communicating with the credit bureaus, be sure to include the credit report number at the top of your report. Experian calls it the "report number," TransUnion says "file number," and Equifax refers to it as a "confirmation number."

Download your free "Good Credit Is Simple" Visit this url today: http://www.good-credit-is-simple.com

Sunday, January 14, 2007

The Three Categories Of Credit Card Terminals

By Jim Saka

While costing you a relatively small amount, credit card terminals can have an enormous impact on your business. Credit cards are the most common method of payment by customers today in all types of stores, particularly retail and restaurant. Because of this, it is vital that your business is up to date with a quality credit card terminal. There are several basic forms of terminals, but they all fall under three different categories.

The first kind of credit card terminal is the traditional terminal. The most basic traditional terminal includes a magnetic stripe reader, a keypad to enter prices and other information, and a small display. Each terminal has its own display style, which allows you to pick and choose to meet your needs. The larger the display, the easier it will be for you to see the display. Another feature that is common amongst most new traditional terminals is a backlit display, which allows you to see the display in low light settings.

There are two different kinds of printers you can choose from for your traditional terminal, a built-in printer or a separate unit. It is often easier to handle one machine altogether, making the built-in printer more popular. However, the main thing to consider with the printer is its price, speed and reliability.

The next kind of credit card terminal is the wireless terminal. Wireless terminals are very convenient for businesses with temporary locations, taxi drivers and large lot businesses because of its ability to be moved. However, you should really think about whether it is a necessity to have a wireless terminal, because they are more expensive.

Other things that should be considered when selecting a wireless terminal include battery life, the range of the terminal, weight, and its shock resistance. The shock resistance is vital because you have to assume that any terminal you purchase will be dropped from time to time.

The last kind of credit card terminal is virtual terminals. If you are looking for a terminal to use for over the phone or an internet business, this is the kind for you. This allows you to have a terminal without actually having a physical terminal in your presence. Your merchant account that is required should be able to provide you with the necessary software to handle the transactions. All you have to do is type in the credit card number and the software will handle the authorization for you.

While there are several different models and forms of credit card terminals to choose from, they all fall under the three categories mentioned above. The most pricey terminals are going to be the wireless terminal and virtual terminal, but the traditional terminal has its benefits as well. Make sure to do the necessary research to find the best credit card terminal for your business.

For more information about Jim Saka or to find out how your business can can benefit from accepting credit cards online or at a place of business visit United Bank Card's merchant account services websites.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

No Credit Checks Student Loans

By Alison Cole

Banks offers no credit check loans to people who have a stable designation or income of about $1000 per month. Some financial institutions also require an active bank account. The bankers invest their interest profits for these loans. Applying for these loans does not necessitate much effort. When you apply for these loans, if the bankers find that your application is valid, you can get the loan amount sanctioned in a single business day. These loans are very useful for students.

Education is very important to every individual?s future. Students need large amounts of money for higher education. Most of the banks offer no credit checks student loans with various amounts, terms, and availability.

Banks offer the lowest interest and generous repayment installments for these student loans. That is why these loans are most popular with students. Students need not to tie their loans to their family assets and funds. Students can have instant approval with their loan applications. The bankers do not impose standard terms and limitations on student?s loan applications.

With these loans, students can get their loan amount in a single transaction. Students can get money at determined time intervals for educational purposes. If the students require further funds, they can request the bank to renew their existing loans or can request for fresh loans. The further loan sanctioning will be based on the student?s cash income and the policy of the bank.

The installments of repayments are fixed in advance by the loan issuing banks. This type of repayment plan will help the students when it is time to make their repayments.

Unlike other cash credit systems, the bank will discontinue unsatisfactory loan accounts according to its discretion. With the cash credit systems there is some limitation to the borrowers, they are permitted to borrow amounts against the security of the tangible assets.

Credit Check provides detailed information on Credit Check, Free Credit Checks, No Credit Check Loans, Collection Agency Credit Checks and more. Credit Check is affiliated with Credit History Repair.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

2007 Instant Approval Credit Card - Wow Tips!

By Michael Pitt

Instant approval credit card is one of those few innovations we cannot do without. Emergencies in life do not come announced. A loved one meeting a serious accident, or an urgent work requiring you to travel across the world with only 36 hours of notice, unforeseen emergencies strike us all and sundry.

To accentuate the situation, not all of us carry liquid cash with us or with the banks at all times. Instant payment is a great facilitator and speeds up almost all possible business transactions apart from those involving Mother Nature or the omnipotent god. Be it the contractor you identified to fix your home, or that workshop that services your car, or the manufacturer that supplies you with the critical raw material to feed you machines- instant payment cuts down long waiting periods and shortens processing time.

Despite the best of the financial planning, we are helpless enough in the hands of luck to get stranded in the middle of no man land with no cash at our disposal.

These emergency situations call for instant arrangement of credit. Credit lenders appreciate the requirement for such instant requirement of credit and have devised a simple yet effective solution to address this need.

Lenders conceived the idea of instant approval credit cards to meet this specific need of offering credit to creditworthy consumers with minimal transaction and documentation time. After all, the very essence of business is to create solutions catering to specific needs of the society.

Instant approval credit cards, as the name suggests, requires you to fill up an online form and inform you about the confirmation, or otherwise listed instantly. The key to this instant approval of a card is a high FICO score.

FICO, or the Fair Issac Company, is a mathematical tool named after the inventing company and is used by lenders to quantify your creditworthiness. The higher the FICO score, higher are the chances of you getting the credit card approval and negatively goes when the opposite happens.

However, you will need to keep in mind two basic aspects before you apply for these cards. The two points being creditworthiness and transaction time do away with physical verification and also cuts down heavily on the documentation part of the application process.

Hence credit card companies need to be doubly sure before they approve and issue an instant approval card. So, expect an instant approval card only if you have an impeccable credit repayment history, stable financial status, continuous employment or any combination of these.

The second point that you should know to be an informed consumer is the fact that instant approval credit card does not translate into in the moment credit. As mentioned in the name, approvals for these cards are given instantaneously subject to the fact that the applicant meets all preset criteria.

From approval to issue of credit card, this part of the process takes about two to three days despite the most efficient application processing back end team. Nevertheless, an instant approval credit is your best tool against the uncertainties of life.

Finding Instant Approved Credit Cards online is one of the business components Joe Maldonado serves as potential guide, e-commerce mentor and certified author. His focus today is also assisting the consumer Apply Online For Instant Approval Credit Card

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Who Is The Credit Bureau

By Ije Valent

Many people who don’t know anything about credit have the feeling that the credit bureau is a government agency that works for Uncle Sam to ruin our lives but the real truth is that government agencies are just private companies that that have monopolized the credit industry. The industry is therefore run by three firms: Transunion, Esperian and Equifax. These three giants run the industry but there are more than 2000 smaller credit bureaus. Truth is that these companies are all private companies and are in the business of making money. Hell they are even listed in the New York Stock Exchange and for the price of a share you can own the company. Nice thought considering these companies literally own most of the individuals in the U.S who happen to have bad credit.

How do credit bureaus get their information? Various companies subscribe to the credit bureaus services and therefore send credit history of individuals to the credit bureau. Updates are also sent to the credit bureau by the creditor periodically. Creditors usually report at different times to different credit bureaus so therefore none matching dates and amounts can be shown on each credit report. There are so many instances were these reports are terribly incorrect. The companies the send reports to credit bureaus are namely banks, department stores, mortgage companies, credit card companies etc.

Credit bureaus also get their information from public record from courthouses including bankruptcies, default payments, tax liens etc. Many times the credit bureau adds these records to its files but fail to correct the information if the courthouse updates or clears the records. Here are the 3 major credit bureaus and how to contact them. Visit http://www.1800aaacredit.com for more information.

TransUnion P.O. Box 390 Springfield, PA 19064 (800) 851-2674

TRW/ Esperian P.O. Box 949 Allen, TX 75013-0949 (800) 392-1122

Equifax P.O. Box 105873 Atlanta, GA 30348 (800) 685-1111

The ASANIWELLS FINANCIAL GROUP is dedicated to helping ordinary people change their lives for better and erasing the stigma of having a bad credit score.The Asani Wells financial group consists of ex-Bureau employees and agency solicitors who have combined years of knowledge of the credit score system into this easy to read downloadable EBOOK. Please visit http://www.1800aaacredit.com for more details.