| Super-charging your credit score
For Natasha Horne, trying to buy a house all came down to a three-digit number. A 33-year-old home health care worker who lives with her husband and two kids in a rental in the Parkchester section of the Bronx, Horne was hampered by a low credit score of 612. But with the help of Marilyn Bell, a counselor at Neighborhood Housing Services, which has offices in all five boroughs, Horne went to work. She called her creditors; some were willing to negotiate a settlement. The big push, starting last May, wiped $4,000 off her debt load. Bell contacted the credit reporting agencies about Horne's efforts. Within three months, her credit score rose to 679. Now, she's eligible for a mortgage at better rates than those offered to people with very poor credit.
Experian offers credit freeze facility from November 1
Consumer credit reporting bureau Experian has announced that it will be offering its customers in 50 states and the District of Columbia, the chance to freeze their credit histories starting November 1. Experian is the second firm after TransUnion to offer consumers the option of freezing their credit histories. By freezing histories, consumers can block access to their reports by new creditors. The company said that it would be charging $10 every time a consumer wants to freeze his/her history temporarily or permanently. "It will be one option among a broad range of fraud-assistance tools we already provide to consumers so that they may make the choice best suited to their situation," said Kerry Williams, group president of credit services and decision analytics business at Experian. "Now that a national model for file freezing has emerged, Experian is offering this option to help prevent consumer confusion." TransUnion was the first company to offer this option, which will come into effect starting October 15.
Free steps towards protecting your ID
Thanks to a new law in Maryland, you can now request the three major credit reporting agencies not give out your credit report. It is just the newest way to protect you from identity theft. It will cost you $15, a five dollar fee from each credit reporting agencies. But there are two other steps you can take to guard your good name and they are both free.You see ads all the time promising you a free credit report. Those ads are all too familiar to Angie Barnett, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland. “It is all over the internet, we find them everywhere, I'm listening to the radio, you hear it constantly." But Barnett warns buyers beware. She says, “that you can get these free credit reports but what they are going to do is give you something you can already get for free then secondly they are going to try to sell you a bundle or package of services that are directly related to protecting you from identity theft." She goes on to say that those services are steps you can take on your own without paying.The federal government requires all three of the major credit reporting agencies, Transunion, Experian and Equifax, to give you a free copy of your report once a year. There is only one place on the internet where you can do that and it is http://www.annualcreditreport.com“We encourage people to be sure you stagger it," says Barnett.
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