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Free Credit Reports For You
american consumers are now entitled to receive one free copy of their credit report per year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. equifax, experian, and trans union are now all required by law to furnish to you a copy of your credit report. this is good news for consumers; please read on for additional helpful information.
as of september 1, 2005, the federal fair credit reporting act (fcra) requires that the three national credit reporting agencies provide one free copy of your credit report to you annually. you do not need to contact the three reporting agencies separately to obtain your reports, instead you can order them online at www.annualcreditreport.com; or by calling 877-322-8228; or by completing the annual credit report request form and mailing it in.
the mailing address is:
annual credit report request service
p.o. box 105281
atlanta, ga 30348-5281
the online form is available here: www.ftc.gov/credit.
if you need copies more often, you can contact the three reporting agencies and request copies directly from them. you will be charged for any reports over and beyond your one free annual report.
to purchase a copy of your report, contact:
equifax
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
experian
888-experian (888-397-3742)
www.experian.com
trans union
800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
what is the best way for you to benefit from the new law? that?s easy: order copies of your reports from the companies on a four month rotating basis. most consumers will find this method to be adequate as it will allow for you to compare reports from each agency. naturally, if you already suspect fraud you will want to order all three reports at once and notify each agency to place a fraud alert in your credit file.
there are also several private companies who will get a hold of all three copies of your credit report for you as well. there are fees involved, but you may find their services to be less of a hassle than contacting the three companies separately.
in summation, the new law is a bonus for consumers. published reports indicate that many credit reports contain errors in them; this law gives you the opportunity to correct their mistakes by setting the record straight and at no cost to you.
copyright 2005 -- matthew keegan is the article writer who writes on a variety of topics including: advocacy, automobiles, aviation, business, christian themes, family, news, product reviews, travel, writing, and more. samples from his portfolio are available right online.
article source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=matthew_keegan
Self Credit Repair - How You Can Do It On Your Own
self credit repair is basically the only way you can repair your bad credit. no one can do it for you, although they can give you advice. you have to really sit down and take a good look at your credit repair and then decide for yourself how you want to go about tackling the problem. self credit repair is not that difficult to do, but you do have to make a conscientious effort. self credit repair works.
there are times when everyone overextends themselves and finds that they are short of money. you may have to postpone paying one bill this month and paying double the next. however, this shows up unfavourably on your credit report and results in a lower credit score. if there are only one or two items of this nature on your credit report, it is not too detrimental, bit if it happens every month, then you really do need to focus on ways of doing self credit repair. start with your credit report and repair it yourself by taking a good look at your financial situation.
first of all, start your self credit repair by preparing a monthly budget. list all your payments and them your income. you have to include groceries and emergency funds in the list of expenses. if your expenses amount to more than what you are bringing in, then you might need to avail of professional counselling instead of doing the credit report repair yourself. a counsellor will sit down with you and go over the credit report. he/she will offer advice as to what you can do to start repairing your credit.
debt consolidation is one way you can do self credit repair. you might say you don?t want to take out another loan and have more payments, but once you pay off all the bills, you are left with one monthly payment. more than likely, the amount is less than the total you were paying. cutting up your credit cards is another means of doing credit report repair yourself. when the temptation to use them is not there, all of your payments go to reducing your debt. even if you make all your payments on time, it is not a good idea to have your credit report show that you have used all your available credit. however, you can keep one card, just in case an emergency arises while you are in the process of self credit repair.
self credit repair is the best credit repair, as long as you know what you are doing.
to download a free copy of peters credit repair book visit peters website credit repair answers and find out about credit bureaus and more, including credit repair services, free credit reports, and online credit repair.
article source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=peter_crump
MasterCard: Then, Now, and Why
* then *
way back around 1947, many banks in the us started doing their premium customers a favor. the banks gave them a piece of paper for the customers to flaunt at stores. the paper said, ? we, the bank, will pay you on behalf of the customer. just send us the bill.?
one can imagine how privileged and special those customers felt. one can also visualize how those customers would stay bonded for life to their respective banks, as would their succeeding generations.
this practice of banks really caught on because it promoted customer loyalty and brought in new accounts. which is why in 1951, the franklin national bank, new york, offered the first credit card as a formal financial instrument.
throughout the fifties, this idea was franchised; a single bank in each large city would allow chosen merchants to accept cards instead of cash. the interbank card association (ica), which later became mastercard international, evolved from this situation in august 1966.
ica was a member-run organization, and banks formed the majority of members. they elected governing members and committees from amongst themselves to frame rules for ica?s functioning and to implement those rules. in short, ica was and is run like a true corporation.
in due course, like a typical corporation, ica put plans in motion to expand internationally. the first steps took place in 1968, when ica signed agreements with partners in mexico, europe and japan.
by around 1978, ica had practically covered all the continents. it changed its name to mastercard to reflect its international stature. 1987 was a watershed year: mastercard arrived in the peoples republic of china, where no other credit card had stepped foot in the history of banking. the very next year, the soviet union fell to that smart little piece of plastic.
*now*
the situation now, to quote mastercard incorporated, is simple: ?no other payment card is accepted in more locations around the world than mastercard.?
mastercard presently has a staggering 25,000 shareholders. a list of mastercards largest current shareholders with their holdings reads like this:
1. jpmorgan chase - 11.7%
2. citigroup - 6.2%
3. bank of america - 6%
4. euro kartensysteme - 5.2%
5. europay france - 5.0%
* why *
so why do millions of people carry mastercard?
well, to start with, and as mentioned earlier, it is accepted by more merchants the world over than any other credit card. add to that the fact that wherever you may be on earth, you have an atm nearby that will disgorge you cash if you have a mastercard. how many atms are we talking about? just 780,000!
also, the intermediate and premium cards, gold and platinum, carry attractive value-added features. such as ?road assist?, which provides access to emergency service to travelers anywhere in the us. or ?paypass?, which is a smart mastercard that you just tap on the paypass reader at participating locations for your card account to be debited (no swiping or giving your card to checkout counter staff).
if you are in the us, you also have mastercard?s famous zero liability benefit: you are not liable if your card is stolen and misused.
* conclusion *
mastercard offers customers one of the greatest advantages in today?s commercial world: cashless transactions. coupled with all the benefits mentioned above, it is very difficult to prove why you should not acquire one! count on mastercard international to evolve beyond plastic into state-of-the-art personal technology, like credit-loaded mobile phones? stay tuned!
copyright 2005 http://www.freeroller.net/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb61976
lucky balaraman is a graduate engineer who writes on a variety of subjects. learn more about mastercard from his site,http://www.freeroller.net/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb61976
article source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=lucky_balaraman
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