Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC affiliates just aired an interview by Michael Gerber, the author of the E-Myth.  The segment was shot at film studios in Orlando and I had a great time.  Michael Gerber is not only an internationally acclaimed author but also has a huge corporation. He seeks out companies that are totally unique and are on the cutting edge within their industries to profile.

Check it out…

More than the publicity, it excites me that hundreds of our members over the last year have achieved home-ownership that never would have without our help.  To all our consultants, and staff but more so to our members…thanks for your confidence!  If you’d like to get your credit reviewed with no obligation CLICK HERE

Great credit and home ownership…Definitely two of the things in life that are Priceless!

BE BOLD!

Herschel

Sen. Dick Blumenthal wants explanations from the three credit rating bureaus about a New York Times report about a VIP list they allegedly keep that favors the rich and famous over everyone else.

The Connecticut Democrat wrote a letter Monday to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion about the reported separate system in which errors and disputes are resolved faster and with more attention than with other consumers, who must rely on an automated system and outsourced customer support to clear up mistakes.

“I am deeply troubled by the implication that your companies are neglecting the majority of consumers and providing preferential treatment for wealthy, famous or well-connected persons, and I ask you to confirm or deny these reports and provide more information on your dispute resolution process,” he wrote in the letter.

“An error-free credit report is vital to a consumer’s financial health, and consumers must be able to quickly resolve disputes and mistakes with the cooperation of the credit reporting bureau,” he wrote. “Every consumer deserves this cooperation, not just the rich and powerful.”

But the credit bureaus deny keeping VIP lists.

“We did respond to the senator, and to be as clear as possible, we do not have VIP lists that provides preferential treatment to anyone,” Tim Klein, a spokesman for Equifax, told FoxNews.com.

“We received the letter, and will be providing a response to Sen. Blumenthal,” Gerry Tschopp, a spokesman for Experian, said in an email to FoxNews.com. “As we’ve stated before, Experian does not have a VIP list.”

The New York Times interviewed an Arkansas resident who said she had been denied employment and credit because her filing was mixed up with a felon who had the same name and birthday, and a Louisiana consumer struggled to remove errors from her credit report that stemmed from a mix-up with a less credit-worthy person with the same name, similar address and Social Security number.

The newspaper also interviewed a number of consumer lawyers and advocates who accused the credit bureaus of lacking an incentive to improve the system because their main clients are the creditors, not consumers.

But Klein cited a new study from the Policy and Economic Research Council that showed less than 1 percent of all credit reports reviewed by the consumers prompted a dispute that resulted in a credit score correction and an increase of a credit score of 25 points or greater. It also showed that one half of one percent of all credit reports reviewed by consumers after the dispute process ended had credit scores that moved to a higher “credit risk tier” as a result of the dispute.

“We’re not perfect by any stretch, but we get it right a preponderance of the time,” he said.

Herschel’ s Rant…

Alrighty then!  Seriously?

Something is just not right in Denmark!  These boys continue to tell slanted tales and talk in half truths.

Look, VIP lists have been found in the credit bureaus training manuals a few years back.  Now they may have removed them but have us believe they don’t exist?  Hogwash!  Ex-employees have confirmed the existence of such pointed activity and total disregard for fair play for the average consumer.

Did you know when we process a dispute because it is signed by an attorney, we get a letter back from each credit bureau thanking us for the inquiry?  I challenge you as a consumer to get that kind of treatment.  Why?  Because attorneys are on the VIP list.  Same treatment as an average consumer?  Hardly…

And to say only 1% of disputes result on an increase of credit score?  It truly makes your head spin with the tales they tell.  We know for fact beyond any shadow of doubt that this statement is an absolute distortion on the real truth.  The reason is everyday we hear from members of increases in their credit scores.  Everyday we are told of another member being able to buy the home they wanted because of the rise in credit score from our program.  Tons of testimonials are on the website.  Now this might be a true statistic for the unknowing consumer trying to dispute their own credit…perhaps.  But with a company like ours?  Come on who are they kidding!

The credit bureaus are not our friends by any stretch of the imagination…

But that’s just my opinion!

I have been in Houston, TX the last few days with one of our Regional Directors Dan Fries, who laid the ground work for this relationship, along with several other NCF consultants.

You see DR Horton having partnered with Bank of America as it’s go to mortgage lender knew that many people could not buy their dream home or for that matter their first home due to their credit scores.  As Alfredo Rodriquez, the Director of “My New Home” a pilot program of DR Horton designed to put more people into a home of their own, explained to me… they needed the best credit repair company they could find and their search ended with an agreement to have National Credit Federation as it’s sole source for those with credit challenges.  His biggest reason was… the bottom line results we get for our members with our exclusive attorney assisted process.

This event, the first of many hosted 350 folks coming through the doors, at the Westin Galleria in downtown Houston, TX, to see what all the excitement was about.  And let me tell you EXCITEMENT just doesn’t do the event justice!  It was an EXTRAVAGANZA, a huge success and honor to be a part of it!

DR Horton through Alfredo’s vision have put together a process like none I’ve ever seen.  And I’ve seen alot in this business throughout the last 30 years!  His vision starts with a simple truth…People want to own their own homes.  That said, the question becomes so “how does DR Horton as a builder help more people achieve home ownership?”   And that’s where the “My New Home” program was born and where the magic begins.

Simply stated by partnering with Bank of America, National Credit Federation, Farmers Insurance and many other top vendors for the different aspects of the home buying process that a new home buyer may experience, a better overall experience can be offered and enjoyed.

I mean even the simplest things from having pizza and cokes for the home owner planned on move in day and yes even the movers are geared up and ready to go has been thought of!

Through a better managed process, the savings a new home buyer realizes can be dramatic.  The savings range from a simple down payment offered at $100…YEP, $100 and you can get a new home under contract and  be off to the races!  Additional savings with closing costs, insurance, and yes they are even covering our fees upon closing!

Here’s the basic steps after you pick out your new home model and the lot.  Bank of America will generate an approval for you to know exactly what your payment and down payment will be (as little as 3.5%).  Actually B of A has created a brand new FHA product just for this program (I told you there is all kind of cool stuff!)  where they can help out with credit scores all the way down to 580!   If for any reason credit is an issue no matter if it’s a particular line item on your credit report or too low of a credit score that’s where National Credit Federation comes in.

It’s our job to help you get approved to remove anything that might be preventing you from achieving your goals. And check this part out…DR Horton is so confident and committed to their vision that IF YOU ENTER OUR CREDIT REPAIR PROGRAM THEY WILL CONTINUE TO HONOR YOUR CONTRACT as long as you remain in our program and refund you up to $1400 when you close!!!

Let me say that another way.  YOU CAN BE A HOMEOWNER!

Horton has kicked this off in Houston and will expand to other markets as quickly as can be managed but with friends like DR Horton and Bank of America, the number one builder and number one mortgage lender in the country well, let’s just say a ton of people that thought they could never qualify for a home are going to have their dreams realized!

To find out more CHECK IT OUT!

Be Bold!

Herschel

PS We had a professional, shooting video coverage but I don’t have that in my hands just yet.  I should soon so I’ll get that posted on the website and blog about what new things are happening as events continue to unfold!

This was originated as a feature article in USA Today covering how National Credit Federation has been helping people recover from their financial hardships which can cause bad credit by using credit repair tactics available as provided under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

We are very proud of the results and the benefits that our members experience when becoming a member.  Over the last few years our average member sees an increase in their credit score of 127 points.  You can read the full feature article just CLICK HERE and catch the write up in CBS Money Watch HERE

We welcome anyone that would like a credit consultation at no charge to CLICK HERE.

My first reaction was …WHAT THE>>>  Seriously, it’s not every day one of the big 3 credit reporting agencies calls and wants to work out how we can work together. Needless to say, my interest was sparked but as well my radar was going off all over the place. After the first call I told them I felt like I was a mouse looking out of the hole in the kitchen sniffing at this big old piece of cheese that was just put on the old mouse trap. And that when I reached out for the prize… WHACK…the hammer would fall and I’d lose my head!

I can’t help it, it’s just how I felt. So caution was in the air but…

After a second call and much investigation it appears that they are reaching out to the top credit repair companies in the country. By top, I mean in shear number of disputes being sent in on a monthly basis. That was pretty cool as there is no place to go to discern where we rank in the big scheme of things but if they say we are on the list, then I wasn’t going to argue that point!  As a matter of fact, we were on the list of the top 25 in the entire country for them to reach out to based on the total volume of disputes.

As I let the discussion continue it truly seems as if they have turned a corner, at least I hope they have, in coming full circle. They acknowledged they want credit reports as accurate as possible and who better than to have “approved” vendors like National Credit Federation that know the specific items that are wrong on one of our members credit reports, to be able to help?

As I let that absorb, I advised them I felt if they were sincere in their words that it did indeed seem like a win/win/win situation.  They cut costs, we cut costs and most importantly for our members a streamlined process where we can better control the overall process.   I also advised them that the overall results still would determine the success, to which they agreed.

Wow, who says Christmas only happens once a year!  I’ll keep you updated as things progress but it does look like because of our persistence of battling with the credit bureaus and so many of you sending in your referrals as well as signing up for our credit restoration service the tide is beginning to turn!

Be Bold!

Jack’s situation was that he had paid off several bills with a bonus check from work about 10 days ago.  He had called the three credit card companies involved and verified he had indeed posted the payoffs which totaled almost $6000.  He then had his mortgage broker pull a new credit report thinking he would have the increase in credit score that he thought the payoffs would give.  He only needed about 17 points to qualify for this loan but was told that his scores had actually gone down 2 points from a month prior.

Well this is what prompted Jack’s call.  He was confused and upset that he had read something I wrote previously about how FICO computes credit scores.  He thought that by freeing up his credit lines and paying down the debt would help his credit scores.   Was he right?

Upon review of Jacks credit report it did look like he would benefit from a score increase by paying down the $6000 of the $9000 worth of credit lines to cut his outstanding credit line usage from 67% overall to 0%.  so why didn’t he get any boost in his credit score?

Well. the answer to this in one of the myths regarding credit reporting.  Credit Scores are computed only on a snapshot of a credit report at the exact time the report is requested.

The problem is that most creditors only report to the credit bureaus one time per month.  Credit Bureaus are NOT real time so if you make a payment or payoff an account as in Jack’s case it might be days or weeks before the creditor reports it to the credit bureau and thus any FICO credit score change taken into account.

After Jack realized what was happening he was relieved that the bump he hoped for in credit score was most likely just a couple weeks away.  But Jack did ask a very good question…This process seems screwed up, most everything else we deal with is in real time, why aren’t the credit bureaus?

It is 2011 almost, right?

The following is an article recently posted in Ezine Articles I thought you might enjoy…

In this world where money makes the world go round, it is of the essence that you maintain good credit. It is understandable, of course that you incur expensive spending here and there. Life, after all, is short and you are entitled to enjoy the things you like while you still can. But this doesn’t mean that you shun all cautiousness when it comes to handling money. In fact, in order to get the best deals in life’s most important offerings, you need to pay full attention to your finances.

If you know that your credit is on the downside at this very moment, then you should take necessary steps to bring it up again. Having a good credit score or a commendable credit history is something everyone should aspire for due to several reasons, the primary of which is to avoid spending more. These days, all types of loans out there – from home loans to car loans, bestow the best deals on those who have good credit standing. If you have bad credit, you’ll be left with bigger down payments, higher interest rates, and stricter terms. This is definitely the way you want things to be, so you better get credit repair fast.

In order to jumpstart the credit repair process, you have to be ready to commit yourself to the steps you need to take so you can successfully achieve credit restoration. Now, just exactly what do you have to do? The first thing you need to accomplish is getting a copy of your credit information. Under the FCRA federal law, you are entitled to a copy of your credit – for free – once a year from the major credit reporting agencies or bureaus. Get this service and check your info for errors in your credit scores, which could be used to your detriment.

The next thing you have to do is very important, and this is to get help. Many people think that they can do credit repair all on their own, but the truth is that even the most confident people of bad credit are sure to face immense difficulty fixing the damage they’ve caused their finances. What’s worse, if you choose to do a solo act, you could end up hurting your credit instead of helping it recover.

These days, you won’t have to do things alone. You can turn to attorney assisted credit repair, which has become more well known over the past few years, eliciting positive feedback from a number of people that then had bad credit. With an attorney going over your current finances and working out strategies that can best work for you, you can rest assured knowing that an expert is at the helms of things. All you have to do is to stick to the plan devised. Your attorney can also give you the encouragement and push you need on days when you feel like giving up.

So, why wait for your credit to go even lower? Look for the best attorney assisted credit repair and enjoy major improvements on your finances in no time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Herschel_Bentley

Now all three of the credit reporting agencies are in the business of pushing the FAKE credit scores to the unknowing consumer who thinks they are buying their FICO scores.

Shame…Shame…Shame is all I can say.

I mean really what is the purpose in selling you a credit score that not one single lender cares about?   There is no mortgage company, auto loan company or even a mattress lender out there that says “OH, YOU HAVE FAKO SCORES? SURE WE”LL BE HAPPY TO LEND YOU MONEY!”

It’s not going to happen!

This product has been created to simply dupe the unknowing consumer out of their hard earned cash! Greed has taken over the last of the big three and now all selling millions of hard working people this dope, errr I mean hope and belief that their credit scores are higher than they really are.

The credit reporting agencies are doing this because they know that probably less than 5% of the population will know the difference between a FAKE-O and a FICO credit score!

The FTC last year came out with this video to try and get the word out that these FAKE-O and useless products.  You can check it out here…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krG2d7OK8MM

It’s a cutesy look but the truth of the matter is the Federal Trade Commission just doesn’t have the marketing dollars to get the word out that these fake scores are absolutely useless to you.

How can you protect yourself you ask?

• Well, if your credit is being pulled by a mortgage broker or other lender then you are most likely safe.
• If you go on the internet to pull your credit score make sure it says it is a FICO score because any other name or slick sales pitch calling it anything else is a FAKE-O score.
• Real FICO scores will cost you a few bucks.  Anything giving you free credit scores are FAKE-O for sure!
• Credit scores will not be included on your free credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com but can be obtained for a few dollars.

• The only scores that you should concern yourself with are FICO scores provided by the Fair Issac Corporation and can be obtained from www.myfico.com

If you have a credit report that you’re unsure of or would like some help getting real FICO scores pulled and an overall review of how to improve your credit and scores just CLICK HERE

As in all things in life…Caveat Emptor..Let the buyer beware!

It is absolutely insane the nutsy amount of credit information you can extract from the internet if you’re just surfing around!

From credit repair and credit card tidbits to just plain crazy credit facts you can find, like Crazy Credit Fact #22, Corpus Christi, Texas, residents have America’s worst credit scores!  Or that if you live in Nevada you are 8 times more likely to file bankruptcy than if you live in Alaska?

These certainly are in the category of “things that make you go hmmmm”!  They can make you all glossy eyed kind of like looking at Phyllis Diller.  Don’t tell me you don’t know her!  See the pic to the left?  Uh huh..

Anyways, I found these to be both interesting as well as entertaining.  I hope you enjoy…

25 Crazy Credit Facts

1)      The average credit card debt per household with credit card debt: $15,788  Some of you are better than average here!!  Sorry, a little joke.

2)      609.8 million credit cards are held by U.S. consumers (Source Fed Reserve Bank of Boston Feb 2010)

3)      Average APR on new credit card offer: 14.35 percent (Source:  CreditCards.comWeekly Rate report, Aug. 25, 2010.)

4)      U.S. credit card default rate: 13.01 percent. (Source: Fitch Ratings, April 2010) Delinquency trending up.

5)      Visa credit: 270.1 million cards out there, down 11 percent (Source: Visa.com)

6)      Visa debit: 382 million out, up 18 percent (Source: Visa.com)

7)      MasterCard credit: 203 million cards out, down 22 percent (Source: MasterCard.com)  Both Visa and master card are way down in issuing new credit a sign of much tighter lending policies

8)      MasterCard debit: 125 million, up 1 percent (Source: MasterCard.com)

9)      American Express credit: 48.9 million, down 9 percent (Source: AmericanExpress.com)

10)  Discover credit: 54.4 million, down 6 percent (Source: Discover.com)

11)   Eighty percent of consumers currently own a debit card, compared to 78 percent who own a credit card and 17 who own a prepaid card. (Source: “The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice,” Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)

12)   In 2006, the United States Census Bureau determined that there were nearly 1.5 billion credit cards in use in the U.S. A stack of all those credit cards would reach more than 70 miles into space – and be almost as tall as 13 Mount Everests. (Source: NY Times, Feb. 23, 2009)  Yeah, that’s more than a few!

13)   Eighty-four percent of the student population overall have credit cards, an increase of approximately 11 percent since the fall of 2004. (Source: Sallie Mae, “How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards,” April 2009)

14)   76 percent of undergraduates have credit cards, and the average undergrad has $2,200 in credit card. Additionally, they will amass almost $20,000 in student debt. (Source: Nellie Mae, “Undergraduate Students and Credit Cards in 2004: An Analysis of Usage Rates and Trends”)  This is a scary number! Keep in mind this is average, almost 8% have over $7100 in credit card debt

15)   Credit card usage fell dramatically from 2007 to 2008, with only 64 percent of consumers indicating they used a credit card in the month preceding the September 2008 survey, compared to 87 percent of consumers in 2007 — a 23 percentage point decline. (Source: Javelin, “Credit Card Spending Declines” study, March 2009)

16)  Residents of Jackson, Miss., use the highest percentage of their credit limit. (Source: Men’s Health magazine’s personal debt survey, July 2008)

17)   Lincoln, Neb., residents use the lowest percentage of their credit limit. (Source: Men’s Health magazine’s personal debt survey, July 2008)

18)  Total bankruptcy filings in 2009 reached 1.4 million in 2009, up from 1.09 million in 2008. The vast majority were personal bankruptcies — Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.   Business bankruptcies made up 6 percent of all filings. (Source: AACER, the American Bankruptcy Institute, January 2010)  This is a 28% jump in one year!

19)     Nevada surpassed Tennessee atop the listing of bankruptcies per capita, with more than 11 bankruptcies filed for every 1,000 residents. Tennessee and Georgia took the second and third slots behind the Silver State. Compared to 2009 third-quarter data, the biggest mover was Arizona, which rose six spots from No. 21 to No. 15. At the other end of the scale is Alaska, which had only 1.4 bankruptcy per capita, meaning the average Nevadan was eight times more likely to file bankruptcy than the average Alaskan. (Source: AACER, the American Bankruptcy Institute, January 2010)

20)   From Q3 2008 to Q1 2009, the average TransUnion credit score fell 6 points to 651, the credit bureau says. Scores fell even further in the some economically challenged states: California fell 10 points and Arizona, 11. (Source: USAToday.com, April 2009)  In one quarter and this trend continues!

21)      On average, today’s consumer has a total of 13 credit obligations on record at a credit bureau. These include credit cards (such as department store charge cards, gas cards, and bank cards) and installment loans (auto loans, mortgage loans, student loans, etc.). Not included are savings and checking accounts (typically not reported to a credit bureau). Of these 13 credit obligations, nine are likely to be credit cards and four are likely to be installment loans. (Source: myfico.com)

22)  Corpus Christi, Texas, residents have America’s worst credit scores. (Source: Men’s Health magazine’s personal debt survey, July 2008)

23)   Sioux Falls, S.D., boasts America’s best credit scores. (Source: Men’s Health magazine’s personal debt survey, July 2008)

24)      Miami residents are the biggest overspenders, one study says. The 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas were ranked in terms of percent of median yearly household income owed to credit card companies and Miami residents owed 22.61 percent. Tampa (17.1 percent) and Los Angeles (16.81 percent) came in second and third, respectively. (Source: Forbes.com, Equifax and US Census Bureau, April 2009)

25)  What credit score do I need to get a mortgage loan?   This is one of the most  common questions we have received from home buyers over the years. New data released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency revealed some interesting trends about credit scores and mortgage loans.

According to the report, 84% of mortgage loans purchased by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae came from borrowers with credit scores of 660 or above. The data pertained to single-family mortgage loans acquired by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae between 2001 and 2008.  Fannie and Freddie are the government-sponsored enterprises that purchase mortgage loans from direct lenders and sell them to investors.

Only 5% of “Enterprise-acquired” mortgages came from borrowers with credit scores below 620. What does this mean?

Credit Scores are king! If your credit scores are low it’s time to do something about it!

If you’ve come across some Crazy Credit Facts reply with a comment and share the fun,  some days I just can’t get enough of these crazy little tidbits!

Be Bold!

On occasion, I am asked are things better or worse?

People are trying to be as responsible as possible to increase their credit scores because the reality is going down the road good credit is going to be necessary for any type of credit purchase from home ownership to low interest rate credit cards.  My hat is off to those working hard to maintain good credit or get out of the credit prison that low scores can bring.

There are many things as consumers we need to be aware of when it come to credit. Keeping an eye on what the “Bankers” say can be a forewarning of things to come. On the credit front according to Fitch Ratings credit card defaults fell to a 15 month low.  Michael Dean, a managing director at Fitch, tempered this welcome news by saying: “The trends are encouraging, but card defaults are still elevated historically and are expected to remain so.

FICO just released a report “US consumer Credit Risk” their trends and expectations for the 3rd qtr 2010. This report is a compilation of numerous banks and creditors both large and small.  Basically the survey covers 1) short term forecast for credit card delinquencies.  2) short term predictions for demand for consumer credit and the lending environment. 3) short term outlooks specifically for the existing customer credit balances and the level of charge offs from credit portfolios.

This FICO survey show a pretty grisly outlook coming for the next couple of quarters.  As a summary 53% of the respondents expect a rise in mortgage delinquency and only 14 % expect a decrease.  42% expect a rise in credit card delinquency, 49% an increase with student loans and 47% increase with small business loan delinquency.

With the vast majority of bankers expecting delinquency rates to increase or at best stay the same what does this mean to us Mr Joe Average consumer? Less access to credit and a tougher time getting it!  Yep, you can “bank” on it!!

This survey reports that 99% of the “Bankers” expect an increase or at minimum same scrutiny overall on risk management.  This simply put means they are going to watch their credit portfolios like a hawk!  It’s reported that 36% expect less credit to be granted and 39% expect the same credit as last qtr to be granted.   Overall 46% of all creditors expect approval criteria to get much tougher and 65% expect that when credit is granted a lower limit will be approved than in the past.

It’s just the way things are right now.  Like it or not credit scores are at the forefront of what we can do or not do.  If you’d like to get more information on how to increase your credit score just let us know.

Be Bold!