Credit Report Repair Made Easy

By Marc Chase

Every day thousands of consumers are harassed by debt collectors and many of them have their rights violated by these collectors. The good news is that you can use those violations to have the debts eliminated and your credit repaired in the process. If you know the law, your credit repair process won’t have to rely on generic dispute letters or luck. Let the debt collectors do it for you and you can have your credit repaired, legally and permanently. Here is how…

Debt collectors are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). One section of the Act clearly states consumers cannot be contacted at inappropriate places – like work. I can’t tell you how many collection agents violate this section of the law. There is a caveat however. They may contact your work unless they know your employer does not allow it. Simply write the debt collector notifying them that you cannot be contacted at work and make sure you send it Certified mail, return receipt requested. Should they contact you at work after that, they are in violation of the FDCPA and in a position where negotiation of the debt is usually a piece of cake.

Why these mistakes are common Most debt collector’s phone systems are set up on an automated dialing system. These systems handle thousands of client cases. When your name comes up, the computer automatically dials the numbers it has on file. When you put in a special request (like not calling your work) your file has to be pulled manually and dialed by hand. This rarely happens and therefore, violations commonly occur and leaving the door wide open for you to sue to have it removed.

Negotiate to delete the trade line for their violation Once the debt collector has violated your rights, simply send a letter with a copy of the following.

• The copy of your original letter where you said you could not be contacted at work
• A copy of the Certified Mail receipt you received which is proof they were notified
• A new letter demanding a deletion of the trade line from your credit report. You may include that you intend to file complaints with the FTC, BBB, Attorney General and you can add tat you intend to sue for damages as well.

You will find, once they are caught red handed, negotiations become very easy.

Marc Chase is the founding Partner at MyCreditGroup.Com – A nationally recognized authority on credit report repair. His company is used by agencies such as The Department of Defense, Washington Mutual, Country Wide bank and they have been featured in several prestigious newspapers as “one of the few true authorities on credit repair” Visit his site at http://www.mycreditgroup.com

TV writer falls prey to card fraud

By Dayanand Kamath dnaindia.com

An innocuous telephone call to book tickets for a Bollywood potboiler by scriptwriter-director of popular television serials, Ajay Kartik, 51, had his credit finances being depleted in a true filmi style. Nearly a lakh worth of domestic air tickets were purchased using his State Bank of India (SBI) credit card between November 15 and 17, 2006.

In a complaint registered with the Versova police station on December 14, 2006, Kartik, scriptwriter of Hindi laugh riots like ‘Ye Jo Hai Zindagi’ and ‘Wagle Ki Duniya’ said, “About Rs 98, 235 was credited to his SBI card by unknown persons even as he remained in Mumbai ignorant about the persons flying across the country at his expense.”

Kartik, a Versova resident, told DNA, “I have used my SBI credit card for the past seven years without such an experience. The monthly statement (statement date - December1, 2006) issued by SBI bank reflected an outstanding balance of Rs 1,11, 605.29, shocking me out of my wits. I was able to discern from the details of the transactions detailed out in my statement that the purchase of air tickets made between November 15 to November 17 were not done by me.”

He suspects that the telephone conversation for the purchase of a move ticket he made using his credit card may have exposed him to criminals indulging in such frauds.

“The last transaction I made using my card was on November 12, 2006, for movie tickets worth Rs 340 at Fame Adlabs at Andheri in Mumbai. I called in my request for the tickets and was asked to enter not only the 16 digit credit card number as well as the bar code (the last three digits on the back side of the card). I had made such a booking for the first time and suspect this resulted in compromising the confidential details of my card.”

The father of an only daughter, Kartik said he first learnt of his card’s misuse when he was called by a New Delhi-based SBI executive around November 17, 2006, inquiring whether he had made any air ticket bookings using his credit card.

When he replied in the negative, the executive advised him to contact the SBI helpline and place a request for a dispute form. While he was waiting for a dispute form he was jolted by his bank’s November statement on December 6, 2006.

“On December 9, I spoke to another SBI executive, Ms Supriya and requested her to place all the transactions between November 15 to 17 under dispute. This done, I was assured that investigation from the SBI end would take at least 21 days to be completed. I also wrote to Ajay Bharati, assistant vice-president (Customer Services), SBI, New Delhi, on December 9, 2006,” Kartik said.

Police sub-inspector H K Gosavi from Versova police station said, “A complaint was lodged by Kartik on December 14, 2006. The case is under investigation.”

Aussies worry about credit card security

Australians are more worried about thieves stealing their bank or credit card details than terrorist attacks but do little to protect themselves, a survey shows.

More than half of all Australians say their top security fears are about people accessing or misusing their personal details as well as credit/debit card fraud.

By contrast, 45 per cent are concerned about Australia's national security in relation to war or terrorism.

The findings have been published in the latest quarterly report on security by computer systems group Unisys.

Based on the results of a national Newspoll survey carried out last month, 55 per cent of the 1,200 people polled named the misuse of personal details as their number one security concern.

Fifty-three per cent said they were very or extremely concerned about credit/debit card fraud.

But Unisys Asia Pacific vice-president Andrew Barkla said the survey also found most people were doing little to protect themselves from identity theft or card fraud.

He said the survey found many people never shredded or ripped up their bills, bank and credit card statements or other documents with their personal details on them before throwing them out.

One in three also used a birthday for electronic PIN numbers.

"Most of us are concerned and aware of transacting online, but it's been reported that a significant amount of identity theft begins with what you throw out in the garbage," Mr Barkla.

"What we found was one in five Australians don't destroy their bank statements or bills before they put them in the bin, which is a bit dangerous.

"One of the concerns is that for most people they are unaware they are a victim until many, many months after an incident has happened."

Mr Barkla said he believed concerns about identity theft and card fraud were playing more on people's minds because they carried out banking, bill paying and shopping transactions daily.

It had also been a few months since the most recent terror scare in August, when British police uncovered an alleged plot to blow up to 12 aircraft in mid-flight between Britain and the US.

"I think what's happened is people have relaxed after that heightened period of concern and people have settled back to a relaxed state as it relates to national security," Mr Barkla said.

The survey found that more people aged over 50 were worried about terrorism and war than 18-to-34-year-olds.

Among the other fears held by Australians were concerns about a serious health epidemic hitting the country.

One third of those surveyed were worried about this, with low to middle-income earners and older people expressing the most concern.

About a quarter of people also worried about their ability to meet financial obligations and 16 per cent had fears for their personal safety.