SHOULD EMPLOYEES BE ALLOWED TO PULL CREDIT CHECKS ON EVERYBODY???

SHOULD EMPLOYEES BE ALLOWED TO PULL CREDIT CHECKS ON EVERYBODY???

Because there are many people out of work, chances are their credit isn't so good nowadays. So, do you think it’s fair for a potential employer to hold your credit history against you?

Employers say they care about your credit. Most even require credit checks included in the application process.

But not everyone agrees with the policy. A new survey by credit.Com reveals over fifty percent of Americans-53%--are against employers receiving a look at your credit when considering you for a job. There are many people needing work, suffering and depression are on the rise. Why in God's name are we putting another impediment in the way of job seekers?

There's a bill in congress which would prohibit the use of credit checks with regards to making a hiring decision, with a few exceptions. That includes people applying for a national security position or perhaps a job where they'd handle considerable amounts of money. Representative Steve Cohen proposed the legislation, saying these credit checks are creating a vicious circle that's unattainable. To paraphrase Rep.  Steve Cohen:  You do not have work, you lose your house, you've got your medical debt and before you know it your credit rating is gone very quickly. Those who want a job are being denied through no fault of their own.

The important question:   Does poor credit equal bad employees? Research shows the wrong employees can be devastating to an organization, according to James Ratley, from the National associations of Certified Fraud Examiners. "When someone has financial hardships themselves they're far more inclined to take money that doesn't belong to them. Employee credit checks for potential workers are an important part of the candidate selection process.” However, most people do not handle money or have access to company accounts.   Why do potential employees authorize the potential employer’s access to their credit information?  One reason is that many people do not even know they are authorizing it:  It is buried in the boilerplate language of the application.  The other reason is that if you do deny them, your application might not make it to the next step.

CREDIT ERROR? IT PAYS TO BE ON THE VIP LIST (and You can get on IT)

CREDIT ERROR? IT PAYS TO BE ON THE VIP LIST

An amazing article was written by Tara Siegel Bernard with the NY Times that was printed on May 14, 2011 concerning the bureaus’ (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) treatment of certain people in their system. According to the article, the bureaus use a two tiered system: one for the rich, the well-connected, the well-known and the powerful, and the other for everyone else.

At Master Credit Solutions, we've known this for years. Finally, research has backed this up.

“Disputes are herded into a largely automated system. Their complaints are often electronically ferried to a subcontractor overseas, where a worker spends, on average, about two minutes figuring out the gist of the matter, boiling it down to a one-to-three-digit computer code that signifies the problem - “account not his/hers,” for example - and sending a dispute form to the creditor to investigate. Many times, consumer advocates say, the investigation translates to a perfunctory check of its records.”

Let’s have a look at this:

1.            Disputes are put into an automated system

2.            Sent overseas

3.            2 minutes to process

4.            A Perfunctory check of the records is performed.

There are laws that the bureaus should conduct meaningful research and analysis, which is almost never done.

David Szwak, a consumer lawyer, states that he has sworn testimony from former Experian employees that the VIP category exists!

Experian is the only bureau that handles its’ disputes in the United States, though most investigations wind their way through the same online system - unless the dispute involves a VIP. TransUnion and Equifax send their investigations overseas - unless the dispute involves a VIP. Then the dispute stays in country - and investigated here.

CONCLUSION

Just how does a normal, everyday citizen get on the VIP list? It is very simple:

1.   If you are dealing with fraud

2.  IF YOU ARE REPRESENTED BY A LAWYER.

At Master Credit Solutions, each of the Demand Letters are sent out through the utilization of our attorney, on Attorney letterhead, and signed by the Attorney. We specifically designed it this way because we KNEW the bureaus treat people with attorneys differently. We track our data and our data shows this. We have also received letters back from creditors (one of our challenges) stating they are going to remove the item from the credit report BECAUSE of the attorney. The creditor stopped fighting!

Most companies do not challenge trade lines the way we do. Why? Perhaps it is costlier for them to do it this way. For Master Credit Solutions, it is not. For most companies, credit repair is a just way to make some money. At Master Credit Solutions, it is all about customer satisfaction: Getting the best results we can for our clients.

EXPERIAN BEING SUED

EXPERIAN BEING SUED

There was a lawsuit filed recently, in the southern district of California regarding credit scores. Specifically, the lawsuit accuses www.consumerinfo.com, a subsidiary of Experian, of deceptive advertizing to consumers. At issue is the PLUS score often sold for $14.95 with an Experian credit report - which the lawsuit says is advertised like a credit score as used by lenders to determine a consumer’s creditworthiness.

This really is only the tip of the iceberg. With so much concern today about credit reports and what's on it, along with credit scoring; many people are going to the internet to find out what their score is. The problem is that the scores they sell mean very little.

The scores a lot of the systems use has little relevance to what is used in the mortgage industry - the FICO score. The public is unaware that what most industry experts utilize is based on the 850 scoring model. While many of the scores currently for sale depend on similar sets of data, there are significant differences. As an example, VantageScore, which is sold to consumers by Experian and TransUnion, ranges from 501 to 995, while a credit score sold by Equifax ranges from 280 to 850, and FICO scores range from 300 to 850.

According to the lawsuit, there's more to it. While banks and other lenders may subscribe to or access many different scores, the FICO score, created by Fair Isaac Corp. , is certainly the most widely-used, by more than 90% of lenders, according to the lawsuit. Its popularity is in part due to the fact that Fair Isaac developed the initial general risk credit score in the late 1980s.

Here is what happens: It is drummed into everyone’s head that what is needed for a home loan for FHA is 640 (in most cases). The consumer goes online, gets their credit report and buys the scores. They report they have a 646 score - - - wonderful! They can get an FHA loan! Wrong. What is not disclosed to them is that this score is based on the 995 model. If this number were to be translated into the FICO scoring model it would be 551 - - - not even close!

If you believe in the FICO model, that is fine. What is demonstrably a crime, in my humble opinion, is selling people scores that mean virtually nothing. Why not base their model on a 500 scoring system? Then people would have a score well under the FICO and their product would not sell - the bureaus would not sell false hope.

I say Good Luck in the Lawsuit.  The people deserve the truth.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON DEBTS

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON DEBTS

There’s no doubt about it: You are responsible for the money you owe. If you fall behind in paying your creditors - or should you dispute the legitimacy of a debt - a collector may contact you.  “Time-barred” debts are debts so old they are beyond the point at which a creditor or debt collector may sue you to collect. State law varies as to when a creditor or collector may no longer sue to collect: generally in most states, the statute of limitations on debts is between 3 and 10 years; in some states, the period is longer. Check with your State Attorney General’s Office at www.naag.org, to determine when a debt is considered time-barred in your state.

Federal law imposes limitations on how debt collectors can collect debts, including time-barred debts. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a “debt collector” generally is any person or organization that regularly collects debts owed to others. The definition includes lawyers who collect debts for others on a regular basis, but it does not include creditors collecting their own debts.

COLLECTING TIME-BARRED DEBTS

Please be aware that even though a debt collector can attempt to collect on a time barred debt does not mean that you legally have to pay. Let me repeat:  Please be aware that even though a debt collector can attempt to collect on a time barred debt does not mean that you legally have to pay.   If they have gone beyond the time limitations, they can ATTEMPT to collect, but you do not have to pay.  And, they cannot legally collect on this debt.  The critical part is when the clock starts ticking.

Most courts which have addressed the issue have ruled that the FDCPA doesn't prohibit debt collectors from attempting to collect time-barred debts, as long as they just don't sue or threaten to sue you for the debt. If a collector sues you to collect a time-barred debt, you can have the suit dismissed by letting the judge know the debt is, indeed, time-barred.

Whether a time-barred debt - or any debt for that matter - can appear on your credit report depends on how long your debt has been delinquent: debts that have been delinquent greater than seven years cannot show up on your credit report, with certain exceptions.

CONTACT WITH COLLECTORS

Can a debt collector continue to contact you about a time-barred debt you don’t think you owe? Based on the law, should you send the debt collector a letter stating that you do not owe some, or all, of the money within 30 days after you receive written notice of a debt, the collector must stop trying to collect until you’ve been given written verification of the debt, like a copy of the bill for the amount you supposedly owe. The collector can renew collection activities once you’ve received proof of the debt. You are able to stop debt collectors from contacting you about any debt, whether or not you owe it, by writing correspondence telling them to stop contacting you. Master Credit Solutions has a copy of a letter we use. If you would like a copy, let us know and we will forward that on to you. For this letter, please contact us at info@mastercreditsolutions.com.  Once the collector gets your letter, it may not contact you again - except to say there will be no further contact or to let you know that the collector or creditor intends to take some specific action. Sending a letter doesn’t absolve you of the debt if you actually owe it; the debt collector or creditor still could sue you for the debt.

FUTURE COLLECTION EFFORTS

The best way to protect yourself from future collection on any disputed or partially settled debt is to get a form or letter from the creditor or collector that releases you from further obligation. To ensure the release is valid, you may want to consult an attorney. If you believe that a debt collector violated the law, you have the right to sue in a state or federal court within a year from the date the law was violated. If you win, you may recover money for the damages you suffered, plus an additional amount up to $1,000. You also may recover court costs and attorney’s fees. Additionally you may choose to report any problems you have with a collector to your State Attorney General and to the Federal Trade Commission.

Please remember that not all debt has a statute of limitations. There is no statute of limitations on:

Federal Student loans

Most fines

Some tax bills

All child support obligations

WHEN DOES THE TIME START TICKING

The clock starts once you violate the loan agreement, usually the first time you miss a payment deadline. If you make any kind of payment later on or charge something on the account or do anything whatsoever that shows you know that is your debt, the time will stop and reset to zero.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS – IN YEARS

According to the States Attorney’ Generals Office, here is the Statute of Limitations – State by State. This is up to date, as of the date of this writing.  You should contact your specific office.

		STATE OF LIMITATIONS - IN YEARS
STATE	ORAL CONTRACTS	WRITTEN CONTRACTS	PROMISSORY NOTES	OPEN-ENDED ACCOUNTS
AL	6	6	6	3
AR	5	5	5	3
AK	6	6	3	3
AZ	3	6	6	3
CA	2	4	4	4
CO	6	6	6	3
CT	3	6	6	6
DE	3	3	3	4
DC	3	3	3	3
FL	4	5	5	4
GA	4	6	6	4
HI	6	6	6	6
IA	5	10	5	5
IL	4	5	5	4
ID	5	10	10	5
IN	6	10	10	6
KS	3	5	5	3
KY	5	15	15	5
LA	10	10	10	3
ME	6	6	6	6
MD	3	3	6	3
MA	6	6	6	6
MI	6	6	6	6
MN	6	6	6	6
MS	3	3	3	3
MO	5	10	10	5
MT	3	8	8	5
NC	3	3	5	4
ND	6	6	6	6
NE	4	5	5	4
NH	3	3	6	3
NJ	6	6	6	6
NM	4	6	6	4
NV	4	6	3	4
NY	6	6	6	6
OH	6	15	15	6
OK	3	5	5	3
OR	6	6	6	6
PA	4	6	4	6
RI	10	10	6	4
SC	3	3	3	3
SD	6	6	6	6
TN	6	4	6	6
TX	4	4	4	4
UT	4	6	6	4
VA	3	6	6	3
VT	6	6	5	4
WA	3	6	6	3
WI	6	6	10	6
WV	5	15	6	4
WY	8	10	10	8