Credit Damage: Getting Compensated for Your Loss

by: Georg Finder
Until recently lawyers for victims of credit damage had little possibility to collect for damages beyond medical treatment, lost wages and property loss. Insurance companies threw up their hands in sympathy, claiming victims can only be compensated for what can be measured ?tangible goods and services. But, what happens when the victim has lost considerable time from work, the family bank is broke and monthly payments on mortgages, car loans and credit cards payments are missed? Regardless of the haggling between lawyers and insurance companies, it抯 the credit victim who ends up having to live with a bad credit rating. Today, there are legally accepted means for measuring loss of credit through the procedure of Credit Damage Measurement (CDM). CDM is fast becoming a potent tool for recoverable credit damage awards when the damage is not self-inflicted. Previously, both judge and jury, and especially the insurance companies, refused to acknowledge CDM claiming it was speculative because they could not define it as tangible damage. However, in case after case, victims of credit damage who use the CDM method are getting compensation for credit loss. Many factors are changing the old mindset including credit bureau technology improvements, the application of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), risk scoring sophistication, and the development of CDM as an objective, repeatable method that measures out-of-pocket damage reliably. Credit Ratings and Recovery The impact of a bad credit rating is much more significant than most people think. Consider what poorly rated consumers face when they want to lease or buy vehicles, obtain credit cards, buy or lease or refinance their residence. In most cases, it抯 an easy decision for the creditor: the credit application is simply turned down or the borrower is charged a much higher down payment ?maybe thousands of dollars more with monthly payments that are typically several hundred dollars more. 揂 person with bad credit is viewed with suspicion and is charged significantly more for future extension of credit because the lender feels the need to protect against a greater risk or default,?says Tom Key, a civil litigator practicing in Tustin, CA. 揙ver the years I have heard reports of financial damages from clients who have been wrongfully terminated, defrauded, injured in an accident or suffered losses from breach of contract,?Key says. 揟hese victims were especially distraught over the fact that their prime credit reputation, carefully nurtured for years, is destroyed overnight. It seemed to me that there must be a way to compensate victims for that type of loss.? Key has witnessed the reactions of many jurors who failed to award a victim of credit damage their rightful compensation simply because they could not quantify the damages. 揓urors want a specific loss that they can count, hold and see,?says Key. 揟heir reasoning is that they need to know that it is genuine. They have a tough time awarding damages based on sympathy. In order for them to confirm authenticity of a claim, they want to see its quantification.? Measuring Loss of Creditworthiness Assuring authenticity has been a sticky situation when it concerns measuring out-of-pocket loss for victims of credit damage ?until now. Attorneys who represent victims of credit damage are now utilizing the Credit Damage Measurement method to recover out-of-pocket losses for their clients. 揅DM measures the actual out-of-pocket dollars reasonably expected from loss of creditworthiness, which includes higher down payments, higher points and costs on loans, higher interest rates, higher monthly payments, or outright denial of credit,?says Key. 揑n addition, the CDM method also calculates the rates, costs and other terms applicable to the resulting credit rating by lenders and projects the results over the relevant number of years for the types of loans the client is likely to seek.?Key continues, 揊or example, if a client抯 credit was near perfect before a triggering event, and is subsequently damaged by the event, the CDM procedure can illustrate before and after analyses, calculating the cost of the same loans with the two different credit reports, Pre- injury credit compared to Post-injury credit.?In many cases, CDM clients have already realized significant compensation. In one such case CDM was instrumental in recovering $56,000 for damaged credit reputation. 揟hat calculation is the difference between what refinancing a $140,000 loan would have cost my client with their prior rating, and what it will cost them out-of-pocket with their damaged credit rating 梞easured over a seven-year period.?Isolated Compensation vs. Repeatable Compensation The CDM method of measuring intangible credit loss is increasingly becoming the basis of recovery for victims of credit damage. It抯 changing the way judges and juries measure recoverable out-of-pocket loss, and then can compensate for loss of credit expectancy. Certainly there are still some skeptics, mostly defendants. Technically, credit damage measurement is intangible. However, CDM has proven an objective and practical procedure to calculate out-of-pocket damage for companies or families to compensate for their credit damage. 揟o have this kind of measurement is an exciting complexity in our society,?says Key. 揅DM is very understandable and a rather simple way to come to a conclusion of loss for the victim. If you understand the math and are an expert at reading credit reports, the calculations and recovery are undeniable. It抯 a method of turning isolated compensation into repeatable compensation. It抯 changing the way jurors rule on these damaging cases. Because of this method, victims of credit damage can be more fairly and more completely compensated for out-of-pocket damage.?About the author:Georg Finder, president of CM Financial Services of Fullerton, California, wrote and presents the first State Bar accepted continuing legal education seminar on credit reports and credit damage. He can be reached at gfinder@creditdamage.com (714) 441-0900 or at http://www.creditdamage.com/

Banking Software: Do You Need It?

Banking Software: Do You Need It?
by: Sandy Baker
Whether you are considering the purchase of banking software for your personal use or for your business use, there are many reasons to consider this type of software. For one, you will reap many rewards. For another, it will relieve much work from your shoulders. But, do you need a banking software? You probably do not need a banking software if you maintain your checkbook accurately. You probably do not need it if you know how much you are spending on your various expenses each month. You also probably do not need it if you know how much of your income is going towards savings. But, then again, are any of us good at this type of organization? Banking software really can help you manage your everyday and monthly expenses. It can help you to know what is happening in each function of your business as well. Who are you paying and how much are you paying them? What is your income to spending ratio? Are you saving enough? Are you investing well? These things are all things that a banking software can help you to manage. Many banking software options allow you to connect right to the web so that your daily information can be downloaded and managed. No more balancing a check book when you can use the software instead. In fact, it will do that for you. Another nice feature about a banking software is that it will allow you never miss another deadline for bills again. This is a great option because it allows you to know when you need to send out a payment so that you don?t have to deal with missing payments, late fees or even worse, bad credit reporting. Banking software is exceptional when it comes to business use as well. It can organize just about any type of solution that you need it to and allow you to excel in your businesses' overall plans. Consider a banking software for all of your needs. About the author:For more information please see http://www.banking-software-help.co.uk/

Get an Auto Loan the Smart Way

by: Joel Walsh
Did you know that most people pay hundreds or thousands of dollars more on auto loans than they have to? Get an auto loan the smart way. Read on. Most people really get taken for a ride on their auto loan. Did you know that differences in the total cost of different auto loans can run into a thousand dollars or more? Here抯 how you can get the lowest rate: * Make a list of different auto loan lenders and their interest rates and terms, before you go to the dealer (the web is usually the easiest way to do that). Did you know dealers get a commission on the loans they refer? If you抮e not careful, that extra bit of money for the lender could mean you pay a higher rate than you would if you got the loan yourself. * Get a credit report and figure out your FICO scores. Removing any incorrect negative information from your report will help you get a better deal. Knowing exactly what your score is will help you figure out what interest rate you can realistically get. * Have bad credit? Try going to your credit union, bank or another institution where you have a relationship. Lenders like to help out established customers. If your bank still won抰 help, online "bad credit auto loan" lenders usually offer better less expensive loans than dealers who advertise their great deals for people with poor credit. * Use a vehicle loan calculator. It will tell you what your loan will cost each month. It saves you the time of looking at vehicles you can抰 afford, makes you aware of what information you抣l need to apply for a loan, and is a "reality check" of your financial condition. * Comparison shop, comparison shop, comparison shop. You don抰 get the least expensive car by choosing a dealer at random, and you won抰 get the least expensive auto loan that way, either. Start researching your options now: Get credit reports and FICO scores here: Use this vehicle loan calculator: Comparison shop among these lenders: About the author:Joel Walsh is a regular contributor to Auto Loan :http://www.cars-auto-loans.com, a website with information on car loan lenders, vehicle loan calculators, and other auto loan tools

How do commercial debt reduction companies work?

by: Jon Butt
Don抰 stress it ?commercial debt reduction companies are proven authorities in debt negotiation to reduce your commercial debt in the best way possible for you, especially when you抮e least interested in the worst alternatives like Chapter 11. The best debt negotiation companies are there for your small business or medium-sized company - the size of the companies involved is never an issue to these debt negotiation professionals. The heart of the matter is debt reduction to take your commercial debt through rough patches including recession that creates those limited dry spells in your cash flow. Debt Negotiation Will Reduce Your Debt And Save Thousands Off Your Commercial Debt! You know what抯 best for your business or companies ?and debt reduction companies know best how to get your business back on track. Companies across the country have chosen a debt reduction program to effectively structure their commercial debt. Your debts can seem like an insurmountable obligation ?and the most frustrating thing with commercial debt is that as hard as you work to succeed, your supplier companies demanding payment ?or even larger factors like a bad economy - create bad credit issues that can be completely out of your control. You know you offer one of the best products or services in the marketplace, and all you need to do is reduce your commercial debt, re-establish your credit rating and get your business back on track. Debt reduction companies understand your hard work and best efforts, so you can depend on qualified counselors, CPA and legal pros in debt negotiation and debt reduction to put your debts on the firing block. About the author:Jon Butt publishes http://www.the-debt-reduction-guide.com/a free resource providing genuine, up-to-date advice for debt reduction, credit card debt elimination, the best online consolidation loans, how to get a decent credit score and, above all, how to avoid bankruptcy

A Few Thoughts on Securing a Bad Credit Mortgage Loan

by: Kevin Erickson
Over spending, the endless nights of partying, eating out and more or less buying everything on a whim, has most likely put a dent in your financial situation and will affect how you live your life for years to come. Clearly, the best option is to dampen your lavish lifestyle sooner than later. Alleviating yourself from huge credit card, as well as other head-spinning debts by assessing your options now, before all those debs start blowing up in your face is one way to right your financial ship. One plausible option is a bad credit mortgage loan, and it's a good first step towards a more financially disciplined lifestyle. In other words, a financial second chance. Unfortunately, many people have a hard time facing the reality of their current financial situation and they foolishly think they can go it alone. Fortunately, today's credit markets have geared many of their programs for people just like you and they are more than happy to assist you with your financial woes by doing anything and everything possible to assist you in securing that much needed mortgage refinance to get you back to financial solvency. First, be honest, how bad is your current financial condition. And remember, you need to face the facts honestly and stop playing games and don't let the possible embarrassment of having other's poking through your financial records deter you. You current financial situation if water over the dam, there's nothing you can do about the past so put it behind you and start making the right decisions from this point forward. Rest-assured the individuals you will be working with are professionals who want nothing more but help you because it's in their financial interest as well since most loan officers work on commission if they can't find a way to help you they don't get paid. The system is built around vested interest and so if it's possible to help you they'll find a way. But before you actually take that big leap in to actually applying for a bad credit mortgage loan for yourself, try your best to actually arm your self with (more than) enough information to actually guide you through the debt restructuring process. First, don't be intimidated by the process, it's really not that complicated. More often than not, people allow themselves to get overwhelmed, so take a deep breath, do a little research on what's available and don't be afraid to ask questions or to simply walk away from a deal that you feel isn't right and go down the street or apply online at another lender. Bad credit mortgage loans are readily available but only if you are willing to get out there and put forth a little effort to dig around and find the right lender with the right program for you. Be will to have your financials thoroughly assessed by your creditors and lenders so they have the information they need to do their job, which is clearly to come up with a bad credit mortgage loan that is well suited to your means and capabilities. Just remember that just because you may qualify for a bad credit mortgage loan, does not necessarily equate with you being off the hook. That's simply the beginning to changing your spending habits and approach to money so that a few years from now you can look back at your current financial situation as learning experience that propelled you to a higher level of financial responsibility. Approach this situation correctly by making the necessary changes and you should also be able to look back and realize that it was the wakeup call you needed and possibly one of the best things that's ever happened to you. About the author:Kevin Erickson is a contributing writer to the following websites: Bad Credit Mortgage and Credit Card Debt. This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.

Do You Need Bad Credit Help

by: Jeff Schuman
? Are you one of thousands with no credit and no collateral to help secure approval, or you just have extremely bad credit and no one wants to help you, and all you hear is stories and more stories? Bad credit is a term used to describe a poor credit rating. Common practices that can damage a credit rating include making late payments, skipping payments, exceeding card limits or declaring bankruptcy. Bad Credit can result in being denied credit. Bad credit can result in a negative rating from the credit reporting agencies. Many factors can contribute to someone getting a "bad credit" rating, among these are non-payment of an account or late payments over an extended length of time. Whether non-payment of an account is willful or due to financial hardship, the result can be the same, a negative rating which will result in a low credit score. However, lenders are more willing to work with individuals if the person contacts the lender to let them know they are having problems meeting their commitment to pay. 100% Online Debt Relief! No Phone Calls! You must have at least $2,500 of total debt over two or more accounts to qualify for our Help. Name, email, and Zip Code are required. US Residents only. No phone call required - all customer interaction is done online! Christian Debt Consolidation Services Professional Debt Consolidation with a Christian perspective. Lower monthly payments. Reduce or Eliminate High interest rates. Apply now for a FREE NO-OBLIGATION QUOTE! Fast Loans Online by DrCredit We are currently able to provide auto loans, mortgage loans, debt counseling, home equity, refinance loans, debt consolidation loans, personal loans and much more... A credit score is defined as a statistical method of assessing an applicant's credit worthiness. An applicant's credit card history; amount of outstanding debt; the type of credit used; negative information such as bankruptcies or late payments; collection accounts and judgments; too little credit history, and too many credit lines with the maximum amount borrowed are all included in credit-scoring models to determine the credit score. Raising your credit score is possible. It's a well known fact that lenders will give people with higher credit scores lower interest rates on mortgages, car loans and credit cards. If your credit score falls under 620 just getting loans and credit cards with reasonable terms is difficult. Here are five things that you can use to raise credit score. 1. Correct obvious mistakes. Your credit score is what shows up in your credit report. Review your reports from all three credit bureaus for accuracy once a year as well as several months before applying for a loan. Changing a mistake on your report can take 30 days to three months, or more. Get Your credit report from the three major bureaus: Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. 2. Pay Your Bills On Time Your payment history makes up 35% of your total credit score. Your recent payment history will carry much more weight than what happened five years ago. Missing just one payment on anything can knock 50 to 100 points off of your credit score. Paying your bills on time is the best way to get started rebuilding your credit rating and raising your credit score. 3. Reduce your credit card balances. A heavily weighted factor in your FICO score is how much money you owe on your credit cards relative to your total credit limit. Generally, it's good to keep your balances at or below 25 percent of your credit card limit, said Jeanne Kelly, founder of The Kelly Group in Brookfield, Conn., which helps clients improve their credit scores. 4. Don抰 Close Old Accounts In the past people were told to close old accounts they weren抰 using. But with today's current scoring methods that could actually hurt your credit score. Closing old or paid off credit accounts lowers the total credit available to you and makes any balances you have appear larger in credit score calculations. Closing your oldest accounts can actually shorten the length of your credit history and to a lender it makes you less credit worthy. If you are trying to minimize identity theft and it's worth the peace of mind for you to close your old or paid off accounts, the good news is it will only lower you score a minimal amount. But just by keeping those old accounts open you can raise credit score for you. 5. Avoid Bankruptcy Bankruptcy is the single worst thing you can do to your credit score. Bankruptcy will lower your credit score by 200 points or more and is very difficult to come back from. Once your credit score falls below 620, any loan you get will be far more expensive. A bankruptcy on your credit record is reported for up to 10 years. The reality of a bankruptcy is it will limit you to high-interest lenders that will squeeze out high interest rate payments from you for years. It is better to get credit counseling to help you with your bills and avoid bankruptcy at all costs. By getting credit counseling instead of declaring bankruptcy you can raise credit score over a much shorter period of time. About the author:Team-Schuman.Com contains the best make money online and make money websites available today. If you want to make money check us out here: http://www.team-schuman.com/badcredit.html

Locating a Bad Credit Mortgage

by: Jennifer Hershey
If you are looking to purchase a home or refinance the one you are currently living in, but believe this may not be a possibility for you because you have bad credit, think again. Just because you have bad credit does not mean you will not be able to receive a mortgage. In fact there are many lenders out there across the United States that are know as wholesale lenders that specialize in lending money to people with bad credit. The names of these wholesale lenders may not ring familiar to you because they are not the typical lending institutions you see on the street corners of your town, otherwise know as banks. The first thing you will need to do is locate a few of these wholesale lenders and shop around for a deal you believe to be fair. If you do not have success finding these lenders on your own, you may want to consider using a broker and have them shop around for you. A broker is not a lender. What they do is assess your situation, than shop around for a lender that deals with bad credit mortgages. Brokers have access to hundreds of lenders across the country and they can usually find one that has a program that may fit your needs. Using a broker may not be such a bad idea, they are usually very experienced in their field and will not only find a bad credit mortgage lender for you, they will also council and educate you along the way. Keep in mind, just because your credit may be less than perfect, does not mean that you are at the mercy of the mortgage companies, you are not. Mortgage companies are very competitive, especially among the wholesale lenders, so be sure to shop around. Don抰 limit yourself to contacting only one broker, say no more than four. Allow for each to assess your situation, than base your consideration of which one you will use on the rate and program that they offer you. Good luck. About the author:Jennifer Hershey has more than twenty years of experience in the Mortgage Industry as a loan officer. She is the owner of http://www.explainingmortgages.com/a mortgage resource site devoted to making mortgage terms and products easy to understand.