Product Description
The BiblioGov Project is an effort to expand awareness of the public documents and records of the U.S. Government via print publications. In broadening the public understanding of government and its work, an enlightened democracy can grow and prosper. Ranging from historic Congressional Bills to the most recent Budget of the United States Government, the BiblioGov Project spans a wealth of government information. These works are now made available through an envi… More >>

CREDIT CARDS AND BANKRUPTCY: OPPORTUNITIES FOR REFORM

Believe it or not, a lot of people that are into their focused career wanted to go back into college and change the way they used their credit card. Credit card companies are set up all over campuses and are targeting kids without jobs and uninformed kids. In the long run, the companies are hoping that the child doesn’t read the terms or services and racks up a hefty balance, so that they are paying it off for life.

A credit card is only a danger if your child isn’t informed on the issues. Like drugs and alcohol, you must inform your child the importance of paying off your student credit card. If they’re not informed on the issue, you may find them racking more debt than you could ever imagine. This is why it’s important that you inform them.

A few key notes that you should supply to your child before they are head off to college are the importance of the APR rate, what bankruptcy can lead you to, and how important your credit score is. If you emphasize these three important factors to your child, he/she may be more informed than half of the college he/she is attending.

The biggest mistake most college students today make is that they have the mindset that they can pick up a credit card and spend, spend, spend, and not have to worry about paying off the bill for a while. They assume that they can pay it off a little at a time until they get a well paying job that will pay it off in full. What they don’t realize is that these credit card interest rates add up very quickly. Every dollar that isn’t paid off in full, the interest rate will be applied to that unpaid balance. So, if you have a $5,000 unpaid balance your interest rate of 20% or so will be applied to this total.

With most student credit cards, the interest rate will usually be a little higher than most credit cards. This is because it’s a child’s first credit card and he/she has to prove that they are responsible adults. If they’re not responsible with their money, they will find that their future will soon lead to bankruptcy.

In the long run, a parent must inform their student that a credit card isn’t necessarily a danger but they should inform them how important it is to pay off their credit card. They must enforce that they should only spend what they can afford and to treat the card as if it were cash. If these steps are applied, a parent and child can sleep well at night.

Especially for those with bad credit, secured credit cards provide an excellent tool for raising credit score without having to pay excessive interest rates for financing. They may require a bit of sacrifice at the beginning but in the long run, using secured credit cards to improve credit score surely pays off.

Secured Credit Cards Explained

Secured credit cards work just like any other credit card, the only difference is that in order to obtain credit you need to deposit an amount in a predefined account. That amount will, from then on, be your credit limit. Some companies will apply a multiplier to the amount thus increasing your credit limit even more. For example if the credit card comes with a 1.5X Multiplier, if you deposit $1000 on your account, your credit card limit will be $1500. If the Multiplier is 0.8X Then your credit card limit will be $800. This will depend mainly on your credit score and history.

Raising Your Credit Score

Those who have bad credit or no credit at all will find in secured credit cards, the best solution for credit repairing. Sometimes credit score gets so low that there are no chances of getting approved for an unsecured credit card or for a personal loan. Secured credit cards on the contrary, are never declined due to credit reasons.

Though the amount for the deposit may not be easy to obtain, once you start using your credit card, your credit will start improving. The continued payments on your credit card balances (preferably in full) will be recorded into your credit report and this will contribute to raising your credit score month after month.

The process may continue indefinitely. However, it will come the time when you will be able to get approved for an unsecured credit card. Then, you will be able to claim the money from the deposit and use it for better purposes like building a savings account to face unexpected circumstances without having to resort to finance.

Purchasing Expensive Items

There are many stores that offer to purchase certain goods (especially electronic equipment) in installments with credit cards. However, some of these items are so expensive that credit limits on unsecured credit cards will not cover for them. Instead of paying in cash, you can use a secured credit card and earn some money on the deposit. There are some secured credit cards that will pay you interest on the money you deposit. It is an excellent way to transfer the cost of financing to the store and to earn some money at the same time.

If you are having trouble paying your credit card bills and are getting “failure to pay” notices, you might be starting panic. Well, don’t panic yet. There are some things that you can do right away to get your finances back in order.

First, you should realize that you’re not alone. There are more people in trouble with credit cards than there are those who are not. So, don’t feel so embarrassed by the situation that you hide it from everyone – including yourself. Face it and deal with it and you’ve taken a good step to helping the situation.

Here are a few tips to help you deal with your credit card debt:

Create a Budget. Creating a budget is the first, critical step you must take to get your spending under control. Write down how much money you are taking in from your salary and other sources.

Then, decide on your absolute, must have expenses for day-to-day necessities. These expenses will include food, housing, transportation to and from work, and health-related expenses. The money that you have left should be put to work towards paying off your credit cards and other bills.

Contact Your Creditors. This is an important step to take, especially if you know you can’t pay all your bills with the income that you have coming in. Remember that you can’t hide from your creditors. It will only make things worse. If you contact them immediately, they will be more likely to work with you to create a payment schedule that is easier for you to follow than if you wait until they’ve contacted you numerous times trying to get payment. The one thing that you don’t want them to do is to turn your account over to a collection agency.

Dealing with Collection Agencies. If the credit card company has already hired a collection agency to get their payments, you must deal with that too.

Many collection agencies will hound you at work or at night with threats about what will happen if you don’t pay. Some of these threats are just scare tactics. There is a federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that governs the actions of collection agencies. Basically, the law says that they can’t call you at work or at times when you would normally be sleeping. It also says that they cannot make threats, especially untrue threats, that they will take your car, house or other assets.

Credit Counseling. There are non-profit companies that have been created to help people who are in financial trouble. These companies will help you set up a budget and create a payment plan that will get you on the road to paying off your debts. Many of these will help you contact your creditors and mediate with them on your debt repayment schedule. Be sure that the company you deal with is legitimate or you could end up losing more money than you can afford.

Bankruptcy. Bankruptcy should be your last resort. Try everything you possibly can to pay off your debts without going this route. If you declare bankruptcy, it will remain on your credit report for many years making it difficult for you to get financing to buy a home or for other emergency funds in the future.

Don’t wait until you are so mired in debt that it’s impossible to get out. Begin right now and don’t give up until you are feeling comfortable that you are meeting your obligations without difficulty. You CAN do it!

Credit Card Bills are not a new thing we have heard about. It happens when the credit card holder/s becomes a defaulter time and again and this pile of debts keeps on building up. This debt incurred in credit card spendings is called as Credit Card Debt. The result of not paying bills on time is of course pilling up of bills is double interest rate which wouldn’t help in any way. The high rate of interests can also result in bankruptcy, often leading the banks to forgive all the debt on a particular person, until an unless such bankruptcy is challenged by a third party or blocked by a bankruptcy judge.

In fact credit card debt are not a good thing as, as per the APR which is higher than the normal rate of interest, the debt keeps on increasing with each passing day. So, it is always good to pay at least the minimum balance for each month to save oneself from the ripples of the storm. If there is one thing which can be done to save oneself from being called a bankrupt or being in a situation where you are not in a situation to pay –off your credit bills is to spend only that much which is within your means.

his way you will be able to buy what is essential or necessary and also pay your bill on time. Try out the Credit Cards of Kotak Mahindra which have a CPP cover and which offer you good facilities through which you can save at least some money out of your spendings. To know more about the Kotak Credit cards or to have more information about these card, log on to the website of Kotak card and enjoy the benefits…

Credit records are kept by consumer credit information companies such as Equifax and Experian. The records keep track of any CCJs for possible non-payment of services and goods, missed credit card payments and possible prior bankruptcy declarations. CCJs and bankruptcy declarations remain on file for six years while late payments remain on file for three years. When applying for a credit card, the card company you apply with usually checks these records.

Many lenders will consider extending credit limits of people with a bad credit history, although this often comes with higher interest rates that could prove detrimental in the long run if not wisely managed. It is entirely possible to rebuild a good credit reputation by making monthly payments on time. By doing this you can ensure that you’ll improve your credit rating so that you can become eligible for a card with a much lower interest rate in the future.

The following is a list of credit cards available to people with a poor credit rating:

Barclay Card: This is a Visa card issued by Barclaycard. It has a 27.9% annual payment rate (APR) with a 56 day interest free period. Barclay Card has no annual fee. Applicants are not eligible for this card if they have any CCJs against them or have been declared bankrupt or insolvent.

Halifax Standard: This is a MasterCard issued by the Bank of Scotland. It has a 27.9% annual payment rate (APR) with a 59 day interest free period. Halifax Standard has no annual fee. Applicants are required to have a regular income and a permanent UK address.

Aqua: This is a MasterCard issued by HBOS. It has a 33.9% annual payment rate (APR) with a 51 day interest free period. Aqua has no annual fee. Applicants are required to have a permanent UK address and have no CCJs against them or have been declared bankrupt or insolvent.

Capital One Classic: This is a Visa card issued by Capital One Bank. It has a 34.9% annual payment rate (APR) with a 56 day interest free period. Capital One Classic has no annual fee. Applicants are not eligible if they already have a Capital One card; if they’ve applied for one in the last six months, the application may be declined.

The Vanquis Visa Card: This is a Visa card issued by Vanquis Bank. It has a 39.9% annual payment rate (APR) with a 56 day interest free period. Vanquis Visa Card has no annual fee. Applicants are required to be legal UK citizens and have no legal restrictions that prevent them from acquiring credit.

Credit card fraud runs into billions each year with merchants and banks losing money and consumers are put to huge inconvenience as they have to replace cards. All round it is a lose-lose situation for honest businesses and legal credit card holders, hence why vigilance is crucial.

Practically everyone in the United States has credit cards. From teenagers to retirees, almost everyone has at least one credit card. Everywhere we go we see ads – in the television, radio, newspapers, billboard advertisements – on credit cards. Some credit cards are even mailed directly to our homes. But what are credit cards, why should you have one and what are some of the risks involved?

Simply stated, a credit card is a financial arrangement between you, the consumer or the card holder, and an institution such as a bank. The arrangement specifies that you borrow money from the lending institution with the promise that you will pay them back in the future. The institution agrees that it will provide the money you need and in-turn you are expected to return payment over a certain period of time. Your payment will include not just the amount of money you borrowed, but also an additional charge based on a pre-defined rate of interest.

Credit can provide various services, making it an indispensable tool for today’s consumers. These include:

Convenience. You saw this wonderful dress in a shop. Perfect for tonight’s party, you thought. But you don’t have money right now. Thanks to your card, you can buy anything you want right now. Credit cards give you that wonderful allowance not to bring that much cash and to order goods from catalogs. In addition, many of the online-based shops and stores, such as Amazon.com, mainly accept payment using credit.

Emergency Protection. For emergency situation, credit cards can be an extremely helpful tool that could be your friend that could pay for your emergency needs, like when your car conked out in the road, or your mother gets hospitalized, or any emergency situations that you need money but can’t get it from the usual means.

Putting you in the right budget. Want to keep a detailed record of your expenditures? Credit cards can do that.

Security. In today’s world, carrying large cash has become a problem. If your cash gets lost, there’s no way you can retrieve it. Compared with credit cards, money cannot be returned back when it got lost or stolen. If your card, for example, got broken or it got lost or someone stole it from you, you can always ask for a credit card termination or cancellation. You will have another card, a new one that will replace it in a few days.

Traveling. If you’re quite a traveler, whether across the town or country, or outside the US, it is relatively easier to travel with a credit card.

When used responsibly, credit cards can help improve our daily lives. With credit cards, life can be much easier. However, the joy of using credit cards can quickly change to a curse!

Are you starting to get notices from creditors to pay or “else”? Are you worried that you might lose your properties like your house because of credit debt? Chin up: Dealing with credit card debt is not as hard as you may think.

And, if there’s any consolation, you’re not the only one facing such situations. At some point, many people like you face financial crises with credit card debt.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

Here are some simple tips to help you cope with your credit card debt:

Make a Budget.

If you want to have a grab of your financial situation before you lose everything, making a budget is what you should do first. Assess how much do you get from your income or other means and your expenditures. For example, if getting that posh apartment means you have to limit your meals to once a day, then it is not a great and sound budgeting decision. Your goal is ensure that you can answer for all the basic necessities: food, housing, clothes, health-related costs, among others.

Contact Your Creditors.

Remember: Running away from your creditors is not the answer. It is not a solution, and may in fact lead you to bigger problems. If you are having trouble paying off your debts, address this immediately with your creditors. State to them sincerely and fully the reason why it has become hard for you to pay these debts, and check if they could give you a revised payment arrangement that will put you at ease on your payment terms. Do not let creditors turn over your situation to someone or an agency to do the collecting for them, as this means that they have given up on you.

Address Debt Collectors.

There is a law that gives certain conditions for debt collectors as to when and how they should ask you to pay. The federal law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, clearly states that those collecting debts may not bug you, give false assertions, or do practices that are not fair when they are getting to collect money from you.

Get Credit Counseling.

You could also consider getting the aid of groups or institutions that will help you in your problems. If you managed to have an improved payment arrangement of your debt with a good credit counseling organization, creditors may approve of your proposition and accept your modified arrangement plan..

Bankruptcy.

Generally, personal bankruptcy is known as the last choice to fix your ballooning credit debt. A bankruptcy unfortunately stays on your financial information report for years. Getting additional credit, buying a house, sometimes even getting a job might be hard for you. Technically, however, it is a legal way of addressing your credit debt.

Enjoy the use of credit to make your life easier. . .BUT don’t let it become a nightmare! Learn to use your credit responsibly.

Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of credit,credit card,zerocredit,how to get credit. Share your new understanding about credit,credit card,zerocredit,how to get credit with others. They’ll thank you for it.

It’s always a good feeling when you clear your debt, either through the preferred method of paying off your debts or the negative method of bankruptcy. However you do so, it always feels good to get rid of that burden and start fresh. Many in these situations find themselves seeking credit cards shortly after they have cleared their debt — mostly in fear that without having at least one active credit card they are negatively impacting their credit by showing no credit history.

Being that you just cleared your debt, you are most likely being more cautious and not trying to find a card which has high fees associated with it. Additionally, if you filed bankruptcy then you do not have many options available to you and it is more important that you get a credit card which will not put you back in debt, but will allow you to rebuild your credit in a positive and efficient way. The best option for those who have recently cleared their debt is to apply for reloadable prepaid credit cards.

You are probably asking, what are reloadable prepaid credit cards? These types of credit cards are considered secured credit cards because you load the credit card with your own money. Loading the credit card with your own money will make the loan amount secured because you are not actually paying any of the money back. Instead you are using your own money. In turn this will ultimately make the debt on the credit card secured and there will be no fees, such as late fees, overdraft fees, or interest fees associated with the use of the credit card.

Reloadable prepaid credit cards can put you back into the financial race without putting you in debt. Many prepaid credit card offers provide credit builder services, this typically mean that your use of the credit card will be reported to the 3 major credit bureaus. Since you will only be allowed to spend the balance you loaded onto the card and be required to only pay a low monthly maintenance charge for the card (usually less than $10), then it is highly likely your usage of the card will be positively reported to the credit bureaus and will positively impact your credit history and scoring.

Applying for reloadable prepaid credit cards is the best option for those who have cleared their debt and need a credit card for credit rebuilding purposes. If you have bad credit, currently got out of debt, recently filed bankruptcy, or need a traditional credit card alternative then reloadable prepaid credit cards are just for you. In most cases, prepaid credit card offers are guaranteed approval. As more and more people come to the realization that living beyond their means is recipe for financial disaster they will seek alternative options for carrying plastic while remaining debt free, prepaid credit cards is a way to do just that. It’s time you apply for your reloadable prepaid credit card!

In February of 2004, the average debt was $10,371 with average credit card payments of $489.00.

In February of 2005, average debt from credit cards rose to $11,261.

In February of 2006, average debt from credit cards rose to $11,669.
Source: Experian’s National Score Index

These are simply that-averages. Most people have much more credit card debt than the listed $11,669.

There is a logic behind all of this madness and it is both disturbing and threatening. Should you be late 3 days on one credit card, it will be listed on your credit file as being 30 days late. That is the format that the credit bureaus use to categorize tardiness. If you are 31 days late, that card will be disclosed as being 60 days late and so on. You get the general idea.

Now for the disturbing part. While you are late on one credit card, the remainder of your card companies are monitoring your credit file on a daily basis. When they see that you have been late on one card, they can and will raise your interest rate to whatever they choose. This is perfectly acceptable, as they were the largest contributor to the last political campaign. Notice that I did not say that it was legal, only acceptable.

You see, credit card companies want you to be late, either with them or someone else. It makes them a lot of money in the long-run. With the new bankruptcy laws that went into effect, you will be bankrupt before you are ever even able to file bankruptcy. And, after you do file, you will have to pay (out of your pocket) to attend credit counseling classes. In these classes, the credit counseling agency will basically decide whether or not you are a candidate for bankruptcy! If you are a candidate, you can stand to lose everything. If you are not a candidate (according to the credit counseling agency), they will take control of your paycheck and they will pay your monthly payments late. Your credit file will be ruined anyway. You just won’t have a bankruptcy listed on your credit file. In effect, you will become a surf for the kingdom.

The reason that you must first undergo credit counseling is a known fact that is hidden in plain site. The credit card companies own and rule the consumer credit counseling agencies. They advertise themselves as being non-profit, but they actually work for the credit card companies. Everything in the financial world is linked together, whether it is linear or not.

Have you ever wondered how secured and unsecured credit cards differ from one another? By the word itself, you know that the secure credit cards are secured while the unsecured credit cards are unsecured. The secure credit cards uses your saving accounts as collateral, usually starting from five hundred dollars or more that the credit card issuer use to determine credit limits for you, and as mentioned used for collateral purposes if there is a default in payments. For instance, in your savings accounts you have the amount of $500 dollars that can be used as collateral used for possible problems that are most likely to occur that can result in default payments. When you default, the card issuer automatically deducts the payments in your savings account to pay for the credit card.

Unsecured credit cards are also an option for those in need of a credit card but application for these credit cards may be difficult due to related bankruptcy problems. In applying for unsecured credit cards you are required to fill in an application form that is based on your income, credit report, and other necessary information stated on the application form that credit card issuers need to grant approval to your credit card application. These credit cards are approved with credit limits based on your income and credibility. Although applying for unsecured credit limit does not entirely mean that you are qualified for the unsecured credit card, instead applications are also based depending on the credit card issuer’s guidelines too.

In cases like bankruptcy, applying for secured credit cards are best. Besides, unsecured credit cards depend on the history of your credit, lessening your chances for unsecured credit cards. The moment the credit card issuers learn you have a record of bankruptcy in file, the issuer will definitely be questionable and may not grant you a credit card. On the other hand applying for secured credit cards have higher chances in getting a secured credit card whereas unsecured credit cards are difficult to apply for due to credit report such as bankruptcy.

Many companies offer secured credit cards that you may consider great, but the truth is all secured credit cards can be strenuous and could make troubles for you. Secured credit cards are not all the same therefore consider researching the different types of secured credit cards in limiting your choice by applying for the best credit cards. There are some criteria mostly important before applying for secured credit cards.

The following criteria you should consider are low interest rates, application fees if any, and be sure that a secured card issuer informs all three credit bureaus about the application. You should consider searching for secured credit cards that has low interest rates and no application fees included. Also, the important thing to remember is all secured credit cards should be reported at all credit bureaus for approval.

Applying for the right credit cards need time and effort for researching different types of credit cards offered by companies. If you feel that you are still not satisfied with secured credit card, you can also try unsecured credit cards. However, because of a bankruptcy background, the best to apply for credit cards are secured credit cards.