CREDIT rating defaults are very easy to come by, but not so easy to remove on your own, according to credit repair company MY CRA.
Director GRAHAM DOESSEL says it would surprise most people that thousands of Australians have black marks against their names, and many are unaware they have them until they apply for credit. When they attempt to remove those blemishes themselves, they are coming up against a brick wall.
“Every day I deal with people who have experienced difficulty in removing defaults themselves with the credit reporting agencies. Effectively even if the default is not yours, even if you have suffered from identity theft, many times all a credit reporting agency will do is mark the listing as paid.”
“In these economic times, any black mark will stop people obtaining a home loan with most lenders. In fact at the moment, even having a few ‘credit enquiries’ on record can be enough for an automatic decline, even if there are no defaults” Mr DOESSEL says.
There are different types of what may be considered ‘bad’ credit ratings from external administrations and bankruptcies through to credit defaults and even excess credit enquiries. If people have overdue power bills, rent and phone bills of more than 60 days late then a provider has the right to notify you of their intentions to record this default on your credit file. This default will stay on record for 5 years regardless of whether it has been paid.
“A couple we worked with recently went to apply for a home loan and were told the loan was denied because they had a default on their credit rating. They were really surprised as they had genuine savings and what they thought was no debts. It turned out they had missed a payment of $180 on an electricity bill and the company had listed the default on their credit file even though the bill had later been paid. They were not notified of this listing”.
“When they attempted to clear the default they had a terrible time and were eventually told by VEDA that defaults are never removed but can be marked as paid. The couple thought this was not good enough and contacted us (My CRA) to see what could be done. We were able to step in and actually remove the default. Luckily the couple were able to purchase a home in the future” Mr DOESSEL says.
Mr DOESSEL says this is a common complaint amongst his clients “Generally speaking, because people don’t have experience and don’t know the appropriate legislation, the creditors bluff their way out of doing anything. Many clients are jaded wasting months and sometimes missing out on houses, basically getting very frustrated with the whole process”.
A study conducted by AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER ASSOCIATION (now CHOICE magazine) in 2004 found as much as 30% of all credit files contained errors. Often the defaults have been listed without due process followed and before clients have been notified of the creditor’s intention to list a default.
Under the current legislation, errors on your credit file can and should be removed. So with the difficulties faced by clients in negotiating with creditors, third party credit file repairers like MY CRA have been sought out by time poor and frustrated clients.
The process of removing a default, writ or judgment is much easier than doing it alone. The client obtains a copy of their credit file, notifies in writing the black marks they feel are listed incorrectly or unjustly and together with authority forms, forwards it all on to the credit repairer.
The credit repairer then deals with the appropriate parties and negotiates on a person’s behalf to erase these blemishes.
Mr DOESSEL says if the default, judgment, writ or other black mark is listed incorrectly, unjustly or just shouldn’t be there at all, provided you are using an experienced and skilled credit repair company, then there is a strong chance it can be erased.
Currently MY CRA’s had up to a 91.7% success rate in default removal and can be removed from as little as 3 days but average is around 45 – 60 days.
“For example, we had a client who had a single default with a phone company which was due to a mix up with addresses. They had failed to contact her about it, and it was only when she applied for store credit a couple of months later that she became aware of the default. We were able to remove that default in 4 days for her” Mr DOESSEL says.
He says if people don’t have the time or patience to deal with creditors and need an absolutely clear credit file, then they would be suitable candidates for MY CRA services.
The MY CRA website has more information for people who are struggling with their credit file. There are fact sheets on how to go about removing defaults and more information on credit and its consequences in AUSTRALIA today. www.mycra.com.au
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Please contact:
Graham Doessel http://www.mycra.com.au/
Ph: 07 3124 7133
246 Stafford Road, STAFFORD QLD.
Link to info on ACA report:
About MyCRA.com.au
MyCRA.com.au is 100% Australian owned and operated and we are based in Stafford, a northern suburb of Brisbane in Queensland.
My CRA was developed for the sole purpose of giving clients access and ability to work with their Credit File. This is in order to give them the best chance of getting approval, getting a lower interest rate or just to reduce the upfront fees that can be associated with obtaining credit
We have more than 30 years combined experience in working with and helping clients with their credit files. We are the fastest known credit file repair agency in Australia and can often remove judgments in as little as 3 days.
Hi. Darrell has a defult paid from almost four years ago. And cant get a car loan now. We had moved addtess and was getting sentbto his nothers when he got the defult. Can yous help
Thanks for your question – based on the little information you have supplied so far, it’s not out of the question.
We would need to know a few more details to get a better idea.
Things like
Did you notify the creditor that you were moving?
Was Darrells mother forwarding the mail to your new address?
What type of default i it? ie. telco, energy, finance or some other sort?
has the default been paid?
What are the reasons behind the default being listed on Darrell’s credit file?
Have you been in contact with your creditor to try and sort it out?
If you would like to speak to an Applications Consultant, they can have a no obligation chat and give you a better idea of whats involved. Its free to speak to them and totally confidential… 07 3124 7133 or look here for a local number closer to you.
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