Here’s something most Americans probably don’t know. Up until the FICO® score was created in 1989, people couldn’t actually see their credit score much less do anything to change it. Even worse, they were often denied credit because there was no unbiased standard for evaluating them fairly. Which meant creditors could refuse loans based on someone’s character or even their appearance. Thankfully, the FICO score removed bias from the equation and only focuses on your ability to repay a loan. However, it still doesn’t make it any easier to dispute errors on your credit report. Written disputes and phone calls with long hold times to Credit Reporting Agencies (e.g. Experian, Transunion, Equifax) can be time consuming and frustrating. Of course, knowledge is the most powerful tool you have to overcome these roadblocks. In addition to the solutions covered in this blog, resources like badcredit.org help you better understand how credit works. This includes useful insights on the history of credit scores. The Impacts of COVID-19Not surprisingly, the pandemic has only worsened the challenge of disputing errors. With growing jobless rates and economic insecurity, more people than ever are reporting mistakes on their credit reports. In fact, between September and February of 2021 alone, consumers lodged over 13,000 complaints saying that their disputes were not addressed within 30 days. That compares to just 2,000 similar complaints in 2019, a whopping 550 percent increase All of which compounds the anxiety a lot of people already feel about their credit score. But You’re More Than Just a Number Right?Cliches aside, we all know there’s a person behind each credit score, but it doesn’t necessarily feel that way when you apply for a loan.No matter how hard you try to get around it, your fate is decided by the creditor, and your score plays a huge role in their decision. If only you could take action in a fast and efficient way… Push-Button Power Is the SmartCredit® WayMost of us associate pushing buttons with immediate or fast results.It’s something you can actually do with your finger, a satisfying experience.SmartCredit® gives you that ability. The Action buttons on SmartCredit.com help you send communication directly to your creditors to:
And contacting your creditors directly is what makes our Action buttons so powerful. This completely bypasses the need to contact or deal with the CRAs (e.g. Experian, Equifax and Transunion), and going straight to your creditor(s) is often a much faster and more effective way to get issues resolved. They’re also required by law to contact all three CRAs, so going directly to the creditor can resolve issues on all three of your credit reports. That’s because all creditors are bound under the Fair Credit Reporting Act by the same rules as the CRAs. So, just as disputes to CRAs must be resolved in 30 days, the same goes for disputes directly to creditors. 2 This approach also helps you avoid the pitfalls of dealing directly with CRAs. For example, CRAs often reject or ignore disputes on technical grounds, but a direct dispute with a creditor prevents that from happening. Additional Advantages of Our Direct ApproachProcessing a Dispute is Faster with Action buttons A Single Dispute to a Creditor Simplifies the Process The problem with writing to three different CRAs? It can result in three different interpretations of your disputes, which means conflicting information is sent to the creditor. Not to mention that each CRA processes disputes at different times, so the creditor may get requests at different times. Key Takeaway: our Action buttons help you send a single dispute to each creditor, so you avoid the confusion and inaccuracy. Permanent Results
Always Stay Informed
Like anything that impacts your life in a big way, it’s best to keep a close eye on your credit score and financial activities. SmartCredit® not only can help you add points to your credit score fast, but also provides a clear picture of your most important information. Our ScoreTracker shows your:
Plus, our Money Manager gives you full visibility of your financial and investment accounts in one convenient place: Stay informed with sites that bring together the web’s top finance experts, who inform and educate users to make better credit decisions and create a brighter financial future. It’s Only Getting Better
Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since the FICO score was created, but people also need tools that put them in charge. After all, your credit score can actually change your life, for better or worse. With SmartCredit® you can take command of your credit and finances with the push of a button. We even offer a personalized plan in our ScoreMaster® feature to help meet your future goals. It’s a big leap forward for consumers, and we’re just getting started! Sources: 1 ConsumerReports.org, 2021 2 FTC.org, 2021 The post SmartCredit® Action Buttons: A Big Leap Forward for Consumers appeared first on SmartCredit Blog. from https://blog.smartcredit.com/2021/06/30/smartcredit-action-buttons-a-big-leap-forward-for-consumers/
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About UsWe are a group of fun and creative people building unique and patented technologies for the consumer money, credit & identity space. We started in 2003 with the idea that technology should allow consumers to interact with their banks, creditors and other institutions using a simple button. So, we noodled a lot and built the SmartCredit.com® system to make better users of money & credit. Archives
October 2020
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