You know it isn’t a statement because it isn’t thick with ads and miscellaneous sheets of paper. You suspect it’s notifying you of change that is most likely unfavorable (to you). In the last year, I have received many of these from Chase Bank, beginning with the jacked up interest rate and continuing to the decrease in limit to the “Congratulations! We’re now closing your account loser!”

Well, even though Chase Bank and I have made up, I was still afraid that somehow the mail had brought me bad news. Like maybe another credit card was going to rape me. Or maybe Chase Bank changed their mind about the hardship plan I had set up with them.

Fortunately, the letter began with “We have good news for you!” So I have to thank Chase Bank for reversing the heart attack that the envelope had initially inspired. In their words:

…Your recent payments have qualified your credit card account for our Reage Program and it’s no longer past due. As long as you pay the minimum due each month on your current balance, you will enjoy these benefits:

• no late fees;
• updated credit record to reflect your account is in good standing; and
• no collection calls…

First of all, whoever wrote that form letter was pretty much a genius. The way that it is worded kind of made me wonder if I had actually won something.

So What is the Reage Program?

Since I was pretty sure I hadn’t won anything, (they love me and we made up, but we didn’t actually get married) I decided to go forth and figure out what exactly the good news is about Chase Bank’s Reage Program.

First of all there is a difference between a reaged program like the one with Chase Bank, and the other, which is when people refer to collection agencies “reaging” an account to change the initial delinquency date so the statute of limitations on collection doesn’t run out. If a collection agency does this, it is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and should be handled completely differently (for starters, congratulations wouldn’t be nearly as appropriate a greeting).

The Reage Program with Chase Bank (or any other credit card company) however, simply means that they will remove the negative history and give you a clean entry on the credit report. In most instances, the account will be removed from the “adverse account” list and noted as “closed by consumer” which of course is better than “closed by credit grantor”. Unfortunately, it will not wipe off any previous late payments, but who can expect that? If your payment was late it was late.

So, it may actually seem like a minor change to an account that I’ve been tussling with for the last year, but it’s good to know it’s being resolved, and in not such a negative manner.

I will check my credit reports next month and let you know exactly how everything turned out.

On another note, regarding the dental bill I was bracing myself for, I did find out that my daughter’s medical insurance includes dental which will cover a lot of the expenses. I use the term “a lot” even though I have no clue, but going from anticipating full payment from my pocket, to whatever the insurance pays, to me is a lot. I couldn’t be more grateful.

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
–Walt Disney

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Some Things in Life ARE Free…Really

First, I always use www.annualcreditreport.com because it is an automatic credit report from all three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) every year for free. Everyone is entitled to a free report once a year, no hassles, no hidden fees. Free.

There are other ways to receive a free credit report, for instance if you have recently been denied credit.  I also read an article at CNN Money today which mentions that companies that offer those other types of “free credit reports” have to disclose that it isn’t actually the annual free report that you are entitled to and that it may be a part of a promotion or marketing for a service or product that costs money. This part of the new CARD act of 2009 will hopefully save a lot of people from getting duped into buying extra credit monitoring services and products just to get a “free” credit report.

The Monster was Quite Friendly, Actually

Anyway, it was to my great surprise that my credit reports aren’t as dismal as I anticipated. There is one medical bill ding on there that I can take care of easily within the next couple months, and one error that I will dispute online immediately. (By the way, 4 out of 5 credit reports have errors which can include anything from accounts that aren’t yours to incorrect amounts owed.)

The only other big problem on my reports was the utilization ratio of my debts. I could see that I need to work harder at paying them down. It doesn’t help of course that Chase Bank dropped my limit on one card to the amount that was owed. Having maxed out cards, or a high utilization ratio (large debt to available credit) can harm your credit immensely. I have paid down 3 small store cards and will continue to pay down the rest using the snowball method.

Hope is Inspirational

These are the only things I need to fix on my credit report, which surprised me quite a bit. Setting up the payment arrangements and making payments is not only getting things paid off but keeping my credit reports a little cleaner than I thought. Well duh…I hear you all saying. But, until you actually take a look it’s difficult to actually see that your hard work is helping. Or in this case what I don’t see (negative items on my credit reports) that have given me hope.

Not perfect by a long shot, but will be soon. Thanks for reading and in a way keeping me focused and accountable.

Have a great weekend and a fantastic family filled Easter!

It seems though, that freecreditreport.com isn’t actually free. You do get a free credit report, but according the a class action lawsuit headed by Erica Possin, a college student in Wisconsin, you also have to pay for something, which means it’s errr, not actually free.

I’ve read different comments on different sites, and some people are saying that it’s clear if you don’t cancel, you’ll be billed $14.95 a month for a credit monitoring service. Of course if you’re expecting something free as the guy in the commercial merrily sings of, you probably don’t pay much attention to the little details that include payment of something.

Here are ways to get a free credit report that is actually free:

One Free Credit Report Per Year- The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that each of the three credit bureaus, TransUnion, Experian and Equifax, provide one free credit report each, every 12 months. You can request your reports from each agency or you can request all three at annualcreditreport.com.

Credit Denial- If you’re denied credit, insurance or employment, you can request a free credit report within 60 days.

Other Ways to Get a Free Credit Report- If you are unemployed and plan on looking for work in 60 days, if you are on Welfare and if your report is wrong because of fraud or identity theft, you are also entitled to one free report every 12 months.

I would suggest using one of these methods if you need a copy of your credit report and you don’t want to pay the fee of at least $10.50 per report. Otherwise, make sure you read through any agreement thoroughly. Haven’t we learned that from credit card companies? Okay, maybe I didn’t. If you do agree to a service in exchange for something free, mark the date on your calendar or cell phone and make sure you call and cancel if you don’t intend on keeping the service. Also make sure you call before the final day so you aren’t risking any charges you didn’t want.

Here is the copy of the lawsuit

Have you ever signed up for something you weren’t aware of? Let me know, and Happy Super Bowl XLIV!