Digital Portfolio : Annie YuenHee Kim

Credit Maintenance

1. What is Credit Maintenance?
   • Credit maintenance program helps people understand their credit file and we provide understanding of what sort of items affect credit scores.
   • Maintain that credit bureaus are reporting accurate information on your file. If discrepancies are noticed people need to dispute those items and provide the credit bureaus supporting documents

• Statistically Over 90% of the population has incorrect items on their credit files & incorrect items will constantly re-appear over time. People need to keep maintaining their credit
• With Identity theft on the rise it is important to maintain credit file accurately.

2. People need to understanding what Credit Scores are
   • It is important that people know how their credit score is calculated and what is used to determine their score.

      Factors are considered in Credit Score:

1. Current Balances on Accts.
2. Length of time accounts have been established
3. Bank Revolving accts.
4. Reported Delinquencies
5. Number of Accts. with Balances
6. Number of finance company accts.
7. Recent Payment History
8. Proportion of Balance to your credit limit
9. Number of Recent Inquiries (on credit file)
10. Legal item filed or collection item reported
11. Accts. Not paid as agreed and/or legal item filed
12. Employment and Residency
• Scores are considered using the following percentages:

Identity Theft

According to 2 studies done in July 2003 (Gartner Research and Harris Interactive), approximately 7 million people became victims of identity theft in the prior 12 months. That equals 19,178 per day, 799 per hour, and 13.3 per minute.

• People should be educated how to protect themselves from being victims of Identity Theft.

Maintain Own Credit

1. First, pull their credit report.
2. Then, sign them up with Annualcreditreport.com.
3. Fill all information out and get free credit reports from each credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union
4. If there are incorrect items, dispute by online or mail
5. Credit bureaus will send back the results, then check if everything is corrected
6. If there are still inaccurate items, it is possible to dispute until everything got correct. It is a good way to send documents which could prove

Benefits if Maintaining Credit

1. Lower interest rates for mortgages.
2. Improved Credit file
3. Security Watch against Identity Theft!