What Will Leave a Black Mark on My Credit Report?

When you’re looking to apply for a loan, lenders place a major emphasis on your credit report. Your credit history includes your amount of debt and payment history, as well as other factors, and lenders look to your past credit behavior to see whether you’ll be a good credit risk going forward. There are some things on a credit report, however, that could discourage a lender from approving you. These “black marks” could make it difficult to get approved for a loan, and could even keep you from achieving certain financial goals. If you’re planning to apply for a loan but you’ve had credit challenges in the past, here’s what you need to know about credit report black marks.

What Is a Black Mark?

Any item that may be considered negative by creditors is often referred to as a “black mark” or “derogatory information.” These items indicate some sort of negative financial behavior, such as failing to pay debts on time, and they remain on your credit reports for an extended time, typically anywhere between seven to 10 years. Some of the most severe derogatory marks include:

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is essentially a legal process designed to reduce or eliminate a consumer or business's debt — or make it easier to pay off. While it does provide some form of relief, bankruptcy is considered to be one of the most damaging marks to have on your credit report. Chapter 7 bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years while Chapter 13 bankruptcy will remain for seven years from the filing date.

Foreclosure

In the event that a borrower falls significantly behind on mortgage payments, the lender may opt to foreclose on the home. If the borrower fails to pay off the outstanding debt or cannot sell the home via short sale, the property then goes into foreclosure. A foreclosure will remain on your credit reports for seven years.

Collections

When accounts are reported as being sent or sold off to a debt collector, they are considered to be in “collections.” This usually occurs when a creditor is having difficulty collecting payments on a debt. A collections account will typically stay on your report for about seven and a half years from the date it first became late.

Tax Lien

Simply put, tax liens are when the government places a lien against some or all of an individual’s assets due to them neglecting or failing to pay a tax on time. Tax liens can remain on your credit report indefinitely, though credit reporting agencies often remove them after 10-15 years. Once you’ve paid off the debt’s balance in full it will take seven years from the date it’s paid for the mark to be removed. However, you may qualify to have the lien removed from your credit reports sooner, depending on the circumstances (this guide can help you determine that).

Civil Judgment

Although criminal records aren’t included upon your credit report, civil judgments (such as a civil lawsuit or child support case) are. A civil judgment is a ruling against you in a court of law that requires you to pay damages (typically in the event that you lose a case or neglect to respond to a lawsuit). A civil judgment stays on your credit report up to seven years.

What You Can Do About It

While derogatory marks can cause your credit score to take a major hit, they won’t keep you down the entire time they’re on your report. Maintaining good financial habits and keeping the rest of your credit in good health can help you build things back up. As negative information becomes older, it tends to have less of an impact on your credit scores, provided you have other current positive credit references. Paying down high credit card balances and keeping your debt usage ratio low, and making your payments on time are all things that can help you build your credit.

It’s also a good idea to get your free annual credit reports from each of the three major credit reporting agencies to check for inaccuracies and to generally stay informed. Checking your credit scores regularly can also help you track your progress. There are many ways to get your credit scores for free, including on Credit.com.

While it might be hard at first, it is possible to return to good financial standing with a black mark on your credit report. Provided you strive to maintain good credit behavior, you should start to see your credit score start to inch upwards and your chances of securing a loan increase. Not only that, but the habits you develop during this period can hopefully help you avoid another derogatory mark in the future.

Via: Fox Business

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Target hackers stole encrypted bank PINs, could make fraudulent withdrawls

BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) — The hackers who attacked Target Corp and compromised up to 40 million credit cards and debit cards also managed to steal encrypted personal identification numbers (PINs), according to a senior payments executive familiar with the situation.

One major U.S. bank fears that the thieves would be able to crack the encryption code and make fraudulent withdrawals from consumer bank accounts, said the executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the data breach is still under investigation.

Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said “no unencrypted PIN data was accessed” and there was no evidence that PIN data has been “compromised.” She confirmed that some “encrypted data” was stolen, but declined to say if that included encrypted PINs.

“We continue to have no reason to believe that PIN data, whether encrypted or unencrypted, was compromised. And we have not been made aware of any such issue in communications with financial institutions to date,” Snyder said by email. “We are very early in an ongoing forensic and criminal investigation.”

The No. 3 U.S. retailer said last week that hackers stole data from as many as 40 million cards used at Target stores during the first three weeks of the holiday shopping season, making it the second-largest data breach in U.S. retail history.

Target has not said how its systems were compromised, though it described the operation as “sophisticated.” The U.S. Secret Service and the Justice Department are investigating. Officials with both agencies have declined comment on the investigations.

The attack could end up costing hundreds of millions of dollars, but it is unclear so far who will bear the expense.

While bank customers are typically not liable for losses because of fraudulent activity on their credit and debit cards, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Santander Bank said they have lowered limits on how much cash customers can take out of teller machines and spend at stores.

Via: Daily Caller

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BOMBSHELL: OBAMA.COM OWNED BY BUNDLER IN SHANGHAI WITH BUSINESS TIES TO CHINESE GOVERNMENT

In an explosive report set to send shockwaves through official Washington, the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) released a 108-page GAI investigation into the threat of foreign and fraudulent Internet campaign donations in U.S. federal elections (visit campaignfundingrisks.com to download the full report).

Breitbart News obtained an advance copy of the bombshell report which reveals that the Obama.com website is not owned by the president’s campaign but rather by Obama bundler Robert Roche, a U.S. citizen living in Shanghai, China. Roche is the chairman of a Chinese infomercial company, Acorn International, with ties to state-controlled banks that allow it to “gain revenue through credit card transactions with Chinese banks.”

There’s more.

The unusual Obama.com website redirects traffic directly to a donation page on the Obama campaign’s official website, my.barackobama.com, which does not require donors to enter their credit card security code (known as the CVV code), thereby increasing the likelihood of foreign or fraudulent donations. The website is managed by a small web development firm, Wicked Global, in Maine. One of Wicked Global’s employees, Greg Dorr, lists on hisLinkedIn page his additional employment with Peace Action Maine and Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights. According to the GAI report, 68 percent of all Internet traffic to Obama.com comes from foreign visitors. 

And still more.

In 2011, Mr. Roche obtained one of the most sought-after pieces of real estate in Washington, DC: a seat at the head table for President Obama’s State Dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao. How Roche—a man whose infomercial company hawks fitness equipment, cell phones, and breast enhancement products—landed a seat alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, Sen. John Kerry, former President Jimmy Carter, and Chinese President Hu Jintao remains unclear.  

Since 2009, White House Visitor Logs list the name Robert Roche at least 19 times, despite the fact Mr. Roche’s primary residence is in China.  

Mr. Roche, who is originally from Chicago, is a co-chair of the Technology Initiative for the Obama campaign. 

According to Acorn International’s prospectus, the success of Mr. Roche’s company hinges on maintaining access to state-run media and “preferential tax treatments and subsidies” doled out by the People’s Republic of China (PRC):  

Our business depends on our access to TV media time to market our products and services in China….PRC law is vague and is subject to discretionary interpretation and enforcement by PRC authorities…Loss of these preferential tax treatments and subsidies could have material and adverse effects on our results of operations and financial conditions.

In addition to the Obama.com redirect revelation, the Government Accountability Institute report—America the Vulnerable: Are Foreign And Fraudulent Online Contributions Influencing U.S. Elections?—exposes myriad gaping online security holes that stand to threaten the integrity of House, Senate, and presidential elections.  

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for continuing coverage…

Via: Breitbart

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Baltimore MD., City school credit, procurement cards show culture of spending

Nearly $500,000 in charges include expensive dinners, extensive travel, and student lunch at Hooter's

Jerome Oberlton, the head of the Information Technology Department, will have to personally reimburse the system $5,000 for charges school officials deemed inappropriate. (Barbara Haddock Taylor, Baltimore Sun / April 26, 2012)

Despite tightening school budgets and a perpetual rallying cry for more funding, Baltimore school administrators spent roughly $500,000 during the past year and a half on expenses such as a $7,300 office retreat at a downtown hotel, $300-per-night stays at hotels, and a $1,000 dinner at an exclusive members-only club, credit card statements show.

City school officials defend the majority of the credit card expenditures — outlined in statements and receipts obtained by The Baltimore Sun through a Maryland Public Information Act request — as "the cost of doing business," saying only a handful of "outliers" show questionable judgment or disregard for taxpayer money.

"We are working around the clock to engage our partners and move our agenda forward," said Tisha Edwards, chief of staff for the school system. "Every transaction has a business purpose in mind."

Among those transactions were a $450-per-person office retreat at the downtown Hilton, during which the 16 employees of the Information Technology Department were also treated to a $500 dinner at Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao; and a $264 lunch for students at Hooter's.

A review of credit card transactions and receipts by The Sun found that the bulk of the expenditures — about $300,000, generated by 16 central office employees — were made under a new procurement-card program that has operated with virtually no controls or oversight since it began in January 2011.

Card statements show that many of the expenditures violated the school system's own protocols and restrictions for use of the cards, such as a prohibition on using them for travel or to buy gifts for employees.

Via: The Baltimore Sun

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