Last week we talked about 4 of 7 strategies to help raise your credit scores with the credit cards tightening their grips every day.  Here are three more strategies to keep your FICO scores high and minimize the abuse from creditors!

5. Go Small and Go Local – As consumers, we tend to focus on the largest 5-10 banks and tend to forget about the thousands of lenders who are NOT treating their customers poorly. Credit unions are a great example of these lenders. If you are sick of how you’re being treated by your Manhattan bank then perhaps you need a local credit union or local bank on your side.

6. Don’t Exit The System – The country if on fire with angry consumers who are claiming to have sworn off credit for the foreseeable future because of how they are being treated by their lenders. “From now on if I can’t pay cash for it I won’t buy it.” Eh, that plays well on the big screen but it’s not realistic. Carrying around cash to pay for things is a bad idea.  And good luck using debit cards for things like business travel and European vacations.  Stay in the system, please.

7. If All Else Fails, Litigate – If you’re finding yourself saddled with a garbage credit report because of errors and you can’t get the credit bureaus or lenders to correct your files then think about filing a lawsuit. You certainly wouldn’t be alone. There will be over 8,500 credit related lawsuits filed this year. Collections agencies are the targets in most of them but certainly the credit bureaus and lenders are in the cross hairs a fair amount too. Just be sure to hire a lawyer who knows what he’s doing.

So there you have it, seven solid strategies to hopefully minimize your chances of being treated poorly by your creditors. And while there are certainly no guarantees that you’ll exit this credit environment without a few scars, you can certainly make yourself as immune as possible by doing a few easy and inexpensive things. Good luck!

We’re officially four months away from the Credit Card Holder’s Bill of Rights going into effect. And, if certain Democrats have their way, we’re only thirty days away.

The mainstream card issuers have a shrinking window of time to remold their cardholder base to their liking. This means consumers will continue to suffer the at the hands of their credit card companies, unless they employ one or more of the following strategies.

1. Don’t Not Use Your Card – Ok, the poor grammar was intentional and corny but I think I’ve made my point. Credit card issuers are in business to make money and make a profit. They can’t do either unless you are using your credit card. And, the best news is that you do not have to carry a balance from one month to the next in order to drop a few dimes in your credit card issuers’ pockets. Each time you use your credit card the merchant (aka the place you used the card) has to pay the bank a fee. This fee is called interchange. It technically comes out of your pocket because many retailers will build the assumed fee into the price of the merchandise but it sure doesn’t feel that way when we buy stuff with our credit cards.

2. Shut Up! – In the past a viable strategy to get fees waived and interest rates lowered was to call your credit card issuer and complain or otherwise plead your case. That’s still a decent strategy but beware. Your credit card issuer might turn the tables and start asking YOU questions in order to determine whether or not they still want to do business with you. If you call them and THEY start asking questions about your job status and salary then hang up or you might just end up with a closed credit card.

3. Open Another Card, NOW – One of the worst strategies I see people employing today is the 1-card strategy. This is a consumer who has swallowed the Dave Ramsey gospel hook, line and sinker. The problem is that it’s unrealistic and appealing only to the lowest common credit denominator. You should have MORE cards, not fewer cards. Clearly this is a credit score play as well since having more available and unused credit limits are always good for your credit scores. So, if you have one or two credit cards right now, think about opening at least one more. This gives you options in case one of your credit card issuers starts behaving badly towards you. Nothing is more empowering than saying “I’ll take my business elsewhere” and then actually doing it.

4. Don’t Hide Behind Great FICO Scores – FICO published a study earlier this year and the findings showed that the median FICO score for a consumer who has seen his or her credit limit reduced was 770. A 770 FICO score is fantastic in any lender’s book and especially in this credit environment where lenders are gravitating to stronger borrowers. What this means is that just because you have great FICO’s it doesn’t fully shield you from adverse treatment from lenders.

Stay tuned for Strategies 5 through 7 coming soon!

Here are just 2 examples of the cost of bad credit: a mortgage loan and an auto loan:

30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage

*National Average, Loan Amount: $300,000

36 Month Auto Loan

*National Average, Loan Amount: $25,000

So, for someone with a 620 FICO score vs. someone with a 760 FICO score, they are paying $383/month MORE, which is $4,596/year! 

These are just 2 examples of bad credit severely affecting payments.  If you add in credit card APR’s, insurance rates, and other loans, the costs are even greater!  Not to mention most landlords and employers are checking credit before accepting new people too!