Know Your Credit Card Rights

Written by Chris Cooper


When you apply for a credit card,repparttar application that you sign is also a legally binding contract laying out allrepparttar 111797 terms between you andrepparttar 111798 bank, such asrepparttar 111799 interest rate and how its calculated,repparttar 111800 grace period, whether there’s an annual fee, etc.

While you have to agree torepparttar 111801 terms and sign if you wantrepparttar 111802 credit card and whilerepparttar 111803 lender will certainly hold you torepparttar 111804 terms,repparttar 111805 lender doesn’t feel similarly committed.

Lenders like to constantly amendrepparttar 111806 terms, effectively changingrepparttar 111807 deal after it was made. This is one ofrepparttar 111808 few industries where you can be charged more than you originally agreed to pay.

One ofrepparttar 111809 main reasons they’re doing this is because they are constantly checking your credit score, looking for an excuse to raise rates and thus their income.

So, even if you have never been late on any payment to any bank or utility, your credit score can raise as you’re approaching your credit limits. Or you could have missed a payment or lost your job. Lenders have any number of excuses for their actions.

Alsorepparttar 111810 lenders count onrepparttar 111811 customers not readingrepparttar 111812 little inserts filled with legal jargon they slip in with your bill or mail separately, at least until it’s too late. Apparentlyrepparttar 111813 vast major of card holders never look at these amendments. Theu also hope that most of us are ignorant of our credit card rights.

Not all changes torepparttar 111814 credit card agreement are necessarily harmful to you, although you'll rarely find one being done in your interest. Most of them change minor terms ofrepparttar 111815 agreement.

But they can contain nasty suprises as well.

The problemrepparttar 111816 lender has is thatrepparttar 111817 original agreement is a binding contract thatrepparttar 111818 lender can’t change unilaterally. They have to give you an out. That’s why it pays to pay attention and know your credit card rights.

I once had a credit card account withrepparttar 111819 stated interest rate of 13.5%. I was financially strapped and was using more and more of my available debt. I had never missed a payment or was late to anybody for at least 10 years.

Bad Credit Mortgage Lender - What to Look For

Written by Carrie Reeder


If you have less than perfect credit and are looking to get approved for a mortgage loan, be careful not to make some common, costly mistakes. When dealing with sub-prime mortgage lenders or bad credit mortgage lenders, many people are taken advantage of because of their eagerness to get approved. Choosing and settling on a mortgage lender or mortgage broker is a very important decision. Make sure you don't make mistakes that you will regret later. Ask yourself,repparttar mortgage broker or lender these questions before you sign onrepparttar 111796 dotted line: 1. Is there a pre-payment penalty onrepparttar 111797 loan? Ask about this as soon as you are told you are approved. A 6 month pre-payment penalty is probably ok, but 1 year, or two years? Over 1 year is too long. Find out how muchrepparttar 111798 pre-payment penalty is. Maybe its not much. But if there is one, its most likely to be so much, that it would defeatrepparttar 111799 purpose of refinancingrepparttar 111800 loan beforerepparttar 111801 penalty time is up. If you are get a mortgage loan with a poor credit score, and then make your mortgage payments on time, you are likely to be able to refinance in 6 months to 1 year for a much better interest rate. You don't want to hurt your chances of doing that with a heavy pre-payment penalty. Sometimes brokers will neglect to tell you about one. 2. What willrepparttar 111802 interest rate be? Sounds obvious, but lock down exact numbers. Don't settle for vague answers on this. Brokers may promise you a low interest rate, but as it gets closer, end up locking you in at a much higher rate. If you are doing a combo loan, 80/20,repparttar 111803 second mortgage may end up beingrepparttar 111804 one that has an interest rate that surprisingly jumps up as it gets close torepparttar 111805 loan closing. Try to negotiate a lower interest rate, especially if you are going through a mortgage broker, they will usually have some play in this area.

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