How People Get Robbed With A Pencil

New or used, you are going up against a company that has sold thousands, maybe tens of thousands of cars.

How many have you bought? Who do you think has the upper hand? I have seen people with great credit scores get their pockets picked on a purchase and trade-in. Whether you lack confidence because of poor credit or you are simply unaware of dealer tactics, expect to be fleeced.

You will probably overpay on your purchase, get taken advantage of on your trade in, and will overpay in the neighborhood of $150 per month on your auto loan. Why?  The car lots goal is to give you as little as possible for your trade in and make you pay as much as possible for the car you are buying.

It is much easier to make you think wrong is right when you do not have confidence in your credit.

Most people have the attitude that the car lot is doing them a favor, and they will make a better deal next time. Next time always comes, but rarely do people do better on the trade in, purchase, or great interest rate.

Keeping a high interest loan for the full loan term, because you are a few thousand upside down on the auto loan.  Car owners often talk to the wrong people when it comes to re-financing or lowering an auto loan interest rate.

If you have legitimate bad debt and make poor settlement offers – on charged off credit cards, repossessions or medical collections – These are very shame filled situations caused by medical emergencies, job loss, divorce, or just bad decision making.

People are ashamed, so they don’t ask for help.

I don’t care how, or what they threaten you with, they can’t take money you don’t have. They cannot take an amount of money that will cause you not to be able to maintain your household unless you permit them

Having legitimate bad debt and ignoring the situation(s) – Not opening your mail or ignoring calls from debt collectors can eventually lead to a default judgment.

Once a judgment is entered against you, one of the consequences is potentially garnished wages.

Your Human Resources department will find out before you do. They will notify you that a certain amount of money will be taken out of your check each month.

Garnishments leave you with two options; accept it or fight back.

Bad advice is free and plentiful.

Have you ever noticed that people get upset if you don’t believe their version of the truth, even if it is wrong? I can’t tell you how many people I have run into that could have easily been out of their low credit situations years before I met them.

I talked to one lady who said she learned more from me about credit and credit management in 10 minutes than she did in 2 years and almost $2,000 spent with a credit law firm.

Higher credit scores mean lower rates and fees, period.

Their is no scenario were you would have a better loan if your scores were lower.

• Having higher credit scores helps every lending situation. Partially rebuilding your credit or thinking that just getting bad credit deleted is not productive.
• Thinking their is a waiting period to start rebuilding your credit after a bankruptcy, foreclosure or repossession is not productive.
• Thinking that some imaginary penance must be served for financial mishaps is utter-nonsense.

Good credit adds points. Bad credit takes points.

You can have 700-credit score six months from the date of discharge from Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

You can buy a house via FHA, VA, USDA two years from the date of discharge from Chapter 7 Bankruptcy if you didn’t have a house in your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

You can buy a house via FHA, VA, USDA three years from the date of discharge/house left your name from Chapter 7 Bankruptcy if you did have a house in you Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

You can have all the score building credit you need to push your scores to 800 and beyond and pay less than $5 per month in total interest.

It is not a debt derby.

Do some consumer finance loans (1 step above payday or title pawn) report to at least one credit bureau? Yes, some do report your account information. This is the least productive and most expensive way to rebuild your credit.

I have seen people being duped into keeping consumer finance loans open for years; constantly refinancing them, or open one after the other closes. Some people have pages of consumer finance loans on their credit report. These loans cost hundreds of dollars in interest every year and hurt your score and make lenders question your decision making.

Too many consumer finance loans, even those paid on time, can hurt your credit score and good standing with potential lenders.

The person you are dealing with may not be very good at their job. Think about it.

Is everyone at your workplace equally competent? Are there a handful of people at your work that you can trust with any situation?  Are there people in your work or personal circles that you avoid at all cost when it comes to asking for advice or expertise? Why would it be different at a creditor or collectors office?

Two things can make life infinitely harder when it comes to dealing with creditors, collection agencies, cable, college registration, making final arrangements for a loved one, eating low carb etc.

Number one – most people are looking for the answer they are looking for, they are not looking for the truth.

Number two – they assume the person they are talking too is an expert.