By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO, MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs.

Graham Doessel is the founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs – Australia and New Zealand’s leading credit rating repair specialists.

Graham’s origins are in finance, and he formed/owned the award-winning non-conforming brokerage “Mortgage Now.”

Graham is a consistent spokesperson in the media for credit reporting issues in Australia and New Zealand.

MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs, now in its fourth year of operation, has recorded an impressive track record of up to 91.7% rate of removal of inconsistent or inaccurate negative data from the Australian and New Zealand credit reports of both consumers and commercial entities.

MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs uses a fee-for-service business payment model, but recognises that a no-win no-fee business model works for some as well.

Executive Summary

“It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.” Nothing could be truer for this time in the credit rating repair industry –we are at a turning point.

Consumer demand in recent years has demonstrated the true value of third party credit rating repair.

Unfortunately much of the consumer recognition has been lost from a credibility standpoint under a wave of confusion over the credit rating repair industry’s customer business payment models.

I investigate the two customer payment business models current in the credit rating repair industry, ‘fee-for-service’ and ‘no-win no-fee’ payments.

The fee-for-service business payment model, by its very nature is more transparent, and applies principles which are in the best interest of the consumer – for these reasons:

Upfront fees give the consumer more reassurance they will be told what they are going to get, how much it will cost, and because money has changed hands – the credit rating repairer will be bound to deliver what they have promised.

This model allows the credit rating repairer to give better service to the consumer, through the increased level of commitment by the consumer.

The introduction of a refundable assessment fee takes the benefits of fee-for-service to another level – by assuring those that enter into this business payment model are refunded any monies should they not proceed beyond the assessment stage of credit rating repair.

The difficulty in a fee-for-service model is its restriction on consumers who can’t afford upfront payment, and can’t borrow due to a bad credit rating. At the same time, the fee-for-service credit rating repairer would likely impose less ‘defaults’ on consumer credit files.

In contrast the win no fee business payment model has some significant disadvantages for consumers – particularly where the disclosure of fees and charges are concerned.

Extra costs; and hidden costs dumped on consumers regardless of their success in credit rating repair can lead to confusion and anger over fees and charges.

There is also the potential to skip vital steps in assessment which can lead to an inadequate volume of information prior to the engagement of credit repair – potentially leading to promises of credit repair not based in fact.

Furthermore, should non-payment arise, the company may be forced to place defaults on credit files– a woeful situation that no credit rating repairer wishes to be in.

Despite the disadvantages, the no-win no-fee business payment model has merit due to the ability to help those people who otherwise could not afford credit repair.

In deciding which customer business payment model to adopt for the credit rating repair industry, I address other professions where these debates have occurred.

The financial planning industry is on the cusp of streamlining a fee-for-service payment model across the entire financial planning sector. This has been in response to demand for better transparency to combat criticism of conflict of interest – and uses a ‘best interest’ approach.

This consumer ‘best interest’ approach has strong merit when constructing any best practice customer payment model in the credit rating repair industry.

In the legal arena, the no-win no-fee model popular in personal injury claims has been criticised for misleading advertising and hidden costs, something which the credit rating repair industry should keep in mind when making any reforms.

With both business models having merits for credit rating repair, a number of recommendations across the board on both models would need to be instigated to create a level playing field for consumers.

These include refundable upfront fees plus full disclosure of all fees, charges, terms and conditions on advertising. These changes make customer payments fair and simple to understand.

These best practice reforms to business payment models would create transparency and credibility and would vastly contribute to providing a valid place for credit rating repair in Australasia’s credit reporting landscape in the future.

Credit Rating Repair Customer Costs – A Tale of Two Business Models

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way,” from Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities.

The credit rating repair industry is on the cusp of revolution.

Never before has there been greater demand for credit rating repair, to the point where the market seems flooded with choice for credit rating repair companies. Despite legislation allowing for credit file inconsistencies to be remedied with creditors, consumers are coming to us as credit rating repairers in droves.

But with popularity inevitably comes criticism – and most of it rests with fees and charges.

In the current landscape of professional credit rating repair in Australia there is a great variance in the type and style of customer payment business models offered to consumers.

This has resulted in consumers being unsure what service they are getting for what amount. For this reason they can find it hard to determine which model is better for their specific needs.

The main two payment business models are ‘fee-for-service’ and ‘no-win no-fee’ payments. Both have merit for consumers.

In this paper, I examine these structures in detail, and look at the potential benefits and disadvantages for consumers.

Criticism of the Credit Rating Repair Industry

Until now, the credit rating repair industry has been dismissed and sometimes criticised by key government and related industry bodies.

Some of the criticism of the credit rating repair industry has come from credit rating repair companies charging for providing a copy of a consumer credit report – a service which is free for consumers under Australian credit reporting legislation.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) website advises consumers to avoid debt solution companies.[i]

“Be wary of ‘debt solution’ companies that claim they can ‘improve’ your credit report, especially those that charge fees for services that credit reporting agencies provide for free. In most cases, default listings and other information about your credit history cannot be removed from a report unless it is proven to be wrong,” the ACCC advises.

Credit reporting agency, Dun & Bradstreet issued a release to the media on this issue in 2010 ‘Consumers should be wary of misleading credit report offers’.^[ii]

It said a general lack of knowledge on Australia’s credit reporting system meant many consumers pay third parties to obtain a copy of their personal credit report on their behalf.

“Consumers certainly shouldn’t be paying a third party for access to something they are entitled to for free,” Dun & Bradstreet CEO Christine Christian said.

The practice of charging consumers for free credit reports tarnishes the industry, and contributes to inferences such as this in the same release:

“Dun & Bradstreet urges consumers to think carefully about these services arguing that not only are the third party fees unnecessary but promises to remove adverse events are often unfulfilled. Instead consumers should contact regulated credit reporting agencies directly to obtain a copy of their report and if they believe it contains any errors they can discuss that with the agency at no charge. If consumers do feel they need third party advice they should seek assistance from an independent financial counsellor or advisor,” Dun & Bradstreet advised.

I propose both payment structures should be required to openly provide a free credit report service, as per credit reporting legislation. However they would need to pass on extra costs credit reporting agencies charge for urgent delivery of credit reports.

There are some credit rating repair companies who do not advertise their fees and charges or their terms and conditions. This may also contribute to confusion and dissatisfaction by outsiders.

I see great merit in having all fees, charges and related terms and conditions published on the credit rating repair company’s website, so that consumers could have a fair means of determining which credit rating repair company is right for them.

What is a Fee-for-service Business Payment Model?

‘Fee-for-service’ in the credit rating repair industry, means a fixed amount charged to a client for an agreed level of service. This is charged based on the level of service and or performance.

This means that the fee structure is provided to the client up front, and as the client approaches each stage of service, the fee for that service will be due.

For example, there may be an initial assessment fee and the rest payable in instalments prior to or following the removal of individual credit file listings.

Pros of the Fee-for-service Business Payment Model

The advantages to a fee-for-service model actually arise from the basic act of a consumer making payment to a credit rating repair company based on an intended service prior to engaging in the service.

Upfront fees prior to service allow the credit rating repair company to be clear to the consumer on what service they will be providing, what charges the consumer will be responsible for and when those charges will be due.

The consumer is then making an informed decision on engaging a credit repairer based on knowledge of all the facts.

They are aware upfront what they will be paying for and why – prior to proceeding with each stage of credit rating repair – with no hidden surprises.

Greater transparency of all costs would be fairer to the consumer, and promote a greater understanding from outside the industry as to what credit rating repair involves.

The advantage of a more transparent consumer-credit rating repairer relationship through full disclosure of all fees and charges via the fee-for-service business payment model can be further enhanced by the introduction of a refundable assessment fee.

This refundable assessment fee would allow the credit rating repairer to assess, based on a good compilation of information, the client’s suitability for credit rating repair. This would mean only clients who are highly likely to have success with their credit rating repair would proceed to a stage where they are paying non-refundable costs, and those considered unsuitable for credit rating repair would have their assessment fee refunded.

It would also allow clients to cancel the credit rating repair services at this early stage if they decided they didn’t want to proceed with repairing their credit rating.

This refundable assessment fee suits the credit rating repair industry framework. There are many stages performed by the credit rating repairer in determining suitability for credit rating repair, and the initial review and analysis of a consumer’s credit file and documentation from creditors – although does not guarantee success, allows for a high determination of likely success.

The other option to a refundable assessment fee in a fee-for-service business payment model could include obtaining authorisation for the payment of services, but not actually charging the client any fees until they are determined to be likely to have success with repairing their credit rating.

The other major advantages in upfront payment in a fee-for-service business payment model arise from the greater monetary security provided to the credit rating repairer by the client. This has advantages for both consumer and credit rating repairer.

A monetary commitment gives the credit rating repairer a greater ability to:

1. Perform a lengthy investigation into the suitability of the consumer for credit rating repair, delivering a greater assurance to the client of the likelihood that their file will be repaired based on evidence.

2. Perform the service for its duration in the best interests of the consumer. By the consumer engaging the credit rating repairer with a monetary ‘consideration’ the engagement becomes a binding contract. The credit rating repair company then has a moral, legal and ethical obligation to do the job of credit rating repair to the best of their ability. This would mean exploring all options open to the consumer for that service, regardless of the length of time working on the credit file.

This may contrast with a no-win no-fee payment model, as because no money has changed hands, it could become vague as to the obligation on the part of the credit rating repairer to do any specific work on the consumer’s credit file, for any length of time.

A fee-for-service business payment model with a non-refundable assessment fee effectively brings together the advantages of transparency and increased level of service from the credit rating repairer, with the advantage that after investigation, should the consumer be considered unlikely to ‘win’, they would have their money refunded and would not incur any costs whatsoever.

Cons of the Fee-for-service Business Payment Model

The disadvantage in the fee-for-service business payment model for the credit rating repairer is that some clients would not be able to engage their services because it requires upfront payment. Some consumers may need to borrow money to make the payments, and can’t borrow due to bad credit history. So some people could be excluded.

However it does mean that within the fee-for-service business payment model there would be lower instances of consumers being defaulted due to non-payment of credit repair services because all monies have already been accounted for.

The Fee-for-service Business Payment Model is the Model I Adopted
For MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs

After careful consideration of both models, I decided my credit rating repair company, MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs, should adopt the fee-for-service customer business payment model as the benefits for the business allowed me to pass on more benefits to consumers.

This business model allows upfront payments, due in stages, with the first stage of fees fully refundable should the client not be considered suitable for credit rating repair.

MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs advertise all fees and charges, terms and conditions on the website and prior to engaging consumers in any credit rating repair. This allows for a more open and transparent relationship with customers at all stages.

The fee-for-service business payment model allows MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs to limit the charge to the client on a ‘per negative listing’ basis. This is regardless of the dollar amount of the default or the time invested to remove the default.

In my experience, fee-for-service presents the credit rating repairer with a responsibility to work on the credit file to the enth degree most importantly because the credit rating repairer has been ‘employed’ by the client to work on their credit file. They will continue to do so, regardless of how long it takes or how difficult a process it may turn out to be.

Individual cases can remain open for seemingly indeterminate periods – MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs recently worked on a client’s credit file for 11 months before we were able to remove the default. The case for credit rating repair remained open until MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs found a solution to the client’s problem, and the listing was eventually removed.

Additionally, using fee-for-service allows MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs to re-open cases which we had previously considered closed if new evidence presents itself.

What Is A No-win no-fee Business Payment Model?

‘No-win no-fee’ cost agreements are also known as conditional cost agreements. No-win no-fee broadly means that the client only pays credit rating repair costs if their claim is successful.

The definition of a “successful claim” may vary between credit rating repairers. Ideally a best practice scenario should be where a successful claim is defined as a negative listing removed from the client’s credit file.

For example, a credit rating repairer charges no money up front to accept the application. The client will be advised quite early on whether the company is prepared to proceed with the credit rating repair, and payment is requested on completion of negative listing removal.

Other versions of no-win no-fee include no application or assessment fee, but charges incurred once clients proceed past this initial stage. The client can’t disband services without paying these fees.

It also includes business payment models where there are no fees unless the negative listings are removed, but the client incurs administration costs during the process regardless of success.

Cons of the No-win no-fee Business Payment Model

Many of the disadvantages to a no-win no-fee payment model come from the charges and conditions that are not disclosed to the consumer prior to engaging credit rating repair.

Some firms could hide behind their “no-win no-fee” scheme and not disclose or advertise their terms and conditions or other fees and charges not related to the actual service, with consumers incurring ‘hidden costs’ they have no ability to pay for.

This may include extra charges for: obtaining a copy of the credit report; fractured charges based on amounts of negative listings; preparation of documentation and ‘administration’ fees.

For instance, some of our research suggests some companies charge an ‘administration’ charge for opening a file on a client, which is due regardless of the credit rating repairer’s success.

In addition, some companies charge as much as $1800 per listing removal. In these instances what some may consider the overcharging of consumers negates in my opinion, any benefit the client may have received from a no-win no-fee payment model.

The inclusion of ‘hidden’ fees of this type could potentially be misleading to the consumer – particularly if they are charged regardless of the company’s success in repairing the credit rating.

Also, consumers may not be aware that some no-win no-fee credit rating repairers sometimes charge more at the end for delivering that service

These disadvantages to no-win no-fee credit rating repair could be minimised if all fees and charges, terms and conditions were advertised by the company on the website or in other brochures so that informed decisions can be made.

In a nutshell, the no-win no-fee credit rating repairer should make it known to consumers that they may incur some charges separate from the credit rating repair service which would be payable regardless of their success .

The other disadvantages come about due to the lack of monetary commitment from the consumer, which may not bring about the best level of ethics and service from the credit rating repair company.

When considering who may be suitable for credit rating repair, the no-win no-fee business payment model would have to ask:

“Which cases should we take on based on very little knowledge of the client?”

There are ‘cut and dried’ cases where very obvious credit file inconsistencies exist, and in these instances it would be easier to determine success in credit repair with only brief information. But in other cases much more information would be needed to make that determination.

The no-win no-fee credit rating repairer is then faced with a choice of how to handle it. Do they put in more work on the client prior to engaging official services of credit rating repair? Or do they take everyone on board, regardless of their likelihood of success?

In the first instance, credit rating repairers may have to refuse some cases due to the company not having enough documentation to make an accurate assessment of the case – the case could be considered too big a ‘risk’ to take on without more evidence.

Or alternatively, some companies could take on everyone they come across. But this could leave a great volume of consumers with extra fees and charges owing should their credit repair not be successful. In this instance I would consider the term ‘no-win no-fee’ technically untrue.

Likewise, during the course of the agreement, having no money change hands means there can be vagueness as to what obligation the no-win no-fee credit rating repairer is under to give a 100 per cent commitment to the repair case.

By the nature of no money changing hands – the consumer may not be able to force the credit rating repairer under the no-win no-fee business payment model to perform any specific service.  When extra fees are due at the end whether the repair is successful or not – there is a possibility that some credit repair companies could take advantage of the consumer, which would be highly unethical.

Also, there is the issue of what to do in instances that clients do not pay their credit repair bill.

Some no-win no-fee credit rating repairers also do a significant amount of work or all of the work on the credit file, prior to any payment.

Most would have to consider defaulting a client should issues of non- payment arise – inevitably negating the work the company has just done with the client’s credit file.

In contrast, fee-for-service payment models have less need to default clients due to non-payment of credit repair fees and charges, because the bulk of the fees have already been paid prior to engaging service.

Pros of the No-win no-fee Business Payment Model

An advantage to adopting a no-win no-fee business payment model, is the likelihood that more consumers will be able to access the service, due to the advantage of paying after service is completed.

For those consumers who cannot afford credit rating repair and cannot borrow money to pay for credit repair until their negative listings are removed, they can still test the waters on fixing their credit file.

For this reason it can have a place in any industry customer business payment model going forward but only with significant change to regulations to maintain the consumer’s best interests.

The Customer Payment Business Model in the Financial Planning Industry

In March 2004, the financial services industry experienced a transition of compulsory open disclosure of fees and charges by all advisers.

This was in response to criticism of commission-based fee structures as opposed to fee-for-service. Financial planners on commission-based fees were considered to be providing ‘biased’ advice due to getting a payment for promoting a certain product or investment.

In May 2009, the Financial Standard reported the Financial Planning Association (FPA) had recommended to the government that the standard remuneration model for advice be fee-for-service, citing that the “commission-based regime is unsustainable”.[iii]

The FPA submitted a consultation paper to the government outlining a host of policies. FPA chief executive Jo-Anne Bloch said the recommendations were designed to remove the stigma that financial planners are “product floggers” as the new fee regime should provide the public with advice that is free from the influence of product manufacturers.

Their proposed new model would allow consumers to compare the fees they are paying – something that many can’t do at the moment because of the complex combination of commission and direct payments employed by any given financial planning practice.

“If we don’t lead [the debate], the government most certainly will,” Ms Bloch said.

The Government has also responded with significant reforms to the provision of financial advice, as a response to the Inquiry into Financial Products and Services in Australia by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. These key reforms will apply from 1 July 2012.^[iv]

The Government’s response was guided by two overriding principles:

• financial advice must be in the client’s best interests – distortions to remuneration, which misalign the best interests of the client and the adviser, should be minimised; and

• in minimising these distortions, financial advice should not be put out of reach of those who would benefit from it.

Consumer watchdog, Choice recently wrote an article on ‘Demystifying financial advice ‘(26 September, 2011) on the benefits and challenges of the government’s introduction of these reforms.[v]

Choice believes the government could enhance legislation even further in order to ensure advisers have a bigger duty of care to demonstrate whether a conflict of interest does or doesn’t exist and identify how they will put the client’s interests first when it does.

“The providing entity (that is, the product-maker or fund manager that holds the financial services licence) should have a separate duty to ensure that personal advice provided by authorised representatives is in the client’s best interests and that those interests come before those of the provider,” Choice said.

This type of ‘client best interest’ philosophy should be the model adopted in the credit rating repair industry, regardless of the type of payment business model chosen by the firm. The credit rating repair industry should address what the key concerns for consumers could be, what their rights are, and then go on to ensure there is a framework in place to protect their rights in both advertising and implementing  customer business payment models.

As the FPA insisted when putting forward their own recommendations to the government on fee reform, ‘If we don’t lead the debate, they will’.

The Customer Payment Business Model in the Legal Industry

In the Legal arena, no-win no-fee policy relates most closely with Personal Injury proceedings.  This type of payment method works most effectively with those clients who have no money to pay for ongoing legal costs until they receive compensation for the matter in question.

This has parallels in the credit rating repair industry, because many consumers have no access to cash until their credit file has cleared.

What has been criticised in legal circles, is firms advertising ‘no-win no-fee’ policies, but ‘misleading’ clients by charging clients for other costs associated with the case regardless of the outcome of the case.

The Queensland Law Society’s Ethics Centre addresses the no-win no-fee policy as it relates to Personal Injury proceedings.[vi]

“In the case of Legal Practitioners Complaints Committee and Browne [2006] WASAT 201 the Western Australia State Administrative Tribunal found that the words “no compensation = no legal fees” was misleading and amounted to unprofessional conduct, as a member of the public may think they have no liability for any fees or costs, rather than just those of their solicitors. The Committee in this case also complained that the advertisement did not disclose that a client may have a liability to the law practice for fees and disbursements in the event that the law practice ceased to act for the client, although the Tribunal did not make a finding in relation to that.”

The Qld Law Society advises consumers on what their rights and obligations are in these personal injury cases:

“If you are unsuccessful in your claim for compensation then you do not need to pay your lawyers legal costs. You may be required to pay your lawyers disbursements that is, the cost of things such as interpreter’s fees, court fees, medical reports, expert fees and the like. This will depend on your agreement with your lawyer.

If you are unsuccessful in your claim you may also be required to pay the legal costs of the defendant. There is always the risk that if you are unsuccessful you will need to pay the other side legal costs but not your own,” it says.

In the credit rating repair industry, as with the legal industry there must be some open debate in view to defining regulations on no-win no-fee business payment model advertising.

The likelihood that consumers who are prompted to choose a no-win no-fee credit rating repairer because they are already struggling financially could be misled by false, vague or unclear advertising of cost and or terms and conditions is a scenario the credit rating repair industry should not wish to promote.

Recommendations for a Streamlined Customer Payment Business Model in the Credit Repair Industry

Both no-win no-fee and fee-for-service customer payment business models have merit in the credit rating repair industry, so long as:

a. the consumer is protected; and

b. there is full disclosure of all fees and charges, and terms and conditions prior to proceeding.

The type of fee structure adopted by credit repair companies will depend on the company’s individual business model.

A fee-for-service payment models should be required to include the following points:

• Full disclosure of terms and conditions;
• Full disclosure of when payments will be due;
• A fully refundable assessment fee with comprehensive success assessment; and
• Free copy of credit file to consumer.

Likewise, a no-win no-fee payment business payment model should be required to include:

• Full disclosure of terms and conditions;
• Full determination and disclosure of the company’s definition of a ‘win’ in credit rating repair;
• Full disclosure of when all payment will be due;
• Full disclosure of all fees and charges prior to credit repair agreement; and
• Free copy of credit file to consumer.

Summary

The biggest criticism of the credit rating repair industry is that professional credit rating repairers are seen to be charging fees for what consumers can technically do for themselves.

In reality, credit reporting can be a minefield for the individual to navigate. A good professional credit rating repairer can do much more for a consumer, and has a much greater chance of success, through knowledge of legislation and relationships with and ability to negotiate with creditors.

The fee-for-service business payment model has great merit for its transparency, providing clear instruction to the consumer of what service they will receive, and what they are paying for. It also allows the credit rating repairer to deliver a better service. But it restricts access to those who can’t afford it.

The no-win no-fee business payment model often has extra fees and charges – whether disclosed or otherwise, which make the term ‘no-win no-fee’ misleading. It also potentially minimises the level of service by the credit repairer due to the lack of commitment from the consumer. But it does have the advantage for consumers who don’t have access to money upfront for credit rating repair.

Therefore going forward, both models should be included in any type of regulated fee structure or recommendation for the credit repair industry.

What the industry must do across both models, is ensure that whatever business payment model a credit repair company adopts that all changes are in the ‘best interests’ of the consumer as has been the impetus from the financial planning industry.

Also, as in the legal arena – through its promotion and advertising, the credit rating repair industry should ensure consumers are offered a fair and easy means of product, cost and likely success comparison.

This greater transparency will allow the industry to focus on the real issues within credit reporting which have previously been hidden under a cloud of hearsay and confusion from outsiders.

It can be said, that the footsteps the credit rating repair industry leaves during this time will allow credit rating repairers to march forward, revolutionising credit reporting itself in Australasia.

More about the Author

Graham Doessel is the founder and CEO of Australasia’s leading credit rating repair specialist, MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs – now in its fourth year of operation.

Graham and MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs are proud to be a part of developing a self-regulating framework for the credit rating repair industry through the lead role in the formation of the Credit Repair Industry Association of Australasia (www.CRIAA.org.au).

These efforts in driving the formation of the CRIAA are motivated solely by the need for an industry body which can act as a catalyst to promote change in the credit repair industry and bring about a set of standards and a code of conduct for members, which will revolutionise the credit rating repair industry in Australia and New Zealand.

MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs is nominated for the 2012 Telstra Small Business Awards and the 2012 Start-Up Smart Awards.

Graham Doessel, Founder & CEO

About Graham Doessel

Graham Doessel is the founder and CEO of Australia’s leading professional credit repairer, MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs.

His life experience as both a broker and as a consumer at the wrong end of consumer credit reporting drove him to create MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs from the ground up.

His consistent championing for the rights of the consumer – the ‘little guy’ within the framework of credit and credit reporting has seen him become a frequent spokesperson for credit reporting issues in Australia and New Zealand.

Graham has also developed a best practice conduct for the credit repair industry with the development of the Credit Repair Industry Association of Australasia (CRIAA), of which he is an executive member.

Graham has in the meantime, built a very successful credit repair business with a past track record of up to 91.7% rate of removal of inconsistent or inaccurate negative data from Australian and New Zealand credit reports.

Graham grew up on a farm outside a very small country town in central South Western Queensland.

Born in the late 1960’s, he has experienced some turbulent financial times in his life so far.

He remembers having second-hand clothing as a kid and having to take on part-time work at a young age to earn pocket money.

Graham learnt early on the value of hard work, saving and frugality.

At 15, he left home and got his first job, with the railway in Gladstone. He remembers the excitement of independence and the great feeling of earning his own money.

After a couple of years in the railway, like many young people he found himself back at home with Mum.

Then his life seemingly took a turn for the worse. He was involved in a serious motorcycle accident which required lots of rehabilitation. Looking back, Graham describes this time in his life as a blessing in disguise.

He began working with his Uncle Fred back on the farm while he recuperated.  He says it was a hidden opportunity to learn new skills that he would continue to use all his life.

Once back on his feet again, Graham moved to Gayndah and then on to Bundaberg, where he began what was to be a long career in sales.

His first job was at the Don Pancho Beach Resort at Bargara, Near Bundaberg, showing people around the resort. Dressed in shorts and a t-shirt with white deck shoes, he says it was a fun and dynamic time where he learnt a lot about sales.

Then began what Graham describes as a quest to find himself in sales. His jobs included door-to-door selling, being the trainee assistant manager at a high profile motel, duty manager at a country pub, real estate salesperson, Foreman at a security manufacturing firm, security guard, selling land on an island, radio advertising, advertising rep and then graphic design.

Utilising his graphic design skill, it was at this point that Graham started his own business, a promotional company. The company was successful, even winning high end contracts for the likes of McDonalds Restaurants.

But this was where things started to come unstuck.

Like many other salespeople, he was good at talking, but not so good at the paperwork. This led him to bring in a mate who was good at paperwork.

Neil had run many companies himself and seemed successful…

But all he ended up being successful at was stealing $135,000 from Graham and his company over a four-month period. Most of the money was borrowed funds for expansion.

This meant Graham had to make repayments with no money to make them.

He sought legal advice and was told his only option was to declare bankruptcy.

Graham was gutted, but reluctantly took his advice. In the meantime, dissatisfied with the outcome, he also sought help from a different lawyer who completely debunked the first lawyer’s advice.

He rushed to attempt to have the bankruptcy halted or reversed, but it was no use. After to-ing and fro-ing with the authorities, he found he was indeed stuck in the bankruptcy until the end of the term (three years).

Graham says it was a dark time, where he felt completely disillusioned with the process and devastated at the hand he had been dealt.

So for those clients suffering with a bad credit rating – Graham has been where you’ve been.

Graham did learn a lot while he was bankrupt. He says one of the main things he learnt, was that there was no one out there to help. Or at least no one he could easily find.

The experience prompted him to change his career, and he retrained as a mortgage broker – and quite a successful one.

On 1 October 2003, with the assistance of a close friend, he started the company called Mortgage Power which then became Mortgage Now in 2004.

Over the next five years, Mortgage Now grew to be known as the largest exclusively nonconforming mortgage brokerage in Australia.

Mortgage Now was so successful they were placed as a finalist in the 2006 Telstra Business Awards.

Within the company there were many opportunities to help everyday people avoid the mistakes he had previously made himself.

It was whilst researching other non-bankruptcy options to develop plans to help other people in similar situations that he came across the concept of repairing bad credit.

The very hands-on approach to his mortgage business meant he got to learn the plight of many of his clients. He learnt that many had negative listings appearing on their credit file that shouldn’t have been there – that was stopping them getting a home loan at normal interest rates.

These people had been victims of the fall out of incorrect credit reporting – and were paying dearly for it.

He was happy to help them get a non-conforming loan, but he still remembers feeling as if they had been dealt a very unfair blow – especially when he worked out how much more in interest they would end up paying.

Many of the clients he spoke to had been unaware they had ‘bad credit’ until they applied for a loan with a lender and were refused.

Many had spoken to the credit reporting agencies and the creditors about the mistakes and were told they could mark the listing as paid, but couldn’t remove the listing.

The clients were coming to Graham because their ‘paid’ listings were not enough to see them get a normal home loan at competitive interest rates.

He continued to help these people into a loan when they were refused elsewhere. A loan he knew first-hand they could service as they didn’t really have a bad credit history – it was a mistake.

Then one day he got some debilitating news at the busiest time in his career….he was diagnosed with the big C.

Up to his ears in work – he was forced to step back from it all and recover his health once again.

At the time it all seemed unfathomable, but in hindsight this gave him the ability to see what was really going on.

Funnily, life can be like that.

Whilst Graham was getting treatment for cancer, he was also faced with some other words – GFC.

The Global Financial Crisis in 2008 hit all brokers hard, not the least the non-conforming market. Sub-prime lenders were folding at a rate of knots – and this meant Mortgage Now was suddenly struggling to find lenders.

At this time he had even more clients, but had no facilities or lenders to help them.

In the wake of it all, when faced with a problem Graham found a solution.

He remembered his thousands of clients who were faced with bad credit that shouldn’t have been there.

Graham went back to basics, and found out how these clients could be helped.

After extensive studying of Australian credit reporting legislation he was able to come up with a framework for the solution to credit rating errors.

It was now possible to work on behalf of a client and actually repair their credit rating – instructing creditors to remove negative listings where they were listed incorrectly, unfairly or in error.

And MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs was born.

Today, Graham is enjoying the great success MyCRA has brought him with the development of a massive national team run from his Brisbane office.

As well as his regular speaking engagements he is also an active executive member of the Credit Repair Industry of Australasia (CRIAA), has interests in a direct debit service firm, and is Chairman of The NOW Foundation – raising awareness for male health issues and specifically, men’s cancers.

Graham is happily married to his lovely wife, Helen and they have three children, Cory, Joel and Stephanie. They have also taken in two foster children.

He looks forward to the future of helping more clients at a faster rate recover their financial freedom.

He is also excited about the concept of lifting the lid on credit repair, and showing people how they can repair their own credit rating themselves, with the introduction of a DIY Credit Rating Repair Kit to the MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs client services.

Despite giving away some industry ‘secrets’ Graham believes there is so much more a professional credit repairer can do for consumers, in terms of negotiation, relationships and knowledge of legislation which add value for individuals looking to repair their bad credit rating.

DODGY credit rating repair websites are ripping off consumers and giving the credit file repair industry a bad name, according to GRAHAM DOESSEL from credit file repair firm MY CRA.

He warns that some suspect credit repair companies are on the loose scamming consumers via websites and SPAM email, and advises people to do their homework before giving anyone their personal information online.

“With the recent credit crisis, a whole host of new companies have sprung up offering to help people repair their credit history. Many, but not all of those firms online necessarily have the skills needed to do the job of credit file repair, but are taking money from people anyway” he says.

This follows finance expert PAUL CLITHEROE’S interview about credit ratings with Kerri-Ann Kennerley on her Channel 9 show last week. He advises people not to go through websites which offer to fix your credit history in order to clear defaults.

“Don’t go to websites saying ‘don’t you worry about a thing we’ll help you’. They’ll help you all right – they’ll help themselves to your money” Mr CLITHEROE says.

He advises consumers to deal directly with the main credit agencies and to not use an outside source to clear defaults on your credit rating.

On this second point, Mr DOESSEL disagrees “It is not as cut and dried as Mr CLITHEROE says. There is a real need for credit file repairers under the current system as the process can be fraught with difficulties. In most cases, a client can do more damage than good by not understanding the process fully, almost like trying to defend themselves in court” he says.  

He says in the majority of cases he sees of people attempting to remove the default themselves, the creditor flatly refuses and says that the best they can do is to mark the listing as paid (if it’s been paid). The creditor will then explain to the client that defaults DONT EVER get removed.  

“Right now any default will stop you obtaining a home loan with most lenders.  In fact at the moment, even having a few ‘credit enquiries’ on your credit file can be enough for an automatic decline, even if you have no defaults. So having a listing marked as paid may not be sufficient to obtain credit in this market” Mr DOESSEL says.

Mr DOESSEL says a reputable credit file repairer would have processes that allow them to access the information without initially alerting the creditors of their intentions. This then allows them to work with the file and having knowledge of current legislation – enable them to actually remove the default.

How do consumers know what type of credit repairer they are dealing with?  Here are ten checks that are necessary to make before giving out any personal information:

1. Check up on ASIC’S ‘fido’ website – they post warnings of the latest scams
2. Check the company is Australian based in Australia
3. Check they publish their street address and verify it
4. Can they be called on a direct phone number?
5. Do they publish their success rate?
6. What are their costs?
7. Are you sure precisely what service you are getting for your money?
8. Do a little research on the principles of the business
9. Does the company allow checks with a third person? Can you call a past client?
10. Does someone recommend them? Finance brokers or past clients?

Mr DOESSEL is in the process of developing a membership based association which would go a long way in controlling and regulating the industry. This would then allow consumers to check with this association before they deal with any credit rating repair firm.

“Hopefully a self-regulating body will allow consumers to feel comfortable to use credit file repairers – sorting the good from the bad in one easy step” he says.

Please contact:

Graham Doessel       http://www.mycra.com.au/

246 Stafford Road, STAFFORD QLD.

Ph: 07 3613 9709       

Business Hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday (excluding Qld Public Holidays)

Link to Morning Show interview:

http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/credit-rating/xo3gmhi

                                                            ###

            About MyCRA.com.au

MyCRA.com.au is 100% Australian owned and operated and we are based in Stafford, a northern suburb of Brisbane in Queensland.

My CRA was developed for the sole purpose of giving clients access and ability to work with their Credit File.   This is in order to give them the best chance of getting approval, getting a lower interest rate or just to reduce the upfront fees that can be associated with obtaining credit

We have more than 30 years combined experience in working with and helping clients with their credit files. Not only are we the fastest in getting access to credit files, we are also the fastest known credit file repair agency in Australia. We can often remove judgements in as little as 3 days.  

It’s shocking, but more than 21,917 people per day are reporting known cases of Identity Theft, and that’s only the ones that are discovered and reported..

The scary thing is that most people only find out once the damage (Defaults and judgments from loans they know nothing about) is done.

It’s a funny thing, it even took my wife some time to  fully understand the ramifications of identity theft.

We had a shredder in my home office and more often than not it sat there idle, and documents with identifying information was simply thrown in the bin.

Studies show that if you have been targeted for identity theft, the individuals or gang targeting you will come back to your rubbish bin over and over again until they get all the information they need.

The first time, they might only get, say, a phone bill. The phone bill will have your name, your address, and of course your phone number.

The next time, it might be an electricity bill. This again will have your name, your home address, and your e

lectricity account number.

The next time they might get a credit card bill. The credit card bill will most likely have your credit card number and your customer ID number.

Let’s quickly review what they have so far:

• your name
• your address
• your telephone number
• your electricity account number
• your credit card number
• your credit card customer reference ID

And if you’re unlucky, your telephone bill will give them a list of all the people you like to call.

Do you feel violated yet?

Now they know a little bit about you, and now it’s time to look you up on the Internet. The first three places they will look are:

1. Facebook
2. Youtube
3. MySpace

Let’s look at Facebook.

Because they have your basic details, it’s not hard to do a search on Facebook to see if you are a registered Facebook user.

If they find you there, they can usually see quite quickly where you are from, any relatives, if you or any of your family have used any of the ‘friends’ or ‘family’ or ‘family tree’ type apps, they might get to see other identifying information like your Mums maiden name (which is one of the key ID requests for the banks) or they can get your Date of birth, your first school etc. etc. etc.

Before too long, these people have a full list of all of your identifying information that will allow them to open bank accounts in your name, get a ‘replacement’ copy of your drivers license, get a new medicare card and so much more.

If you have a facebook account, you should now be very scared, especially if you have your date of birth displayed.

So, what are the 7 things to avoid becoming the victim of Identity Theft?

1. Buy a cross cut shredder
2. Shred every bit of information with your details on it.
3. DO NOT put personal Information on social networking sites
4. Do not click on links in emails from ‘banks’ saying you have to log in
5. Always log in to your banks website by typing the address into the web browser.
6. Always insist on Identifying the person on the phone who ‘claims’ to be from the bank
7. Dont leave indentity type documents in your car (cars get broken in to every day)

I know it is scary but with more than $3,000,000,000.00 (Thats 3 Billion) in lost revenue from Identuity theft every year in Australia alone, its too big a risk.

Go and buy a cheap shredder, you can even get hand operated ones from the $2 shops, just get one and never throw out anything that can identify you again.

For more information on coming back from Identity Theft or removing defaults from your credit file, visit www.mycra.com.au/repair or call (Austraila) 07 3613 9709

This has been Graham Doessel and this is my comment

By Graham Doessel

Tonight on Channel 7 News, it was reported that more than $3,000,000,000 (Three Billion Dollars) was the loss due to Identity theft in Australia last year.

That is almost $14 lost for every man woman and child in Australia today.

To watch this compelling 1:33 minute video, click below

For more on what you can do to protect yourself from Identity Theft, visit www.mycra.com.au

If you have bad credit and need a loan, visit www.mortgagenow.com.au

This has been Graham Doessel and this has been my comment

Identity theft is on the rise with one in five Australians likely to, or already being victim of credit related fraud including identity theft.

Recently a report was commissioned that outlined the depth of the Identity Theft problem in Australia and the figures are alarming.

There was more than $2 billion lost in identity theft related crimes in 2005.  We are awaiting more recent figures but for now the outlook is not pretty…

This is a warning to every Australian, internet user or not, to be careful with their private and personal information.

Too many inocent Aussies are being ripped of without even knowing about it until it is far too late..

There were approx. 7% or 1.2 Million Australains falling victim of personal mail theft and that is frightening, as often your mail will contain enough information to use your identity to apply for credit cards, get ‘replacement’ identification or even remortgage your home..

“Credit card crime is especially prevalent, with almost 10% of Australians surveyed falling victim to someone either stealing or skimming their credit card. People aged from 25 to 49 years are the most impacted by mail theft.” it was recently stated.

Your Credit File is like your ‘Credit Passport’ and should be treated with as much respect.  You should always know what is on your credit file and why it is there.

MyCra.com.au offers a paid service where clients can get a copy of their credit file within 3 business hours and have their credit files repaired upon review.

This has been Graham Doessel and this has been my comment

You can reach Graham Doessel at (Aust) 1300 667 239, or at www.mortgagenow.com.au

Graham is the founder and CEO of Mortgage Now, Pro Legal (www.prolegal.net.au) and has involvement in a number of charities and other associated businesss, all designed to give you a hand when you’re in trouble.

Identity theft is of major concern to the Australian Federal Government and it should be of concern to you too…

Why?

Because there was more than $2,000,000,000 (two billion dollars) in known losses caused by Identity Theft in 2005 alone.

This has risen dramatically since then and is likely to continue to rise until average everyday people start to protect their privacy.

There are a number of things you can do initially to lessen the likelyhood of you becoming a target of Identity Theft:

• Completely destroy any information that may have your personal details on it (Before it’s thrown away) – such as electricity or phone bills, credit card statements, bank statements, rates notices etc.
• Don’t give out personal information by email or on social networking sites unless you are sure of the identity of the person at the other end of the conversation.
• Never give out personal information over MSN and other Chat Programs as the security of these types of services has been breached a number of times.
• Check your accounts and records carefully for anything that you don’t remember doing, like a few ‘small’ transactions on your credit card (these can often be ‘test’ charges)
• When disposing of personal information (Like statements and bills) make sure they are shredded, burnt, cut up into tiny pieces or in some way completely destroyed to ensure the information can not be ‘found’ in your rubbish.

One quick way to see if you might have been targeted for possible Identity Theft is to get an up to date copy of your credit file.

There are a number of agencies out there that will supply you with a copy of your credit file from within one day to 2 weeks.  There is also one known firm that will guarantee you a copy of your credit file in less than 3 business hours.  That firm is MyCra.com.au

Once you have a copy of your credit file, have a look through and make sure you personally have made each and every application for credit that is listed on your credit file.
And YES, every time you make an application for a credit card, mobile phone, electricity account, home phone, interest free purchase or any other kind of finance, it will be listed and recorded on your credit file.

If there are any unknown applications or enquiries, you should begin the process to find out ‘what the heck is going on’.

There are a number of resources available that you might like to look at:

• Consumer Affairs Division – Department of the Treasury   (http://www.ecommerce.treasury.gov.au/)

• Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs   (http://www.consumer.gov.au/)

• Net Alert    (http://www.netalert.net.au)

• Australasian Centre for Policing Research    (http://acpr.gov.au)

Further information and reading can also be found at www.MyCra.com.au

This video goes for a little over an hour but is a must see if you are interested in the next big thing to come from Google.

This will replace email, MSN and other hosted solutions all in one….

I watched and thisk it is super cool and reccommend you all watch it as soon as you can.

I will be implimenting Google Wave as soon as I can (on my websites) to make communication with my friends, family and clients a whole lot easier.

Please let me know what you think once you have watched as well.

Until next time, continue to enjoy…..

…..yourself.

Graham Doessel can be contacted at Mortgage Now, 246 Stafford Road, Stafford, Qld.  4053 | Telephone 1300 667 239 | www.mortgagenow.com.au | info@mortgagenow.com.au

Mortgage Now is Australias largest exclusivly nonconforming mortgage broker and has been placed as a finalist in the Australian Mortgage Awards Best Broker of The Year (nonconforming) for 2008 and again in 2009.  In 2006 Mortgage Now was placed as a finalist in the Telstra Business of the Year Awards.

Be Aware, If You Have A Facebook Account, You Might Be Next.. Be Careful..

The following story was copied from and belongs to:

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/security/robbed-by-facebooks-enemy-in-the-camp-20090908-ff5q.html

Robbed by Facebook’s enemy in the camp

Natasha Cann … victim of a Facebook scam.

Natasha Cann endured the Father’s Day from hell on Sunday when hackers broke into her Facebook account and proceeded to scam her closest friends out of significant amounts of money.

The 34-year-old professional who works for BHP Billiton in South Australia – and used to work in IT for the military – thought her account was locked down but the painful reality hit her on Sunday night when a friend phoned her from Singapore.

The friend had just received a Facebook message, purportedly from Cann, saying she had been seriously assaulted and robbed at gunpoint in London and urgently needed money to get home.

The message, which was sent to all of Cann’s 400 friends, asked for an initial amount of $10,000, which had to be wired in cash as soon as possible to a Western Union account.

“They were alleging that I only had my passport on me and that I couldn’t get to a bank or anything – that Western Union would be the only way,” a distraught Cann said in a phone interview.

Cann immediately contacted Facebook asking it to disable her account but Facebook only got around to doing it about 12 hours later, by which time one of Cann’s friends in Western Australia had already transferred $1000 to the scammers.

Cann tried publishing warning messages on her Facebook wall from her partner’s account before her account was disabled but these were quickly blocked by the scammers, who changed her password and the email address linked to her account.

She said she had received just 11 calls from friends about the matter and is worried about how many others had sent money to the scammers.

Furthermore, the scammers could now use the personal details gleaned from her friends’ pages to conduct targeted attacks on them.

Since Facebook is her main avenue for contact with a lot of her far-flung friends, she didn’t have email addresses or phone numbers that she could use to warn most of them.

“It’s horrendous in that it’s people I know and that I care for who could just be scammed out of a great deal of money – they’re preying on people’s good nature and good intent to make sure that I’m OK,” said Cann.

“The chap that rang from Singapore was about to jump on a plane to London and we have friends in Greece that were about to fly over as well.”

The scammers even contacted the friend who had given the $1000, saying the money wasn’t enough and that more was necessary.

Cann is frustrated that Facebook does not provide contact numbers for users to call in these situations and took so long to respond to her emails.

She believes Facebook should have contacted her friends quickly, telling them her account had been compromised and at the very least provided an online system for her to disable her account instantly using a secret question or other security measure.

Cann filed a report with South Australian Police yesterday but is not hopeful that they will be able to do anything to bring the overseas scammers to justice.

Sean Richmond, senior technology consultant at the security firm Sophos, said Cann’s story was “not terribly uncommon”.

He said Facebook was in a tricky position because introducing new security measures allowing people to disable their accounts instantly in the event of an attack could simply open up a new avenue for hackers.

But Richmond said that, unlike banks, who cover customers’ losses to credit-card fraud, Facebook does not suffer financial penalties when its users are defrauded.

“Facebook has not got a whole lot of incentive to do things super fast because they’re not the ones that are suffering,” he said.

Facebook would not comment on the specific issues and suggestions raised by Cann. Instead, it provided a generic statement pointing people to its security page and an email address for users to report abuse.

Until next time, continue to enjoy…..

…..Good Things

Graham Doessel can be contacted at Mortgage Now, 246 Stafford Road, Stafford, Qld.  4053 | Telephone 1300 667 239 | www.mortgagenow.com.au | info@mortgagenow.com.au

Mortgage Now is Australias largest exclusivly nonconforming mortgage broker and has been placed as a finalist in the Australian Mortgage Awards Best Broker of The Year (nonconforming) for 2008 and again in 2009.  In 2006 Mortgage Now was placed as a finalist in the Telstra Business of the Year Awards.

The word on the street is that the Reserve Bank will raise Australian Interest Rates by ½ of one percent before Christmas this year.

A lot of people may be thinking that now is the time to fix… before it goes up too much. And I agree that it makes sense on the surface of it… Until you dig a little deeper.

If you have a look, you may notice that fixed rates are as much as 2 full percentage points higher that variable rates.

The 2% difference will cost you an additional $583 per month on a $350,000 home loan or $166 per month on every $100,000 (of Mortgage you have).

So, what to do?

Here’s something to think about..

If interest rates go up at ¼ of a percent every 3 month, then in 2 years, the variable interest rates will catch up to the current fixed rates.  What will it have cost or saved you?

I have done up a table showing the differences between the variable rates with the rate rise every 3 months starting in December.  The difference is more than $7000 over the 2 years or an average of an additional $328 each and every month for the next 2 years…

(No one knows when the rates are going to go up and the table below is for illustration purposes only)

If you keep this going to see the fixed Rate ’V’ Variable Rate break even point, you will see that it is December 2013 before the extra you are paying on a fixed rate home loan actually catches up…

Now, I like to think I know my market (and I do) but who knows what the Government will do? Do you?

I know that I personally will be staying on a variable rate with my home loan.

Keep in mind also, that if you want to sell your home or refinance it (while still in the fixed term mortgage), you will have an awful experience when you want to ‘break’ the fixed rate term agreement and it could cost you $thousands in break fees.

Please give it some serious thought before you decide to ‘fix’ your home loan.

If you would like to discuss your mortgage, Please call me (or my team) on 1300 667 239 for a free no obligation chat.

Until next time, continue to enjoy…..

…..Good Things

Graham Doessel can be contacted at Mortgage Now, 246 Stafford Road, Stafford, Qld.  4053 | Telephone 1300 667 239 | www.mortgagenow.com.au | info@mortgagenow.com.au

Mortgage Now is Australias largest exclusivly nonconforming mortgage broker and has been placed as a finalist in the Australian Mortgage Awards Best Broker of The Year (nonconforming) for 2008 and again in 2009.  In 2006 Mortgage Now was placed as a finalist in the Telstra Business of the Year Awards.