Charge-Off - When someone defaults on a debt, the company which is owed money often charges off the debt on their taxes by reporting a loss. While this may sound as if the company has “given up” on collecting the debt it isn’t the case. Charged off debts are often sent to collections, placing two derogatory items on your credit report.

Chapter 7 - This is the most common form of bankruptcy, often referred to as "liquidation." In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the eligible assets of the borrower are liquidated and distributed among the creditors by a trustee, with preference given to secured creditors. This type of bankruptcy is frequently used by borrowers who are unemployed or have few or no assets.

Chapter 11 - A bankruptcy in which the borrower's debts are reorganized. This type of bankruptcy is seldom used by student borrowers and is most often used by financially troubled businesses.

Chapter 12 - Chapter 12 bankruptcy, which is similar to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, applies only to certain farms and family farm operations with specific debt ceilings.

Chapter 13 - This is commonly referred to as the "wage earner" plan. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows individuals with regular incomes to satisfy their debts through a court-directed payment plan. Usually, the Chapter 13 debtor(s) has significant debts, but sufficient income to eventually pay the debts.

Collection - If a debt goes unpaid it usually becomes a collection. Collection agents report the collection to the credit bureaus, which in turn hurts your credit scores. Sadly, paying a collection alone does not improve your credit scores. We recommend credit repair and debt settlement in dealing with collections. Ideally you want to pay or settle your collections within a few years to avoid lawsuits and judgements on your credit report. It is good to be familiar with the Statute of Limitations for debts in your area.

“Comp” - Short for “comparable”, basically means a similar property in the same or similar area. The prices paid for “comp’s” are used to generate an appraisal for the value of a property.

Consumer Credit Counseling - A program whereby a consumer with credit cards with high interest can pay off their credit card debt much faster and more cheaply. The upside of this program is that the APR’s drop significantly and allow one to pay off their debts in 3-5 years instead of taking decades. It also is often a better choice than bankruptcy. The downside is that cards have to be closed in the process, which drops one’s credit scores until the debts are paid off.

Credit - Our country runs on credit, which is effectively debt. However, when people say they have “good credit” or “bad credit” they usually are speaking of their credit scores being high or low. Having good credit is very important in America today for buying, obtaining lines of credit and even keep one’s job.

Credit Card -The most common type of revolving debt. Credit cards are great credit building tools but also can destroy your credit rapidly if they are overused or if they go unpaid. If you are in over your head in credit card debt then consider our debt consolidation program.

Credit Repair - Credit repair is a service offered by Crusader Consumer Services to help people improve their credit scores. It involves advising in addition to working to remove inaccurate, obsolete, and unverifiable negative information from your credit report. Our credit repair service has a 100% satisfaction money-back guarantee and realistic estimate is provided up front at no charge during a free consultation.

Credit Bureaus - See credit reporting agencies

Credit Report - A list of information that is reported to your credit file. You can “pull” a credit report from Experian, Equifax, or Transunion or a “trimerge” report.

Credit Reporting Agencies (also called credit bureaus) - The 3 major credit reporting agencies are Experian, Equifax, and Tranunion. These companies are responsible for keeping all of your credit information on file- this information is used to create a credit score. Unfortunately these companies do not verify that this information is accurate, so people often have a great deal of inaccurate and damaging information on their credit reports. Credit repair is a service used to make one’s credit file at the credit reporting agencies as positive as possible.