Credit Repair Glossary

• Cash Advance

  A “cash advance” is a term that is used to refer to either a short term loan (such as a payday cash advance loan), or an advance taken from a credit card.  In either event, the cost of such a loan can be high.  Payday cash advances have notoriously high interest rates, and the interest rate for credit card cash advances can also be high (it is almost always higher than for a normal credit card purchase).

• Chargeoff

  The term “chargeoff” refers to a debt that has been “charged off” by a creditor.  That is, a creditor has decided to treat the amount as a loss or writeoff.

• Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)

  Encourages banks to help meet the credit needs of their communities for housing and other purposes, particularly in neighborhoods with low or moderate incomes, while maintaining safe and sound operations.

• Community Savings Funds

  A “community savings fund” is an informal savings group set up by a group of friends or neighbors.  These funds are frequently used in parts of Caribbean, African and South American countries where access to formal banking resources may be limited.  Community savings funds are also commonly used in parts of the United States. 

• Consumer Report

  The term “Consumer Report” is a term used in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and is used to refer to certain reports made by consumer reporting agencies (like the credit bureaus).

• Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA)

  The Credit Repair Organizations Act is a U.S. law that governs credit repair companies.  In particular, it prevents credit repair companies from making false and misleading statements about what they can do for you, and what results you can enjoy from their credit repair services.

• Credit Reporting Agency

  Commonly known as credit bureaus, credit reporting agencies are companies that receive, maintain, and provide information about consumers’ credit history.

• Workout

  The term “workout” is a credit term that relates to restructuring loan or credit agreements.