The first step towards business bad credit repair is to obtain the credit report. A person has to approach credit bureau with written matter to get a free credit report. You may also use online services to get the credit report, as the Internet provides instant access to various credit reporting agencies. In addition, there are certain other tools available on the Internet that help submit disputes directly to the credit bureaus.

An individual needs to obtain credit report standings from at least three websites, because not all reports contain the same information. Get a hard copy of the report and mark all the incorrect information on the credit report. Contact the creditors by phone first, before starting to write dispute letters. A list of creditors and their phone numbers can be found on the last sheet of credit report.

Some creditors do not talk to people, as they send the account information to the collection agency. Therefore, the person has to speak to the collection agency. While considering collection agencies, remember to get everything in writing. Do not send them any money unless the settlement is in writing.

Moreover, while interacting with these collection agencies, make sure that, it is the right agency and they have the authority to negotiate a settlement.

When accepting a settlement agreement, make sure that the agreement is printed on the company’s genuine letterhead. Avoid accepting a hand written piece of paper. If the agreement is successful, the person may ask for the removal of the trade line from the credit report. They term it as “Bulls eyeing the account”. Some do and some do not bother to remove the offending trade line.

Writing Letters to Credit Bureaus:

Still, if people are unable to repair the bad credit with consultants, they can write dispute letters to credit bureaus. It is necessary to be polite in the letter. Here, you may require an investigator. Inform your investigator that the misinformation is affecting the credit, and point out the inaccuracies and discrepancies.

Make a habit of keeping a credit repair diary. It is very important to keep the track of all your efforts to repair your bad credit. Sometimes, “credit repair” companies do not consider the dispute letter process. Do not just keep writing letters repeatedly. Keep some proofs or copies of letters to support claims.

Do not use formal letters. You may find many websites that give samples of dispute letters. Ignore those, since people in dispute department recognize these letters and so, they do not take the complaint seriously.

You need to be persistent. If you owe huge debt, then try to negotiate with the creditor. You have to be patient, as it is not going to happen in one day. In short, you need to be patient, polite, persistent, and organized in all efforts towards your bad credit repair.

Attorney for Credit Repair:

You may also choose a credit repair attorney. There are certain law firms or attorneys, who offer expert business credit repair services. Prepare the list of questions and ask law firms to help you choose an expert attorney for the job of business credit repair.

Rebuild your credit with secured credit cards and find more of Tom’s work at FINDsecuredcards.

I saw a disgusting video of a man having relations with a horse. Not to go into details but, in the video, the horse went completely through his backside. I hope it is not true. The guy that showed me said died. sorry, the guy said he died ewww

I am scheduled to do a job interview tomorrow and was told on the phone to research QRT. Only problem is I'm not sure what it stands for and im getting weird results when I search it. Any ideas? HELP!

i have had really bad cramping for the past week. i had my period on the 19 of september but i have not had any relations since aug 15. i've had headaches on and off, yesterday i was brushing and i threw up out of nowhere. i've had some nausea and my stomach feels bloated. my breast hurt a lot! my period was pretty heavy in the beginning and then light, it started bright red and ended brown. Also it was about 3 days long. it's driving me crazy not knowing. if i'm not then what is wrong with me? i'm not sure if i should take a pregnancy test since technically i havent missed my period. so, what do you think, am i?

I have been thinking about joing the Army for a few years now and have recently spoken with a recruiter. My education consists of a B.S. in Journalism/Public Relations/Advertising (GPA 2.9). When I was 20 yrs old I got in trouble TWICE for having possession of alcohol (M.I.P). My question is would this disqualify me from beening able to get into OCS. I have only two other minor traffic tickets. I have read that waivers can be granted. Would I be able to get a waiver for an MIP? I was told by the recruiter that there is a chance but it is slim that I would be accepted. Is this true even if the two incidents happened over four years ago? I also was told that if I enlisted I could choose my job and after 6 months apply for ocs and have a much better chance of getting into ocs. If I went this route would I be able to become an officer in the field that I selected when I enlisted and would I be able to apply to OCS in 6 months? Any help would be great!

A relation is described as follows: First choose a number, n; then determine it’s opposite. a) Is this a function? b) If so, write the relation using function notation. c) If so what are its domain and range in interval notation?

Prologue

My latest adventure, or should I say mis-adventure, involved rib patrol boats and gunboats mixed in a heady concoction of deceit, death, corruption and desolation. It’s a story that’s still going around and around in my head, and hopefully by setting out my thoughts it will help me come to terms with what must be my experience of a lifetime.

It all started out, as I guess many of these things do, by a phone call with the offer of some offshore oil support work operating some 35-40 miles offshore in the Gulf of Guinea. A planned one month stint during our winter months, in the warmth of Africa away from the cold and damp of blighty, and some good remuneration to boot!

Little was I to know that I was to become witness to the reality of life in the third world, between the haves and the have nots in what was in truth a division between life and death. As my story unfolds you will hear about a culture of deceit and corruption at the highest levels in government and military, why each and every white European carries a bounty of $2m on his head and the reasons why a militant organisation claims justification for piracy and murder.

Black gold, the oil that the west has an insatiable desire for, is the catalyst for a dreadfully greedy and violent part of Africa, Nigeria.

DAY BY DAY

Day 1. Tuesday 11th March

An exciting and early start to catch my flight from Manchester to Heathrow, before catching the daily BA flight to Lagos. I was met at the airport by a representative from my new employer, a UK Security Consultancy employing some 80 personnel. The job was to be the captain of an ex MOD Spitfire Class 24m, RTTL (Rescue and Target Towing Launch). It was one of two vessels recently acquired by the company with another two on the way. These vessels had been previously used by the RAF & Royal Navy for target towing in support of military exercises.

This was a great opportunity for me to gain valuable experience in a vessel somewhat larger than the 11m Humber Rib, which I worked on the wind farm at Burbo Bank, and the survey vessels in the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

I arrived early evening in Lagos, to be met by the company’s shore based project manager and driven to the Lagos Motorboat Club. Lagos, a city built for 3 million inhabitants but which supports 8 million, was vastly overcrowded with poverty around every corner. The city is the economic and financial capital of Nigeria and the second most populous in Africa after Cairo. It’s a huge metropolis which originated on islands separated by creeks that fringe the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon, protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits.

From the Motorboat Club I was ferried out to Apapa Island to rendezvous with the boat, meet up with the crew, have a few beers and a BBQ in the + 30c heat, at what was now 9:30pm.

Day 2. Wednesday 12th March

Day break and familiarisation with the boat was conducted by the chief engineer, an ex South African Navy engineering officer. Then a briefing from the two company liaison officers on board, again South African, both from a security background. My first mate was Nigerian as was our assistant engineer, also our chief cook and bottle washer was a Nigerian. A total company complement of 7 persons, comprising three Nigerians, three South Africans and me, the only Brit!

Background

Offshore and onshore oil installations are heavily guarded by security organisations, due to the aggressive militant operations carried out by MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta). These militants have been engaging the military in regular battles in the creeks of the Bonny River since the Nigerian government decided to heighten operations in the region to halt rising cases of kidnapping of foreign oil workers, who carry a $2m bounty on their heads, and the murder of fellow Nigerians seen to be co-operating with the oil companies, as they have no value.

Nigeria relies on oil and gas exports for more than 90 per cent of its annual foreign earnings, but has been collecting dwindling revenue because of the destruction of oil production facilities and its infrastructure by the activities of the militants in the region which is currently at an all time high.

The Plan

Our task was to patrol an offshore oil installation in the Gulf of Guinea. Prior to this we were to rendezvous with the Nigerian Navy. Our sail plan involved leaving Lagos taking an offshore passage through the Bights of Benin and Biafra across the Gulf of Guinea, some one and a half days motoring (350nm) to arrive at Port Harcourt.

Our rendezvous point was the onshore LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Plant terminal on Bonny Island. At this location our vessel was to be fitted out with four 12.7mm heavy calibre machine guns, two on the fly bridge with the second two astern, some light machine guns and a detachment of eight Nigerian marines with personal weapons, before proceeding to take up station offshore.

The Day’s Events

We had a Lagos pilot booked for 5pm so we took the opportunity to do final provisions and a fuel top up during the day. Our 24m patrol vessel was powered by twin 1,000hp engines. At 4pm, eight Nigerian Navy marines arrived and boarded as our guards during the passage. For security reasons the vessel was flying the Nigerian flag.

At 5pm with no sign of the pilot we cast off to wait in the middle channel for the pilot, which was not uncommon. The harbour entrance was quite formidable with watercraft dashing here, there and everywhere. A hundred ships were also at anchor just outside the harbour entrance.

I was very pleased to see the pilot cutter arrive and I welcomed aboard the pilot. After the formalities and documentation stamping etc. I asked to set the throttles forward to commence our passage. The pilot was immediately alarmed and requested our vessel to stop so that he could get off!

It became apparent that his job was only the paperwork and that we had to take ourselves out of the harbour and through the buoyage system to the fairway. On disembarking the pilot turned to me and pointedly asked did I have anything for him! He got short shrift from me, on this, my first introduction to the pre-requisite ‘backhander’.

At 6pm we successfully cleared the fairway buoy.

Day 3. Thursday 13th March

Steady motoring at 8 knots in a pleasantly rolling (no big waves) F2 all the way. We experienced some small delay due to the prevailing Guinea current across the Bight of Biafra on our way to Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State (the oil capital of Nigeria).

Day 4. Friday 14 March

Arrived at the entrance to the Bonny River channel just after noon, 12:15pm. The Nigerian marine’s lieutenant was quickly on his mobile phone to the local naval base to confirm our arrival and to take instructions on our meeting point. The Lagos marines were due to disembark and fly back to their home base in Lagos, their job done.

For some unapparent reason the guns could not be transported to the LNG jetty. We should continue to the jetty and wait for two patrol boats (gunboats) from the Nigerian Marines NNS Pathfinder group who would escort us to the Naval Base where the armaments would be fitted and the replacement detachment of Marines would board. As a civilian crew we were reliant on the Marines to handle all weaponry onboard.

One of the patrol boats, an 8-9m RIB, with five crew met us in mid channel to lead us to the jetty where the other patrol boat was refuelling. It was then decided that we would continue up the Bonny River led by the first patrol boat with the second boat following up once fully refuelled.

It wasn’t long before we were joined by the second patrol boat as we continued up the Bonny River, part of the Niger Delta. We were now well off our charts but with one patrol boat back and one front we pressed forward up river passing creeks at every twist and turn of this inhospitable river. Ship wrecks strewn the river bank which added to our sense of foreboding, but were in the hands of the Nigerian Navy so we should be alright!

Expecting to come upon a navy base at anytime it transpired that we had to go some 35 miles inland, through jungle waterways as well as open waters. At one stage I had to pass the helm over to my Nigerian number two while the white faced crew had to sit below the parapet because of the presence of militant hot spots. Some 6hrs later as nightfall befell us at 7pm we were rafted inside the navy base.

The base commander and an intelligence officer came aboard for 2hrs of questioning. The Lagos marines remained onboard and we all eventually bedded down for the night.

Day 5. Saturday 15th March

It was still expected that the armaments would be fitted at the navy base and the Lagos marines dismissed in order to catch their flight back to their home base. However a second intelligence officer returned and asked the same set of questions that were asked of us from the evening before. As our previous answers were still attached to this latest question list it was just a matter of copying out our yesterday answers. What was that all about? Information was very lacking and in the end nothing happened.

Day 6. Sunday 16th March

Standoff. Still nothing happened.

Day 7. Monday 17th March

St Patrick’s day and not a Guinness in sight! Not that this was of any consequence, being teetotal. The Lagos marines were becoming quite agitated and angry as they should have been flown home the previous Saturday. Their guard duties became non existent, sleeping most of the time. From this time on we set-up our own 4hr bridge night watches.

Day 8. Tuesday 18th March

Two company representatives arrived from Lagos, although not employed by our company they had some association with our operation. One an ex Nigerian Army Officer and the other an ex Nigerian Police Chief. They met with the base commander, returned to Lagos, and still nothing happened.

Day 9. Wednesday 19th March

By this time we were under the distinct impression we were being detained. Even if we could take our vessel out of the navy base how would we navigate the river, miss the militants and go where? At best we would probably become one of the many ‘hulks’ rotting away on the bottom of the Bonny River.

Our days had passed waiting for something to happen, some news or some direction. We watched interestedly as each evening we saw the patrol boats refuel in a most basic way. Fifty gallon drums of gasoline were casually rolled down and pushed around the quay, a plastic pipe inserted and ’sucked’ by a marine to draw up the fuel, and then passed over the deck to the fuel tank fillers. The air was rank with vapour and the bilges probably sloshed around with gasoline. Today one of the more friendly patrol boat skippers told us, “whatever you do don’t sail this boat out!” as a means of being helpful, I guess.

My Armageddon - Part II

On its way!

The author is the editor and publisher of an online power boat magazine for sports and professional users of rigid hull inflatable boats, RIBs. www.hotribs.com

Are you one of those people that can’t bear to get rid of items? Maybe you have a hobby which involves collecting things. Are you going through a divorce? Are you moving home? Do you live amongst clutter? If you think about it each year we buy items and fill our homes with so much clutter but we don’t through anything away. Are you a business and in need of a storage solutions? If any of the above sounds like you then read on.

Storage containers offer you a great solution to your problem. They make great temporary storage solutions as well as permanent solutions. If your hobby is taking over your home, storage containers are the best option. You might think it will be expensive but you will be pleasantly surprised.

Thanks to the internet finding a storage company is easy. There are over 600 chains of self storage companies located in the country. You can use Google’s search engine to search for the specific town you live in. For example in you live in Alwoodley in West Yorkshire you can type into Google ‘Alwoodley Storage Solutions’ and you will get a list of storage companies in that surrounding area. Once you have found a company you will be able to see what size containers they offer. Some companies offer a size estimator so you can work out what size you are going to need.

Once you have found the right storage company for the right price and also the size of container you need you then need to plan how to use this space. If you are storing some items that you are going to need access too you will need to place them at the front of the container. Those items that you know you will not need for some time can be placed in the back. Items that you might need occasionally should be stored in the middle.

Storage units also come in handy when you are moving home. Rather than fill your new garage up with house hold items you can store them in a secure self storage unit until know where you want the items to go. Also those planning on re-decorating will find the use of storage units a blessing. Many people that are going through the pain of a divorce can use these storage units to safely store their items until they are settled in their new home.

Businesses need to keep documents for a number of years and if you are lacking storage space in your office then storage containers are great solutions. Or maybe you just want the added security that comes with self storage units.

Whatever your reason, it is easy to find a storage solution in your area. Storage facilities offer a flexible, secure and cost effective solution everyone’s storage needs. Some storage companies offer a whole range of useful items such as packaging, removal boxes and bubble wrap and even van hire, which provide a great all-round solution to all household and business storage needs.

Carolyn is the webmaster of Keep Safe Self Storage, offering domestic and document storage solutions in the West Yorkshire area.

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