About Mike

Sarasota Realtor Mike Payne knows all about u-g-l-y credit and just how painful, frustrating & hopeless it can be to regain that good credit life!

I am a bad credit survivor!

Years ago, I made a big mistake, leaving me unprepared to fight a bad case of Identity Theft!

One stupid little mistake left me dazed and confused, not to mention angry, frustrated & desperate.

You see, I innocently left my wallet lying in plain view on the console of my unlocked car with windows down….

I know…I know. How stupid could I be?

Forget the fact I was playing basketball just a few feet away…in a small(er) Midwestern college town during the mid 1980s.

Who would’ve thought ? I certainly didn’t think someone would steal my wallet and enjoy a shopping spree using my identity and good credit.

Never did I think I’d have to (learn how to) fight for my name (and credit)? Indeed, I more than paid for my ignorance and stupidity (whichever you want to call it) by leaving my wallet in my car.

It Could Have Been Much, Much Worse!

It’s true…my bad credit experience could’ve been much worse. I know that now, after seeing first hand the tragedy some people are facing as victims of ID Theft.

For years now, people from across the country have contacted me to share their horror stories with ID Theft. Without doubt, ID Theft continues to explode and victims are left helpless, stunned by what has happened to them.

As someone went “joyriding” on my identity, I was blindly playing catch-up at something I didn’t understand.

I had no clue what identity theft was. I had less of a clue how to “fight” back.

In those days, the BIG 3 didn’t have ID theft FRAUD alerts (or I didn’t know of any).

The fight was tiring, frustrating & expensive to clear my name with the police, creditors, credit bureaus & debt collectors. I learned a valuable lesson right then and there about credit, identity theft & credit repair.

What lesson did I learn? I learned I wanted no part of any of it….ever again.

So here I am. In a strange twist, I’m back (trying to) help people AVOID identity theft and REPAIR their credit fast (as fast as humanly possible that is).

In some strange twisted way, I have (without intent I can assure you) fallen back in to this “arena.” It must be that some HIGHER power has unfinished work for me…and I’ll go with the flow.

Why am I helping people fix their credit and “avoid” identity theft? I couldn’t find a legitimate, affordable credit repair company THEN or NOW. I couldn’t find a legitimate, helpful credit repair book THEN or NOW.

For now, I’m here. For now, (WE) are going to help YOU avoid (or fight) identity theft and avoid (or recover from) bad credit.

By day, I am a REALTOR in Sarasota & Orlando, Florida, helping people avoid foreclosure or save their homes. At night, I provide credit repair help to people

Certainly, I’m not alone in the help I provide. I’m blessed to work with two (former) credit repair “expert” attorneys who know what the they’re talking about.

To help you improve and repair your credit the quickest way possible, I put together a CD titled 8 SECRETS TO A 680 CREDIT SCORE! with detailed report (pdf). If you really are serious about improving your credit as quickly as possible, go now to the top right of any page on this website and enter your primary email address to get Secret #1. You can grab my CD for just $5.95 s&h.

What’s the catch? This CD normally sells for $47.00. I’m giving it to you free to prove to you just how valuable my monthly newsletter The Big Explosion is for offering even MORE step-by-step credit repair and credit improvement help. That’s the catch.

In the meantime, here’s the reality:

1. 88-112 million people currently suffer from bad credit. 88-112 MILLION!!!!!!!!! Not for one nanosecond do I think my book, videos & monthly newsletter (“The Big Explosion”) are for everyone of 112, 000,000 people. Hardly.
2. Credit (dis)repair companies have not worked out for my real estate customers…after 9 years of paying many different companies. All their promises and guarantees…and “affordable” monthly payments. No “good credit” came from any of them. My customers wasted their money!

Certainly, don’t take my word for it. Go ahead and throw your money at a credit (dis)repair company and give it a shot. Who knows (and I sincerely hope it’s you), you might find a legitimate, affordable & effective repair company that delivers as promised.

Mostly, however, you will pay for what are called “soft” deletes (more on this later) and a bunch of invoices for “services rendered.” With luck, the credit (dis)repair company you hire will not get you sued! Yes, I did say “sued.”

Credit (dis)repair companies fire off  “rounds” of dispute letters, hoping to overwhelm the credit bureaus into not verifying within 30 days. These (dis)repair companies (hope) the bureaus can’t verify in 30 days and must delete.

At least two problems with this (poor & dangerous) strategy that I want you to know:

1. Scoring a DELETION might not be good for your credit scores.

2. A credit (dis)repair company’s actions might get you SUED!

For now, you know a little about me and how I reluctantly “fell in” to credit repair. For 16 years, I was a high school teacher/coach who now works real estate and tries to help people save their homes, avoid foreclosure & regain that good credit life.

If you know someone who cannot afford his house or owes more than the house is worth, please tell your friend to give me a call or send me an email, even if your friend is outside of Sarasota or Orlando.

Do you have your own “credit” or “identity theft” experience…maybe a comment, question or suggestion? I’d like to hear from you.

Please use the box below to tell me about your experience with credit repair, debt collectors, credit card companies, identity theft, foreclosure, or credit (dis)repair companies.

Best to you always,