Credit Repair Companies - 10 Tips

The most important thing you should look for when you want legal and effective credit repair services is the affiliations of the company you're evaluating. All established and reputable agencies will willingly give you their references on request. Here are some pointers you should check out as protection against scam credit repair companies.

1. Make certain the agency is affiliated with the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance (ECRA) or a like-minded regulatory body. You It's often suggested to choose companies who are members of the BBB (Better Business Bureau) when you are searching for a reputable service. But when evaluating credit repair companies, those companies that belong to the ECRA are always a good choice.

This body accepts only those members who agree to a stringent code of ethics and any business that gets their approval will represent the best interests of their clients. All credit repair companies that have membership in the ECRA will be held to high ethical standards in everything they do pertaining to repair of credit. This helps to protect you from being scammed by a dishonest company.

2. Know what credit repair is before seeking help. Most of those who end up being cheated while they are seeking ways out of a financial jam, do not understand credit repair. You should be knowledgeable about what what these companies are able to do and what they can't do.

Only when you have this knowledge, will you be able to distinguish which agencies can be trusted. For instance, derogatory accounts on your credit report cannot be removed if the credit bureaus verify their accuracy. There are those credit repair companies claiming they can completely clean your credit report in as little as a month. Now think for a moment; is this legally possible? If the answer is negative you would be well advice to run the other way.

3. Do not accept e-mail offers. It's not fate that sent you an email offering to repair your credit at a time when you are desperately looking for help. These are from scammers who harvest e-mail addresses through unethical means, and send out e-mails by the millions in hopes of tricking an unsuspecting "client" whom they can "take for a ride"!

Beware of such emails. In 99.9 percent of cases these are scammers searching for unsuspecting victims. Honest credit repair organizations will send their offers through various media only if you have asked to receive them.

4. It is illegal to create a "new identity." This is the "Big Lie" many people fall prey to, primarily because it looks like the "Silver bullet" that will resolve all their difficulties. This belief is so prevalent because so little is understood about credit repair by the average person. This method is called "File segregation" and it's most definitely illegal! Your credit score is a reflection of your payment history from the onset of adulthood until the present. Thus, it's just not possible to get a "new" credit history? And if you do so, does it seem to you like this would be legal? Thus it's a "no-brainer" that the credit repair companies that offer you such a way out of your problems are fraudulent.

5. Asking for full payment upfront should raise a red flag. According to Federal Law these credit repair service must present you a written contract and that they cannot charge you full payment until they have completed their services. You also have a right, by law, to cancel the contract within three days time.

A company may charge a fee up front for a consultation or analysis of your credit report, and then charge additional monthly fees as they follow up every month with the credit bureaus to improve your credit. But if an agency insist on full payment upfront, they are likely doing so because they realize they won't get paid when it becomes clear that they cannot deliver on their promises. These kind of businesses are ripoffs and you would do well to avoid them!

6. Repairing credit is a lengthy process. As stated previously, no trustworthy credit repair business can solve your credit problems in the blink of an eye or delete trade lines from your credit report if the credit bureaus are able to verify them.

At best, less serious issues can be fixed in about 2 -3 months, by correcting errors in your report, and by improving the way you handle your finances and overall payment of bills and loans. More serious issues such as leans and foreclosures remain on your report for 7 years ( bankruptcies for 10), notwithstanding top-notch financial management. It will be 10 years before bankruptcies can be deleted. Do not believe any guarantees of overnight removal.

7. No contract, no deal! Always insist on a written contract; under the law a written contract is your legal right. The ripoff artist are opposed to offering a contract, and if they do there will be information missing regarding what services will be provided, the fees charged, and the like. You will better understand these organizations by looking at the contract. And if there is not a contract, go find someone else.

8. If anything is guaranteed, beware! Even the top quality companies can make guarantees as far as results of their services. They can assure you - after they study your report - that they will improve your score by any available legal means. But don't ever believe a company that guarantees results.

However, the unfortunate reality is, people believe what they want to hear and prefer to hire a company who tells them as much, rather than hire a company who is telling the truth. Avoid this all too common self deception! Even though promises of results are more appealing, credit repair companies that guarantee results are ripoffs.

9. See if there are counseling services. Many quality credit repair companies provide them for free.

If the organization under consideration is not offering them, look a bit beyond. It might be an organization unworthy of your trust. Reputable companies will educate their clients about repairing credit. Their services are for those matters that need professional intervention toward improving the credit scores.

10. Wrong advice is a red flag! Some organizations will dispute all the negative entries on your credit report stating "this is not my account.." Even though in the short term the credit score may improve, the creditors whose remarks are thus disputed may later counter it, and the bureau will verify it with subsequent investigations.

Given the shabby record keeping on the part of the credit bureaus, it's extremely likely that any trade lines on your credit report has mistakes regarding the details. But credit repair companies that have you proclaim "this is not my account" although it really is, are not worthy of your trust.

As you can see, there is no shortage of red flags to alert you to possible fraud. The most important action you must take before hiring credit repair companies is to be informed in regard to credit repair, and terms like "credit score" and "credit report". You also need to know the minimum applicable laws prior to seeking help with your credit. For starters visit the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection website and the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance.The most important thing you should look for when you want legal and effective credit repair services is the affiliations of the company you're evaluating. All established and reputable agencies will willingly give you their references on request. Here are some pointers you should check out as protection against scam credit repair companies.

1. Make certain the agency is affiliated with the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance (ECRA) or a like-minded regulatory body. You It's often suggested to choose companies who are members of the BBB (Better Business Bureau) when you are searching for a reputable service. But when evaluating credit repair companies, those companies that belong to the ECRA are always a good choice.

This body accepts only those members who agree to a stringent code of ethics and any business that gets their approval will represent the best interests of their clients. All credit repair companies that have membership in the ECRA will be held to high ethical standards in everything they do pertaining to repair of credit. This helps to protect you from being scammed by a dishonest company.

2. Know what credit repair is before seeking help. Most of those who end up being cheated while they are seeking ways out of a financial jam, do not understand credit repair. You should be knowledgeable about what what these companies are able to do and what they can't do.

Only when you have this knowledge, will you be able to distinguish which agencies can be trusted. For instance, derogatory accounts on your credit report cannot be removed if the credit bureaus verify their accuracy. There are those credit repair companies claiming they can completely clean your credit report in as little as a month. Now think for a moment; is this legally possible? If the answer is negative you would be well advice to run the other way.

3. Do not accept e-mail offers. It's not fate that sent you an email offering to repair your credit at a time when you are desperately looking for help. These are from scammers who harvest e-mail addresses through unethical means, and send out e-mails by the millions in hopes of tricking an unsuspecting "client" whom they can "take for a ride"!

Beware of such emails. In 99.9 percent of cases these are scammers searching for unsuspecting victims. Honest credit repair organizations will send their offers through various media only if you have asked to receive them.

4. It is illegal to create a "new identity." This is the "Big Lie" many people fall prey to, primarily because it looks like the "Silver bullet" that will resolve all their difficulties. This belief is so prevalent because so little is understood about credit repair by the average person. This method is called "File segregation" and it's most definitely illegal! Your credit score is a reflection of your payment history from the onset of adulthood until the present. Thus, it's just not possible to get a "new" credit history? And if you do so, does it seem to you like this would be legal? Thus it's a "no-brainer" that the credit repair companies that offer you such a way out of your problems are fraudulent.

5. Asking for full payment upfront should raise a red flag. According to Federal Law these credit repair service must present you a written contract and that they cannot charge you full payment until they have completed their services. You also have a right, by law, to cancel the contract within three days time.

A company may charge a fee up front for a consultation or analysis of your credit report, and then charge additional monthly fees as they follow up every month with the credit bureaus to improve your credit. But if an agency insist on full payment upfront, they are likely doing so because they realize they won't get paid when it becomes clear that they cannot deliver on their promises. These kind of businesses are ripoffs and you would do well to avoid them!

6. Repairing credit is a lengthy process. As stated previously, no trustworthy credit repair business can solve your credit problems in the blink of an eye or delete trade lines from your credit report if the credit bureaus are able to verify them.

At best, less serious issues can be fixed in about 2 -3 months, by correcting errors in your report, and by improving the way you handle your finances and overall payment of bills and loans. More serious issues such as leans and foreclosures remain on your report for 7 years ( bankruptcies for 10), notwithstanding top-notch financial management. It will be 10 years before bankruptcies can be deleted. Do not believe any guarantees of overnight removal.

7. No contract, no deal! Always insist on a written contract; under the law a written contract is your legal right. The ripoff artist are opposed to offering a contract, and if they do there will be information missing regarding what services will be provided, the fees charged, and the like. You will better understand these organizations by looking at the contract. And if there is not a contract, go find someone else.

8. If anything is guaranteed, beware! Even the top quality companies can make guarantees as far as results of their services. They can assure you - after they study your report - that they will improve your score by any available legal means. But don't ever believe a company that guarantees results.

However, the unfortunate reality is, people believe what they want to hear and prefer to hire a company who tells them as much, rather than hire a company who is telling the truth. Avoid this all too common self deception! Even though promises of results are more appealing, credit repair companies that guarantee results are ripoffs.

9. See if there are counseling services. Many quality credit repair companies provide them for free.

If the organization under consideration is not offering them, look a bit beyond. It might be an organization unworthy of your trust. Reputable companies will educate their clients about repairing credit. Their services are for those matters that need professional intervention toward improving the credit scores.

10. Wrong advice is a red flag! Some organizations will dispute all the negative entries on your credit report stating "this is not my account.." Even though in the short term the credit score may improve, the creditors whose remarks are thus disputed may later counter it, and the bureau will verify it with subsequent investigations.

Given the shabby record keeping on the part of the credit bureaus, it's extremely likely that any trade lines on your credit report has mistakes regarding the details. But credit repair companies that have you proclaim "this is not my account" although it really is, are not worthy of your trust.

As you can see, there is no shortage of red flags to alert you to possible fraud. The most important action you must take before hiring credit repair companies is to be informed in regard to credit repair, and terms like "credit score" and "credit report". You also need to know the minimum applicable laws prior to seeking help with your credit. For starters visit the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection website and the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance.