Credit Repair Services: Be Successful in Repairing Your Credit |
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Anyone might need to use the credit repair
services. Even if you may be making a great living, your credit may still be in a terrible mess due to a large number of unpaid bills, which might be the result of various adverse circumstances. If at such a stage, your car needs to be replaced and you nurture the desire to buy a newer car, your credit will definitely come in the way of you owning the dream car. You would, no doubt, look for ways to improve your credit, having seen advertisements in the local paper for credit repair services. You might wonder about how easy and how expensive it would be to fix your credit. You might even consider the option of doing the credit repair on your own as you might be suspicious of the credit repair services. You might be told by the credit repair services that there are loopholes in the federal law that allows poor credit to be erased. This is a myth as there are no such loopholes. This may leave you wondering about the genuineness and sincerity of the credit repair services. Some credit repair services promise to even get bankruptcy removed from your credit report. There can be nothing farther from the truth as the law states that bankruptcy remains on your credit report for 10 years. As such there is no possibility of it being removed legally. Moreover, some consumers are even advised to steal their bankruptcy records from the county court house so that the credit bureau is not in a position to verify its accuracy, so that when you're asked in a credit application if you've ever filed for bankruptcy, you can conveniently reply in the negative. Some credit repair services promise to do a job that's just not possible, like removing accurate but negative information. Moreover, if they ask for money for credit repair services that have not been performed or if they mislead you about the services provided, you should be on your guard and refuse to deal with them. You should only select those credit repair services that offer guarantees within the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Everyone has a credit report and anyone can be plagued with a poor credit history and as such the possibility of credit repair scams is very high and such scams are one of the top consumer complaints reported to Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The actual loss incurred by consumers could be in millions as there are many people who are too embarrassed to complain. Normally people pay $400 to $2000 for credit repair services, whereas doing it on your own might cost you just $30 for a consolidated credit report. Some people might still like to take the help of credit repair services. However, you will need to be extra careful in selecting the credit repair services. You should first contact the Better Business Bureau to see if the firm has had any consumer complaints and then you should check with your state attorney general's office or other state consumer agencies to find out if there are any pending legal investigations. FTC also warns that you should not rely on chambers of commerce or other trade associations where membership is based solely on a fee. You should know your rights, as credit repair services must provide explanation of your rights before a written contract is signed. Moreover, credit repair services must follow specific guidelines from the Credit Repair Organizations Act, which are intended to protect consumers. Your contract should have all of the following information: --Payment terms and the total cost --Detailed description of the jobs to be performed --Amount of time required to achieve results --The guarantees being offered --Name and business address of the company You should get a three-day grace period to think over your decision and you have the right to cancel the contract within that period, without paying any fees. The credit repair company cannot perform any credit repair services for you until you've signed a written contract and completed the three-day waiting period. |
