Keep Away from Credit Repair Fraud |
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Some credit repair companies promise to restore your creditworthiness for a fee and purport to guarantee the
removal of negative information from your credit reports. They even promise to remove the negative information that is accurate and timely. But in truth, this is credit fraud. Credit repair companies cannot substantially improve most peoples' credit reports or profiles. They can't permanently remove bankruptcies, charge-offs, late payments, and other negative information from your credit reports, especially if such information is not obsolete.
Federal law allows credit bureaus, which compile your credit history information, to report all truthful information. All negative information, according to the law, can be reported for seven years, except for bankruptcies, which need to be reported for 10 years. There is nothing that credit repair operators can do to remove the information before time. So, it generally takes 6 years for bad debt to come off a file, regardless of promises from a credit repair company. But anything that is inaccurate can be corrected at little or no cost. But credit repair companies claim that there are laws to protect you and that they can help you take advantage of those laws to clear your credit. The laws that they are talking about really come down to one very specific provision in the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Under section 1681(I), any information appearing on a credit report that is disputed must be verified within a reasonable amount of time. This reasonable amount of time generally means 30 days. So, credit repair companies will try to convince you that in many cases it is impossible for credit reporting agencies to verify the disputed information within the required time limit. And, they will reason, any information that cannot be verified within the specified time must be deleted. While the second part of this statement is true, the first is not. This fraud is particularly appalling because it preys on consumers who are already in financial difficulties as a result of layoffs, divorce, or heavy medical expenses. Credit repair scams literally kick consumers when they are down, fostering and exploiting them with false hopes of a better credit history. However, only time, a conscious effort, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your credit report. Many don't know that everything a credit repair company can do for you legally you can do yourself, at little or no cost. If your application for credit, insurance, or employment was denied because of information supplied by a credit bureau, the company you applied to must provide you with that credit bureau's name, address, and telephone number. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report within sixty days, if you've been denied credit, insurance or employment. You can then dispute mistakes or outdated items for free. You only need to ask the credit-reporting agency for a dispute form and submit your dispute in writing, along with copies of any supporting documentation. However, if you feel that this is too much for you, you can employ a credit repair company. But keep away from companies that want you to pay for their credit repair services before they provide any services. Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, companies cannot require you to pay until they have completed the promised services. Also, companies that don't tell you your rights and what you can do yourself for free don't have your interests in mind. Ideally, good credit repair companies recommend that you to contact a credit bureau directly. Then there are companies that advise you to try and invent a new credit report by applying for an Employer Identification Number instead of using your Social Security number. They might also suggest that you dispute all information in your credit report. Some companies go to the extent of offering you a second mortgage or home equity line of credit. While these loans may allow you to consolidate your debt, they also require your home as collateral, which is risky. These are all the markings of a company that is out to cheat you. So avoid these credit repair companies, as what they are saying is not true. You definitely don't deserve to be cheated in your time of need. credit repair services, credit repair companies, bad credit repair services, bad credit repair companies, bad credit repair fraud, credit repair scams, fair credit reporting act, do it yourself credit repair, credit repair, free credit repair, credit dispute, remove information from credit report, dispute credit report |
