Danger Signs of Bad Credit Repair Companies

If you are considering legitimate credit repair and restoration, then good for you. The first step in improving your credit score is to get a grip on your finances and handling up on your debts. Remember that no one can remove accurate credit reporting. If that's your car that was repo'd, it's not going away any time soon. On the other hand, if that car was someone else's then you'll have no problem getting it deleted from your credit report.

You may be thinking about hiring a credit restoration company to help you tackle some of your credit glitches. That's perfectly ok if you find a good one and there are good ones out there. However there are some pretty bad companies out there that promise ridiculous results.

Beware of credit repair companies that ask you to pay in advance or ask for a retainer for services that haven't been rendered. The Credit Repair Organizations Act state that credit restoration companies cannot charge you fees until after they've completed the services that they promised. If you are asked to pay up front then they've directly violated this law.

You should also be very wary of companies that promise everything under the sun. No one can remove accurate records of bankruptcies, judgments, tax liens or bad credit from your report. Nearly all negative information stays on your credit report for seven years. If you know in your heart that it's your debt, why would you think anyone could magically make it disappear?

Another sign of a chop shop credit repair company is one that advises you to dispute everything on your credit report both good and bad. They will jam the credit bureaus with letters after letters disputing it all. The trick here is that if creditors don't reply within 30 days then they must permanently delete the item. The truth is that most credit, particularly accurate credit, is verifiable. You will hardly ever see credit scores increase due to this method of madness. If the account is removed and it was legitimate then it will only be a matter of time before it shows up again.

You could go to jail if you partner up with a credit restoration company that offers to help you get a new identity. They will coach you on how to get an EIN or employer identification number as well as apply for credit with a bogus or new address. This is a felony and we don't advise anyone take part in this malicious scam.

Illegitimate credit quick fix companies prey on consumers in desperate situations. There are many people out there that want to change their credit history regardless of the consequences. Don't believe the hype, no one can deliver a quick fix for credit repair. You can improve your own credit scores by getting your free credit report, consolidating debts and fixing erroneous credit items yourself. You do not need to pay someone else to do this. Save the money and apply it to your outstanding debt.