Credit Repair Services - John Chase
With the influx of people who are worrying about their credit scores and their finances in general, it comes as no surprise that there are companies out there who are offering exclusive services to clean up or repair your damaged credit. While it may seem like such a simple solution to your credit woes, be warned - some of these companies are not what they claim to be.
Credit repair services claim to repair bad credit marks on your credit history. What you need to find out before committing to a service is how the company goes about making such repairs. There is a big difference between the items on your credit reports that make up a poor credit score and then there are items on the report that are genuine mistakes. If the company tells you then can remove all bad marks - walk away now. No one can remove information that show poor credit activities. To do so would be illegal.
On the other hand, you have the right to look at your credit report and file a request to remove any misinformation. If the credit reporting agency claims they can repair inaccurate information for you, know this - you too can do the same thing for free. All that is involved in this procedure is analyzing your credit report and noting all mistakes. You then have a right to file a complaint with the credit bureau that provided the report. The credit reporting bureau is then obligated to investigate the information from the original creditor within a reasonable period of time. If the creditor responds that the information is indeed correct, your report will not change. If the credit reporting agency gets no reply from the creditor, the incorrect information will be removed from your credit report.
While you cannot remove poor credit activity from your credit report, you can ask your creditors to work with you to improve the information being reported to the credit reporting agencies. They may not all be cooperative but it is worth a try in order to improve your credit score.
For those people who simply do not want to go through the trouble of repairing their own credit reports, there are reputable companies who can do the repair work for you. Be sure before you commit to any one company, be sure they are a company in good standing with the Better Business Bureau and will work with you to truly help you repair your credit score and not just take your money. A good first red flag - if the credit repair agency denies you can do the above-mentioned steps on your own - know that they may not have your best interests at heart as they are not being honest with you. Also be aware and clear of how much it will cost to work with a credit repair company before signing on the dotted line.
Here are some other points that may raise some alert flags:
· Speak to you in terms that seem confusing and "over your head" with no real concern if you understand
· Do not tell you honestly about what your obligations or rights are concerning your credit.
· Tell you that they can repair all bad credit marks on your report.
· Last, but not least, if a credit repair company tries to convince you to apply for a new identity using an EIN number for credit purposes. This is very illegal and is not repairing anything.