Their headlines scream that these companies will have all negative information removed from your credit report and will bring your FICO scores up to levels you’ve never enjoyed before.
Please don’t fall for this. These offers are scams, promoted by crooks who see the current credit crisis as their ticket to wealth.
The truth is, there is a way to repair your credit, but you can do it yourself.
The other truth is, if the negative information on your credit report is true, it can’t be removed. The method the scam companies propose to use to “fix” your credit report is to keep filing disputes over and over again until the credit bureau gets tired of investigating and drops it.
Some say this can eventually work, but I’ve never seen confirmation, and even if it did, it would take years. Each investigation takes a month or more, so by the time the scheme “worked” you could have raised your scores legitimately.
So what is it you can do yourself? As a way to more easily repay old debts, you can negotiate with credit card companies to reduce your minimum payments, reduce your interest, and waive late fees. Most are willing to work with you on this.
You can also correct any errors your credit report contains. Since the Fair Isaac Company says that 25% of all reports contain errors, there’s a one in four chance that yours does. A simple slip on a data entry keyboard could be causing you trouble, so you need to investigate.
First, get your free credit reports with scores. Then read it carefully and identify any errors. Next contact the Credit Bureau that lists the error. They’ll give you instructions for filing a dispute, which they will then investigate.
If you really do owe a bill, it won’t be removed from your report just because you said so. But if there’s a verifiable an error, they will correct it, and upon request will send a corrected credit report to any potential creditor who turned you down because of the errors.
If you feel intimidated by dealing with credit issues alone, check with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies to find a reputable credit counselor near you.
Most are non-profit, although they may charge small fees for some services. These services will help you negotiate with creditors to lower monthly payments, remove late fees, reduce interest rates, etc. They’ll also help you with budgeting.
Be aware that any company that asks you for payment up front in order to provide credit repair services is not only bogus, it is breaking the law. No company is allowed to charge for such services before results are obtained, so if you’ve been burned by one of these scams, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at 877-FTC-HELP.
Often these companies will collect a monthly fee from you for several months before even beginning to work on correcting errors. They’ll string you along with “These things take time, you know.” Meanwhile, the money you’re paying them could have been used to pay down your legitimate debt!
You won’t know where to start until you read your credit report, so order yours today.