You know that the best plan is to protect your credit and keep your credit score high from the start of your financial life, but perhaps it’s too late for that. Perhaps your credit is already in sad shape, and you’re trying to come up with a good plan to repair it.
You can do it yourself, but you may be thinking that it will be faster and easier if you let an expert do it – an expert such as a Credit Repair Company. You may be right, simply because they know the process. But before you choose one, you should realize that not all such companies are honest. So talk to a few and ask questions before you choose.
The first red flag that should send you running the other direction is a promise to remove all negative information from your credit file. This cannot be done, and anyone who promises to do it is telling an outright lie.
What they, or you, actually can do is remove any inaccurate information found on your credit report. The first step, of course, is to get a copy of that credit report and read it thoroughly. Then each credit reporting company must be contacted with a formal request to re investigate and correct the mistakes.
Another red flag is a request for money up front. The Credit Repair Organizations Act says that Credit Repair Organizations are not allowed to ask you for any money until everything they promised has been done. In other words, they only get paid for results, not promises.
Some unethical Credit Repair Companies will actually advise you not to contact the reporting agencies themselves. This is a scare tactic designed to push you into using their service, and is completely unethical.
Before you begin interviewing Credit Repair Companies, familiarize yourself with the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Until you do, here’s a brief rundown on what those companies must do:
· Provide you with payment terms for their services
· Inform you of all fees and a final total amount due
· Give you a detailed description in writing of everything they plan to do
· Give you a timeline in which the process will be completed
· Provide all guarantees in writing
· Provide their company name and address in the Contract.
· Provide you with a copy of the Consumer Credit file Rights Under State and Federal Law
· Wait 3 days after you have signed a contract before working on your credit – during which time you may cancel the contract, owing nothing.
Before you sign that contract, read it thoroughly and make sure you understand and agree to each of its provisions. Only then should you take the next step.
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