Today, you cannot avoid the bombardment of ads for credit repair
companies, promising to boost
your credit score and do away with your bad credit
forever. Despite the fact such offers are obviously
appealing, consumers should beware there is no quick fix and such
claims are likely the sign of a scam you are better off
avoiding.
The harsh reality is, there is no immediate solution to repair
your credit and the only sure fire way to fix your score is with a
little patience and a lot of time. Legitimately improving your
credit score takes knowledge and commitment to coming up with a
plan to pay off your debt and continuing to make payment of all of
your bills in a timely manner. A credit repair company cannot
usually make good on the promises they offer as accurate negative
information cannot be removed from your report, so forking over
money to a company to dispute information that is rightfully
reporting is more than likely a waste of money you could be using
to pay off your debt.
The Federal Trade
Commission (“FTC”) put together a list of conduct consumers
should be weary of in an effort to protect you being taken
advantage of.
- Never pay a credit repair company up front. Make sure the
company does the work before you hand over your hard earned
money. - Make sure the company does not charge you for free
information. Credit repair companies should not just recite
you the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and send you on your
way. These companies must actually do the disputing for you
and follow up for the results. - Avoid a credit repair company that advises you to cease all
communication with the credit reporting agencies and that advises
you it can remove accurate derogatory information from your
report. - A legitimate credit repair organization should never advise you
to dispute information that is up to date and accurate despite it
being negative. - Accurate negative information cannot legally be removed from
your credit report so a promise to do so can be viewed as a
violation of the law. The “FCRA” allows you to dispute
inaccurate information from your credit report at no cost so
anything a credit repair company can do, you can also do on your
own behalf free of charge. Before agreeing to start the
services with a credit repair company know that it cannot falsely
represent their services and cannot charge you until completing
their promised services.
If you are having issues with your
credit report and need the advice or assistance of counsel, contact SmithMarco P.C. for a free
case review.