credit repair basics
Credit repair basics is the start of a maintenance program of your credit score, your budget and use of credit lines.
Yet as you may well know, if your credit is not maintained, checked on constantly and corrected when needed it can result in a poor credit status that will leave you in much misery!!
There are companies that want to make you believe you can not do credit repair on your own.
For a fee they will claim to make your bad credit file go away or consolidate your debt, eliminating interest and making you debt free.
While some of these services can be useful in certain situations many times YOU can do all they claim to do for yourself without the fee.
Many times those seeking credit repair are experiencing the difficulties of dealing with bad credit and just want relief.
The start of credit repair should be with a look at what the law says about the subject and what you can do on your own.
Let's consider the credit repair myths that exist as well as the credit repair scams and what government agencies say about them.
- It is a credit repair myth if a business makes the statement that they can remove bankruptcy, liens or bad credit files from your credit history.... Beware .... No one can remove legitimate or accurate negative information in a legal manner.
- If they ask you to create a new identity such as applying for an employer identification number or any other identity masking feature in an attempt to create a new credit report steer far away. Can you spell fraud . The cost may be much higher than you bargained for.
- Businesses that ask for payment up front especially with exorbitant fees and no initial services rendered should also be avoided.
The Credit Repair Organizations Act states that you are not required to pay till all services are provided as promised!!!
Then there are the companies that suggest you shouldn't contact the credit bureaus yourself or that there is nothing you can do for free.
As with any business there should be a fully detailed contract written and signed by both parties stating terms and fees and service expectations outlined.
Simply put if a service provided for credit repair feels like it could be illegal or the service is "off" then run the other way!!
You could end up paying too much for a service that hasn't done anything for you and worse it could be a total scam and the company is gone with your money.
Credit Repair Basics and the Law!!!
With a look at what the law says you can be well on your way in credit repair.
The following laws and more can be accessed at my laws page for further detailed reading.
- The summary of the credit repair organizations act can help you determine whether to continue with or without professional help. If you do decide on professional help you can determine whether the company you select is working within the law.
- Another area of interest is The consumer credit file rights . It is part of the fair credit reporting act and can aid you in seeing what the federal government allows one to do mostly free of cost on your own.
- One area all companies have to abide by is the right to cancel an agreement. Here is an example of a disclosure that must be included with any agreement. Sample Notice of Cancellation If you are considering a company to help you with credit repair check with your state as you may have additional rights there as well.
- In the credit repair basics suggested reading line up, this next amendment to the fair credit reporting act is a heavy hitter.
The Fact Act was put in place mostly to help consumers protect themselves and be protected against identity theft. - A newer law in the line up of defenses and a credit repair
basics read is The Card Act . This is an amendment to the truth in lending act and is designed to pull the reins in on credit card companies and apply restrictions to the fees and rate increases they try and implement.
Reading the laws regarding credit and the protection of it along with the debt collection laws is a tedious act yet it will give you a good idea where you want to head in your credit repair strategy.
Though your first goal in credit repair is to get that credit score up, the true ultimate goal really is to keep more of YOUR money in your pocket!! So reading, research and a plan is as important here as any endeavor you seek.
As you may have guessed credit repair directly revolves around your credit report. With that comes that all important credit score.
A credit repair basic action if you haven't already done so, is to find out what your credit score is. It is your basis for action. It gives you what you need to know to understand where you are in credit worthiness. Once you have that in hand you can work on your credit report, your budget if needed and your debt and IT'S control or elimination.
Now that you have some of the credit repair basics under the belt, lets do a bit of a review and add some food for thought.
Here is an interesting article written by a contributor to this site about credit repair myths
If your situation is particularly difficult and you are not sure where to turn you may be considering credit repair services as a way to solve your problems. Remember all credit repair takes time, yet professional help is at times warranted and can considerably cut the time to repair a credit report plagued with problems.
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