Warning signs of credit repair scams
The advertisements about credit repair clinics are everywhere – in newspapers, on TV, and on the Internet. You hear about the credit repair offers on the radio; you even receive endless fliers in the mail. You may even get calls from telemarketers trying their best to pursue you to avail their services. They all make the same claims:
“Credit problems? Get a quick fix!”
“We guarantee to fix your bad credit completely”
“Get a new credit file-legally.”
There is a proliferation of the credit repair scams, most of these companies charge from $100 to more than $1,000 to “quick fix” your ailing credit. In many cases, these so called credit repair clinics take your hard earned money and do little or in worst cases nothing to improve your credit report. Often, they just vanish with your money.
If you are contemplating to avail any such kind of service to get back on track, then you must first understand that there is no quick or easy cure for a poor credit history. If an offer claims that by availing it you will be instantly granted new credit or it will bump your score in few days then it’s likely not only a scam but you can also fall into legal trouble if you accept it.
There are many credit repair clinics that make enticing offers like “We can erase accurate bankruptcies, charge offs, judgments, liens, and bad debts from your credit file forever!” Now that’s a complete lie.
Under FCRA, you can dispute information in your credit report that you believe to be inaccurate, not updated, incorrectly entered or false with the credit bureau as well as the information provider. But if the information is accurate and current then no credit repair company or individual under any circumstances has the right to remove it from your credit report.
In cases where the negative information in your credit report is correct then only the passage of time can remove it. Correct negative information such as late payments can remain on your credit report for seven years. In case of a personal bankruptcy filing, it takes around 10 years to get erased from your report.
If you have a bad credit history; the reason for it may be anything – from illness to gambling or unemployment then you must remember a simple thing and that is – TIME IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN ERASE ACCURATE NEGATIVE INFORMATION IN YOUR CREDIT REPORT.
The only data that can be changed in your report is the info regarding the items that are genuinely wrong, false, obsolete or are beyond the seven or ten year reporting period.
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