The 3 major credit bureaus are selling your information
When you apply for credit, the creditor pulls your credit history from one of the three major credit agencies. Transunion, Equifax or Experian. These agencies charge the creditor for your information, so they are in essence a third party that is neither affiliated with you or the agency. This is a little scary because you do not know if the information that they have about you is accurate. Pull your reports and check them for accuracy.
Credit Repair is legal
Not only is credit repair legal, it is your right under the law to dispute any negative items on your credit report. The goal is to have the agencies delete inaccurate or misleading information. If negative items are appearing erroneously on your credit report, it will lower your score and lessen the chances of you being approved for credit
Hiring a service to dispute on your behalf is also legal
Aside from getting the discrepancies removed, a good credit repair company can also provide financial services and help at no additional charge. One of the advanced services they may offer is looking for and fighting against any FCRA and FDPA violations. If they find any violations, they will sue on your behalf and get you a monetary reward. A good credit repair company will also aid to effectively help you, the consumer, get your credit re-established and help get new credit cards while showing you advanced techniques to go about rebuilding your credit quickly.
When choosing a credit repair service, make sure the company has experience with credit card companies and credit bureaus. A good company will dispute all of the inaccurate information on the first dispute. Other companies may only dispute 4-6 from each bureau, in each round, in an effort to keep clients in the program longer.
Many credit repair companies will advertise fancy claims that they can get it done just to lure clients in with false hope so make sure to take your time when choosing a reputable company.
- Find a company that knows the laws and that can get the job done.
- Be wary of exorbitant claims from other credit repair companies.
- Use due diligence and speak with these companies more than once before deciding.
If you are looking for a reputable credit repair company that can get, say, bankruptcies removed from your credit reports, then make sure you ask for proof that they have done it before for other clients.
A great way to use due diligence is to read user review based testimonials or choose from a reputable source like the HuffPost. Here are a couple of other sources to read when deciding on a credit repair company: GoBankingRates or Wallet Hacks.
It is illegal to take payment before any work is performed
Do not pay a credit repair company upfront. The company must perform work on your file first.
Credit Repair takes time
The average client will have to dispute 6-8 months on average. If a credit repair company promises that that they can deliver results, turn the other way and run. Nothing is guaranteed.
You can get a free credit report
You are entitled to a free credit report once a year from AnnualCreditReport.com.
You can repair your own credit
You do not have to choose a company to help you. You can absolutely do it on your own and you can do it online directly with the 3 major credit bureaus by following the links below.
