Credit repair occurs when a third party, often referred to as a credit repair organization or credit service organization, attempts to have information removed from your credit reports in exchange for a payment. These companies are for-profit and their services are marketed as being able to help people improve their credit. A credit repair company is an organization that offers to improve your credit in exchange for a fee. Credit repair is the process of hiring a company to correct your bad credit by removing inaccurate and negative information from your credit reports.
Having a good credit score is important. Without it, you may be denied low-interest loans and lines of credit, a job, a rent, and even an insurance policy. If your credit report shows a history of debt problems or contains errors, you may consider using a repair service to “clean up” it. However, before you pay, know how these companies work.
In the vast majority of cases, hiring an external company will only waste your money. Unfortunately, none of those promises are true. Credit Repair Companies Offer to “Fix Your Credit by Eliminating Negative Elements from Your Credit Report”. They offer to file disputes about negative items on your behalf with credit bureaus and have them removed.
What is the problem with this approach? The whole strategy is based on taking advantage of a legal loophole in the credit system. When accurate items are removed, it is only temporary a few months at most. Taking steps to ensure that payments are up to date or improve the payment schedule for outstanding credit can beneficially affect your credit score. Once you have the EIN, you will be prompted to apply for a new credit with it, so you can create a whole new credit history.
The Credit Repair Organizations Act requires companies to provide you with a firm total of costs and an estimate of how long it will take to get results. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), credit repair companies can't legally do for you anything you can't do on your own. A number of companies claiming to make credit repairs have emerged over time, and while some may provide services that can help consumers, the real results of their efforts may be questioned. What might seem like a simple and positive solution to your credit situation is actually a series of false promises that are likely to damage your credit.
If you're struggling to improve your credit, enlisting the help of a credit repair company may seem like a good plan. You have access to your credit score through Member Connect if you have a loan with LGFCU, as well as through some credit card companies that provide your rating at no additional cost. Although many companies claim they can clean up incorrect credit reports, correcting misinformation that may appear on credit reports takes time and effort. Credit repair companies can investigate such information, but so can the person who evaluates the report.
But is it worth the cost? Here's what you need to know before hiring a credit repair company. There can be a lot of back and forth, but the ultimate goal is to remove negative information from your credit file so that your credit score improves. When that happens, the credit repair company takes action, calling on the consumer to announce that the item was recalled and suggesting that the consumer pay more each month to “keep up the momentum and go after the rest. With a positive title like “credit repair”, it's no wonder people fall prey to fraudulent practices by credit repair companies.
Another form of credit repair is to address key financial issues, such as budgeting, and to begin to address the legitimate concerns of lenders. .
