Finding a Credit Repair Company You Can Trust
- By Dona Barlett
- Published January 3, 2010
- Credit
- Unrated
Dona Barlett
Credit Repair BEST provides information about credit repair as well as a moderated question and answer forum where visitors can learn more about the credit system, what they can do to make the most of their credit score, and how credit repair companies may be able to help.
View all articles by Dona Barlett
As is the case with mechanics, chefs, plumbers, and every other profession, there are good credit repair companies and companies to avoid. Below are some tips for identifying a company you can trust.
1. Look for how long the company has been in business. Credit correction is a booming industry with many new participants coming and going all the time. Make sure you select a company with a solid foundation that you have confidence will be there for you in the long run. The last thing you want is for the company to go away before they are done helping you.
2. Look for full disclosure. There is nothing a credit repair company can do for you that you cannot do for yourself. In fact, credit repair companies are required by law to make you aware of this fact via a written statement when you sign up. Make sure you are presented with this document.
On top of this, credit repair services are not guaranteed to work because ultimately, whether or not something gets deleted from your credit reports is up to the credit reporting agencies and your creditors. Watch out for organizations that guarantee to increase your credit score or get you approved for a loan.
3. Make sure their billing policy follows
the rules. By law, credit repair companies are not allowed to accept any payment before performing the agreed upon services. This is to protect people from scammers who would promise to be able to fix their credit report for an upfront fee (often times charging thousands of dollars) and then disappear as soon as the payment was received. It is because of this regulation that most credit repair providers charge a modest fee for creating your account (you should not be charged immediately and will in many cases not be charged for a few days), and a monthly fee collected after the previous month's services have been provided.
4. Know the signs of a credit repair scam. Because so many Americans are desperate to restore their credit but have little knowledge of how the credit reporting system works, scammers have set up phony credit repair clinics claiming to help people but ultimately make the situation worse. The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) was created to protect people from becoming a victim of a scam by defining rules credit repair companies must follow. Knowing these rules will help you avoid being taken advantage of.
1. Look for how long the company has been in business. Credit correction is a booming industry with many new participants coming and going all the time. Make sure you select a company with a solid foundation that you have confidence will be there for you in the long run. The last thing you want is for the company to go away before they are done helping you.
2. Look for full disclosure. There is nothing a credit repair company can do for you that you cannot do for yourself. In fact, credit repair companies are required by law to make you aware of this fact via a written statement when you sign up. Make sure you are presented with this document.
On top of this, credit repair services are not guaranteed to work because ultimately, whether or not something gets deleted from your credit reports is up to the credit reporting agencies and your creditors. Watch out for organizations that guarantee to increase your credit score or get you approved for a loan.
3. Make sure their billing policy follows
4. Know the signs of a credit repair scam. Because so many Americans are desperate to restore their credit but have little knowledge of how the credit reporting system works, scammers have set up phony credit repair clinics claiming to help people but ultimately make the situation worse. The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) was created to protect people from becoming a victim of a scam by defining rules credit repair companies must follow. Knowing these rules will help you avoid being taken advantage of.
