Credit Repair
Do credit repair companies really help fix your credit?
I know that I can dispute and correct items myself.. But I'm wondering if I would get better results if I paid someone to do it...Has anyone had good results?
Public Comments
- Not really, most credit repair companies are scams and will not do anything for you that you cant do yourself for free. If you want to consolidate debt go to www.nfcc.org This is a list of accredited debt counseling agencies that will legitamately help you rather than scam you. If you must go that way I wouldn't go with anyone else other than who you find on that site. Good luck.
- Like previous answer, NO! They take more money from you and stop totally paying your creditors when they say they will. They let it get so far behind (3-6 months) and then settle with them for you. You can do the same thing without "paying" the counseling agency. Go to the list the answer gave you previous. Non-profit only. They guide you. If you have to pay, you are being scammed.
- NO!! First, you can dispute and correct items in your report only if their inacurate (obviously) and if they're not right, then why would you pay someone to do something you could do yourself? There are only two possibilities: It will be corrected, or it won't. If you have items on your credit report that are inacurate, then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to waive a flag to the bereaus and tell them! But, say everything in your reports are correct. In this case, there's no "fix" for your credit. There is no such thing as an agency that can "repair your credit overnight." Anyone who tells you this, the federal government warns, should be turned in because they are either scaming you from your money by taking it and running with it, or they are providing you with illegal and unlawful services. (Providing you with a new social security number, for example.) The only way to fix your credit is to establish a better debt repayment history. Make all of your payments ON TIME for the next 24 months, and your score will go up! This is because missed payments are taken off your record after 2 years, so there will only be on time payments on your record. Or, if there are missed payments on file, recent activity carries more weight than past activities. Lastly, remember this: Bankruptcies are on file for 7 to 10 years, and greatly lower your score!! This should be used only as a LAST RESORT. Other negative items such as collections, gov't liens, etc, can also last a long time on your report. So to sum everything up: Get a hold of your finances, create a buget, and start paying ALL of your bills ON TIME, and your credit will be FIXED. It's a lengthy, difficult process, but it's your most affordable option.
- Anything they can do you can do yourself. They charge alot of money are not very successsful, and often when they do manage to get something off down the road if its later proven that it actually does belong there it goes right back on. The FTC has a warning about these kind of companies. See a good website A site I've used for info in the past ... http://debt.knowledged.info/credit_card.html Hope that helps.
