Bad
Credit Repair - No Scams.
Real Help For Bad Credit at LowRateSearch.com
Legtimate
credit repair and professional
debt negotiation can help you get control of your
bad credit.
There are warning signs to look for, in order to avoid
credit repair scams. Be cautious of any bad credit
repair companies that:
- Claim they are able to create
a new identity, employer identification number, or
social security number for you that will erase your
past credit history.
(Your past credit history cannot be erased.)
-
Claim you need to pay them to dispute inaccurate
items in your credit report. (If you have
been a victim of identity theft, or just want some
assistance cleaning up inaccurate items on your credit
report, you may want to pay a credit repair service
to dispute these items for you. However, if you are
prepared to do the work, you can dispute inaccurate
items directly with the credit bureaus yourself for
free.)
-
Advise you to dispute ACCURATE items in your
credit report. (No matter how damaging in
the past, disputing accurate items on your credit
reports is illegal.)
-
Do not explain your legal rights and personal
responsibilities when it comes to credit repair. (Beware
of scam credit repair companies that say "oh,
this is just standard procedure" when you ask
them a specific question. Make sure you get real answers
to your questions.)
-
Do not provide you with a clear credit repair
contract. (By law, credit repair contracts
must include a list of all of the services they will
provide, a total cost, and completion date
or date range. Additionally, the law provides you
three days from the time you sign the credit repair
contract to cancel it without pentalty or obligation.
Use this time to review the contract yourself, and
seek professional legal review if necessary.)
-
Ask for payment in advance. You should
not pay any costs up front before you complete counseling
with the credit repair service.
In
September 1996, the Federal Trade Commission enacted
the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) to protect
consumers from scam artists posing as credit repair
companies.
Some
specific protections are:
-
Credit repair companies cannot make claims about the
services they provide that are illegal. Remember,
if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
-
Credit repair companies cannot charge you for any
services up front. You can only be charged
once their promised (and legal) services have been
completed.
-
Credit repair companies cannot perform any services
without a signed contract. The credit repair
contract must state the exact measures they will take
to help you repair your credit, how much it will cost
in total, and how long it will take before you see
results.
-
You have a grace period. All credit repair
companies must complete a three day waiting period
after you sign the contract to give you the opportunity
to review and/or cancel the contract without obligation
if you change your mind.
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