Friday, October 17, 2008

Best Credit Repair Services - Do They Really Work?

By Leona Allen

The best credit repair services won't set unrealistic expectations, but can take much of the hassle out of fixing your credit score. None of these companies perform magic, but the best credit repair services certainly can help a great deal in improving your credit score.

There are hundreds of credit repair services advertising today, but the Federal Trade Commission considers most of them to be scams. Companies that claim they can help you erase bad credit, or offer guarantees to raise your credit score, are probably scams.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, you can't remove accurate and timely negative information legally from a credit report. Even though many of these companies will suggest you dispute all negative entries on your credit report, you do so at your own risk. In most cases, this is illegal, even if you are following their advice.

The best credit repair services will not try to charge you to get your credit reports. By law, everyone is entitled to a free credit report from each of the three credit-reporting agencies (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax) once every twelve months.

Most, if not all of the things these companies will do for you are things you can do yourself, but it may be very helpful for those who may not be aware of what their options are. Doing some of the work on your own might actually lower their fees, or of course you can simply do it all yourself instead.

It is important to differentiate between credit repair services and "debt consolidators". A debt consolidator does not try to fix your credit, but rather works to help you bring your outstanding debt under control.

They accomplish this by contacting your all of your creditors, and negotiating a 'settlement' agreement on your behalf. This will be a small fraction of the actual outstanding debt. Then they add these amounts into a single sum. Based on your budget and ability to pay, you send a single amount each month to the company, who breaks it up and then sends a portion to each creditor.

The best credit repair services can only help those who want to help themselves. They aren't a "bailout" that erases bad debt like bankruptcy filing, however they can help set you on the road to improving your credit score, and in turn your financial future. - 15224

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