Credit Fixes

Is Credit Repair a Rip Off?
By Tom Wemett

Credit repair has a very negative connotation. It is open to a lot of scams and is one of the most investigated financial industries. As a result of such problems a law was passed governing credit improvement entities, the Credit-Repair-Organizations-Act (CROA). In part the law states:

The Congress makes the following findings:

* Consumers have a vital interest in establishing and maintaining their credit worthiness and credit standing in order to obtain and use credit. As a result, consumers who have experienced credit problems may seek assistance from credit-repair organizations which offer to improve the credit standing of such consumers.

* Certain advertising and business practices of some companies engaged in the business of credit-repair services have worked a financial hardship upon consumers, particularly those of limited economic means and who are inexperienced in credit matters.

* The purposes of this title are:

(1) to ensure that prospective buyers of the services of credit-repair organizations (CROs) are provided with the information necessary to make an informed decision regarding the purchase of such services; and

(2) to protect the public from unfair or deceptive advertising and business practices by credit-repair organizations.

In spite of this law there still are many credit-repair organizations that aren’t following the law. Make sure that any credit-repair organization that you decide to use is in fact legitimately providing credit-repair services that meet the CROA.

* No Credit-Repair Organization can charge upfront fees or prepayment for services. They can only bill for services and collect money for services after the services have been rendered. For example, they can change a “setup” fee but only after any setup processes have been completed.

* No Credit-Repair Organization can advertise or state that it can “guarantee” to remove negative items or any item from your credit report. Having items removed from a credit report is similar to filing a lawsuit. The Credit-Repair Organization is challenging inaccurate and negative items on your credit report on your behalf. As with a lawsuit, no one really knows what the outcome will be. Thus a Credit-Repair Organization is prohibited from saying they can guarantee to get these items removed.

* No Credit-Repair Organization can charge a monthly fee until after the monthly services have been rendered. This is similar to the upfront setup fee discussed above.

One way to tell if a credit-repair organization is professional or not is to check to see if they are a member of the National Association of Credit Services Organizations (  rel=nofollow [http://www.nacso.org]NACSO).

From their website: “National Association of Credit Services Organizations’ members go through a very strict and rigorous application and enrollment process to aid in the prevention of fraudulent activity throughout the credit services industry.”

“NACSO’s Standards of Excellence will go further than the Credit-Repair Organizations Act and touch on items essential to the honest growth of this industry.”

Go to the NACSO website and enter the name of the credit-repair organization you are considering. If they are a member in good standing and are displaying the NACSO “Standards of Excellence” Seal, then you should be dealing with a reputable firm.

Are you in “Credit Prison”? Boy, it seems like it sometimes. Perhaps you have experienced a job loss, health problem, business loss or a divorce. The result was late payments or perhaps a foreclosure or bankruptcy.

With 7 to 10 year time frames for having the negative items removed from your credit reports, it sure does feel like one is doomed when it comes to credit following such an event. The result of less than stellar credit usually is:

* Higher interest rates on mortgages, car loans, personal loans, and credit cards.
* Higher insurance rates.
* Inability to get a job.
* Trouble renting an apartment without a cosigner.

However, there are things that you can do now to help rebuild your credit. You can legally repair your credit, without resorting to illegal tactics such as getting a new identity (clearly a fraud), by legally challenging the credit bureaus to remove any and all inaccurate, outdated and unvalidated negative items from your credit reports.

How do you do this?

* Well, you could hire an attorney who is highly experienced in credit law. They challenge the credit bureaus and your creditors to “validate” each and every negative item on your credit report. They do their best to back the credit reporting agencies into a legal corner where the agencies have no choice but to remove the so-challenged negative items.

If an item can’t be validated (not just verified) and some aspect of the reported item is inaccurate, the law requires the credit reporting agencies to remove such inaccurate, outdated and unvalidated items including bankruptcies, liens, judgments, late pays, repossessions, and foreclosures. The downside? Most attorneys will charge you thousands of dollars.

* You could hire a credit repair organization who consults with you, writes dispute letters on your behalf, and who knows the best and most effective ways to challenge negative information and improve credit scores.

As discussed above, many of these are scams and some can be very costly charging upfront and monthly fees that total hundreds if not thousands of dollars to do the same thing you can do.

However, many are reputable and professional. As noted above, make sure anyone offering credit repair services meet all aspects of the CROA (Credit Repair Organizations Act).

Also, many states have special regulations for Credit Repair Organizations. Check them out for your state, and also contact the Better Business Bureau for your area to see if there are any complaints against the CRO you are considering.

* Or, you could DIY, “Do It Yourself”. With the right training and knowledge you can do a pretty good job yourself. You do this by investing in credit repair courses and eBooks. Learn all that you can and then start the process of challenging inaccurate, outdated and unvalidated negative items. This is not an overnight project. It takes time and perseverance.

For more information visit: [http://www.legalcreditrepairhelp.com]http://www.legalcreditrepairhelp.com. Tom Wemett became a full time real estate broker in NY State in 1973. He stopped taking listings in 1992 and started representing home buyers only, which he continues to do in the Albany, NY, Capital Region.  He has earned many real estate certifications including CRS (Certified Residential Specialist), GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute), CEBA (Certified Exclusive Buyer Agent), ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative), CBR (Certified Buyer Representative), CBA (Certified Buyer Agent), CHEC (Certified Homeowner Educator and Counselor), and CSP (Certified New Home Sales Professional).

He is a founding member of NAEBA, the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents and served as the NAEBA National President in 2003. Tom can be reached by email by clicking here:  [mailto:tom@tomwemett.com]Contact Me Here. More in-depth information about home buying is available at [http://home-buying-action-guide.com]http://www.home-buying-action-guide.com including a free eBook, “An Insiders Guide to Avoiding Costly Mistakes When Buying a Home”.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-Credit-Repair-a-Rip-Off?&id=3756347] Is Credit Repair a Rip Off?

The Importance of Credit Repair – Major Reasons to Seek Out Credit Counseling
By Joseph Alex Webb

Credit score holds an invaluable position in some countries, especially in The United States. It is the face value of a person’s credibility to take loans and is based on historical records of the debt taken and repaid over a period. There are several other parameters it takes into consideration which is purely mathematical calculation based on loan and debit history of the user. Now that it holds such a significant position, it is bound to be taken seriously and failing to do so might cause severe repercussions.

Credit repair is essentially a process to correct errors in the credit report. It might be simple for people who have basic understanding of finance and credit but can be tough for others. However irrespective of the knowledge level, everyone has the same urgency to fix any erroneous item. Those who find it tough to handle themselves seek a professional advice. Credit counseling organizations provide advice on debt management and debt handling. They spend time with you understanding your financial liabilities and loopholes and advice on credit repair wherever possible. They have experts who are certified at credit counseling to provide you information related to debt management, improving score and eliminating incorrect records from credit report. They help you identify the bad items and raise a dispute with the consumer reporting company, who verify this with the credit bureau and the card company before deleting the record from the credit report.

Some of the common reasons to seek credit repair advice would be late payment, minimum monthly payment or fiddling the loan balance from one account to another.

Most commonly before filing bankruptcy it is important to get the credit report checked and repair any damage linked to it. Debt counseling organizations can help you repair the report and avoid bankruptcy.

Often due to negligence or lack of knowledge, people do not keep a track of the report when they end up making late payments or pay the minimum amount consecutively for months together. There are chances the credit report has errors and penalize you heavily. It is important to get duplicate records or incorrect records modified.

Being the principal card holder, you tend to overuse the credit card or over spend the available limit, and this can also be one of the likely reasons of bad credit report.

On several occasions when you apply for new loan or a new card, it could be denied due to a bad credit score.
So if you are in one of these situations, waste no more time and look for a legitimate credit counselor for credit repair.

Do you want a 700+ Credit Score? Many items found on credit reports are disputable and can be completely removed and eliminated, returning an attractive luster to your credit score. Contacting a reliable credit repair company can put you back in control of your financial future. For a fresh start and a higher credit score, select the following link for free information on how to repair your credit. [http://www.repair-credit-today.com/credit-repair.php?wid=EZ2&kw=ezine]Credit Repair Advice

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Credit-Repair---Major-Reasons-to-Seek-Out-Credit-Counseling&id=3788625] The Importance of Credit Repair – Major Reasons to Seek Out Credit Counseling