Professional services

When you contemplate signing up with a credit repair agency in an effort to reset your financial priorities and boost your credit score, you need to know what you are getting yourself into for the long haul. Not all agencies claiming to help your score are operating on the up-and-up. Many are just in it for the money and counting on your ignorance of the law and desperation for a better score to make a fast buck.

Here are some tips to help you avoid getting taken in by countless credit repair scams and what you should know about their service contracts.

• Beware promises that are not realistic such as claims of ‘overnight credit repair’ or ability to remove all negative information from your report. Both concepts are impossible and in some cases illegal.

• Realize you can do everything yourself for free. Consumers have the power to repair their own mistakes. They only part of the equation they have to pay out of pocket for is the credit score information which costs about $15 from each reporting agency. Otherwise, all other work is free including filing disputes of inaccurate negative information contained in a credit report. Read more…

Negative records on your credit report can cause a substantial drop in your credit score. While the tips and strategies we teach at CreditRepair.org may be helpful for many, they will not be as effective in case you have negative records, which keep bringing your score down.

Deleting Negative Records

There are professional credit repair agencies, which specialize in removing negative items from clients’ credit reports. We highly recommend Lexington Law because of their astonishing track record (see the short sample on the left), client testimonials, company ratings and true expertise in this space.

Client Testimonials

If you want to learn about a company’s services, the best people to ask are its current and former clients! Watch the video below to see what people have to say about their experience with Lexington Law and the result of the service on their credit scores and reports.

Based on information from various credit counseling agencies operating in Florida, women are more likely to reach out to debt counselors and other agencies to get help dealing with personal debt issues. Women currently make up more than 62% of the client base at one of the largest credit counseling agencies in Florida as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

Many of the clientele are single mothers or divorcees trying to make ends meet as the Head of Household. A credit scores and histories are being relied on heavily by a number of industries women are seemingly taking a proactive measure to get their finances back on track. The women are faced with the daily pressures of family life, eliminating debt, and keeping food on the table.

During the recession between 2007 and 2009, many male workers had their jobs eliminated with 4 millions jobs lost in construction during that time. These downsizing measures and significant job losses spurred women into becoming the chief or sole breadwinner of the family unit.

Along with the burden of making more money came the added burden of Read more…

Your first time working with a credit repair agency might be confusing. Here are some tips to create and maintain a positive relationship with the company who’s going to help you get your credit back on track.

Check the company background first. Before you settle on a credit repair company, make sure you check its background first. Review the company’s history with the Better Business Bureau. You can even do an internet search to see what other customers have said about the company. This groundwork this will help make sure you’re working with a reputable company.

Read and understand your contract. Every credit repair company is required to give you a contract outlining the services it will provide for you. Make sure you understand everything that’s in your contract. If there’s something you expect the company to do that’s not listed in your contract make sure you get clarification on whether that service will actually be provided.

Know your payment terms. You should only pay a credit repair company after they’ve done the services that were promised. Some credit repair companies only require you to pay if they give you the result that was promised, e.g. removing an item from your credit report. Other companies require Read more…

The path to credit repair might require you to pay off some (or all) of your past due accounts. You could easily feel overwhelmed by the amount of your past due accounts, but don’t let this discourage you or cause you to delay your credit repair. You can pay off these accounts one at a time.

Figure Out What You Owe

Make a list of all the negative accounts on your credit report that have outstanding balances. Your credit repair agency may not be able to get these removed these from your credit report unless you can pay off the balance. If you put together a list of the accounts you owe, you can better come up with a plan to pay off all the accounts.

Your accounts may have different levels of delinquencies. Some may be late, but not yet charged-off. Others may be charged-off. And you may have some accounts that are with collection agencies. How you pay your accounts depends on how delinquent they are. For example, if you have accounts that are late, but not charged-off, you might pay them to keep them from becoming charged-off, especially if you don’t have any other charge-offs on your report.

Pay for Delete

You may be able to talk the creditor into removing the negative item from your report in exchange for payment. The pay for delete strategy can be difficult because Read more…

When you work with a credit repair agency, it’s important that you have a contract that spells out what the company will do on your behalf. Read through the contract and ask questions about anything you don’t understand. Here are some things you should expect to be included in a credit repair contract.

Cost

Your credit repair contract should include how much you’re expected to pay for credit repair and when your payment is due. Make sure the amount that’s included in the contract matches any oral agreements made. For example, if you were promised a discount on your services, this discount should be reflected in your contract. What you sign up for is what you’re responsible for paying. Handle any discrepancies before you sign.

Services to Be Completed

In your contract, the credit repair company should include a detailed list of all the services they’ll perform on your behalf. This may include preparing and sending letters to the credit bureau, disputing items on your credit report, etc. Just as with the price, make sure all services you discuss are listed in your contract. Credit repair companies are not supposed to misrepresent their services or make promises to do things they can’t legally do.

Time

By law, your credit repair contract must include the Read more…

One of the essential components of credit repair is your ability to remain consistent in your efforts to keep your credit report accurate and your credit score as high as possible. Lenders today are looking for scores of 730 and above when making lending decisions at the best rates. It is in every consumer’s best interest to work on keeping their credit reports accurate and up to date.

Why Consistency Matters

There is a heavy emphasis for consumers to monitor their credit history reports and every consumer has a right to check in with their reports annually at no charge. There is also opportunity to request free credit reports when you are denied credit. Your credit score does not come free with your reports but it is your history that is what really needs special attention.

Most consumers will look at their credit history at least once a year or when they need financing but that may not be enough to generate the highest credit score possible. In the interest of time management, it may be wise for consumers to Read more…

“Ignorance is bliss,” or so they say. That’s not necessarily the case when it comes to bad credit. Keeping your head in the sand while your credit crumbles around you, isn’t a wise thing to do.

While you’re ignoring your credit, the situation could be getting worse, especially if you’ve stopped paying your bills. As late payments pile up on your credit report, your credit score drops further and further. Just how low can your credit score go? All the way down to 300. It’s a long climb to better credit from there.

If you ignore your bad credit, you could unexpectedly have a job application turned down after you’ve gone through the entire job-hunting process. Employers do screen credit reports, but typically after they’ve done the interview and possibly even told you that you have the job pending a background check. If you’ve been in the dark about your credit situation, being turned down for a job would be a complete surprise. You have the right to a free credit report if you’re unemployed and planning to look for a job, so contact the credit bureaus to check your credit before you go job searching.

Bad credit doesn’t just affect people who are actively looking for a job. If you’re up for a promotion or raise, your employer could check your credit report before moving you up the ladder. Unfortunately, blemishes on your credit report could hold you back in your career.

If you ever have to rent an apartment, you’ll have a hard time getting approved when Read more…

With an increased focus for consumers on repairing their credit, it makes sense that there are increased efforts on behalf of less-than-reputable ‘credit repair’ companies to market their services to unsuspecting consumers.

The Sad Reality

So many people have suffered through debt and other financial problems that led to a poor credit rating, the national economy felt the punch, especially in light of the housing market crisis. Since the attention on the importance of good credit scores has been steady, more consumers finally feel ready to take their debt to task and finally do something about repairing their credit. There is no longer the deep stigma associated with debt there was in year’s past.

While it is a good sign more consumers are paying attention to their personal finances, it is also creating a vulnerable position for many who are not sure where to start or if they are up to handling the task at hand. They still fear debt negotiations with their creditors or are in need of a ‘quick fix’ to pursue more financing. Both scenarios have paved the way for a so-called credit repair company to easily come to the rescue.

The sad reality is that while many consumers have the best intentions, not all agencies feel likewise. Many are in it for the cash and do not think much about the damage they are causing to consumers when the money is gone but no legitimate credit repair work is done on their behalf. Scam agencies are increasing all the time, promoting credit repair services that are essentially impossible. They make it sound so easy in their aggressive advertising campaigns and many consumers take the bait. Read more…

When you hear or read about credit repair companies from “reputable” sources, you usually see these sources warning you against credit repair. They tell you not to hire credit repair companies and that you’re better off repairing credit on your own. Why have credit repair companies been made into villains? Because many of them are villains.

In 2008, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shutdown 33 credit repair companies because these companies violated Federal laws for credit repair companies. When the FTC sues these companies it’s usually because they’ve been making false claims, not delivering on their promises, and taking money from customers upfront. These are all illegal for credit repair companies to do.

It’s Easy to Start a Credit Repair Company

Anyone can start a credit repair company. While there are Federal laws stating what credit repair companies can do once they’re operating, there are no laws or requirements for any individual or company to start doing credit repair. The internet makes it easy for someone to start a credit repair company without even getting a state business license or training. Read more…