Credit Repair

Credit Repair
You may have bad credit due to some irresponsible moves or
some unforeseen events in your life. Protecting your credit
score could prove to be very important to your future.
There are lots of ways to keep your credit good, but if
it's already looking pretty bad, consider some repair
options. One way is to go through a credit repair
organization.

If you think you should use a credit repair company to fix
your credit problems, you should educate yourself first.
Credit repair companies can make a lot of promises, but be
careful who you give your information to. There is a lot of
deception going on in this industry and there are a few
signs that you should look out for.

First, if they ask you for any money up front, then it
isn't a legitimate or ethical company. The Credit Repair
Organizations Act says that companies aren't allowed to ask
you for any money until everything that they have promised
has been completed. So this should be something that you
are mindful of.

Secondly, they should always inform you of your legal
rights and the steps that you can take yourself to repair
your credit. Crazy promises to remove all bad things from
your credit should be ignored. No one can do this. You can
investigate your credit files to dispute any inaccurate or
incomplete information, but you can't make negative
information just vanish. If a credit repair organization
tells you not to contact a credit reporting agency
yourself, you should probably hang up the phone and do just
that. Anything that a credit repair company can do for you,
you can actually do for yourself, for free. Research a
little online and find out what your rights are under the
Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The Credit Repair Organizations Act is in place to protect
you. If you decide to go with a credit repair company, then
you should familiarize yourself with the basics of this act
before you proceed. We've mentioned that they can't charge
you until they've completed everything that they've
promised, but you should also know that they must provide
you with payment terms for their services. They must inform
you of all fees and a final total amount that will be due.
They must give you a detailed description in writing of
everything that they plan to do. They have to give you a
timeline in which the process will be completed. Any
guarantees must be in writing and included in the contract.
The company's name and address must also be included on the
contract.

Before you sign anything, they must provide you with a copy
of the Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal
Law. They can't start working on your credit until they
have a signed contract in hand and have completed a three
day waiting period. Anytime during the waiting period you
have the right to change your mind and cancel the contract,
owing nothing. Keep your rights in mind throughout the
process and educate yourself before you start. Remember,
anything they can do for your credit score, you can do
yourself for free.

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About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of
http://www.my720fico.com . My720fico.com is one of the most
unique on-line resources for free credit score reports,
Internet identity theft software, secure credit cards, and
a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The
information within this website is written by professionals
that know about credit, and what determines ones credit
worthiness.