Credit Repair

If you feel like you are drowning in debt, and getting more calls from collection agencies than from your friends and family, you may start to feel desperate and as if you will do absolutely anything to simply make the calls and the demands stop. You may even have considered bankruptcy as a viable option, though it is very rarely the best option to pursue. If you find an ad or a mailer claiming that a credit repair company can erase your past transgressions for a small fee, giving you a new credit identity, the truth is it is probably too good to be true and will do nothing to fix bad credit.

Every single day there are companies out there that are trying to appeal directly to consumers with bad credit history. After you pay their nominal fees, nothing is ever done to improve your credit or restore your peace of mind. Choosing credit repair help from such a company will only make your financial situation worse by wasting time and money, and putting you further behind in your debt obligations.

• Contact an experienced credit repair attorney to find out your legal rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law.

Warning Signs

If you receive a credit repair offer, look into it while keeping the following criteria in mind. These warning signs are offered by the FTC or Federal Trade Commission and generally indicate when a credit repair agency is a scam.

• If the company wants you to pay for credit repair services but has not yet provided any services,
• If the company does not tell you your legal rights or educate you on what you can do for yourself without costing you any money,
• If they recommend that you not contact credit bureaus directly,
• If the company suggests that you invent a brand new credit identity by applying for an Employer Identification Number rather than using your Social Security Number.
• If they advise you to dispute all of the information on your credit report, or to do anything else that appears to be illegal.

What Can You Do

Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies are not allowed to make false claims about the services that they offer, and they are not allowed to require payment from you until they have completed the services that they promise to offer. Any contract that is signed with a credit repair company needs to include the following information:

• The payment terms for the services rendered,
• A detailed description of what services will be performed,
• How long until results should be visible,
• The company's full name and business address.

It is important to know, however, that everything a credit repair company can legally do for you can also be done by you for little or no cost at all, so consider the following steps that you can take without the help of a credit repair agency.

• You can dispute mistakes and outdated items in your credit report.
• You can receive a free credit report if any company takes an adverse action against you, such as denying a request for credit, employment or insurance.
• You can receive one free credit report per year if you are unemployed, on welfare or believe that there is an inaccuracy in your credit report due to fraud or identity theft.
• You can also request and receive a free credit report copy once every twelve months from all three of the nationwide consumer reporting companies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

You can also contact an experienced bankruptcy lawyer who can help you with credit repair. Having a bad credit score is not the end of the world. If you are not familiar with laws, hiring a lawyer is your best option. They can help you dispute negative items and remove them from your credit report.

Do you need legal help from a Credit Repair Lawyer? If so, contact a credit repair lawyer for a free consultation today!