How Credit Repair Works
With personal debt at an all-time high, a number of individuals
have found that they have overextended themselves and have
become immersed in debt. As their debt grows, they can't help
but get more and more behind... and their credit score pays the
price. If you are one of the many who have had problems with
your credit in the past (or still have problems with it), you
may be considering credit repair as a way to get back on track.
Before you sign up for a credit repair plan, you should make
sure that you understand exactly what is involved in repairing
your credit score... while there are a lot of credit repair
agencies that are legitimate, there are also some that seek to
prey on those who need help and perform services that are both
immoral and illegal.
What Credit Repair Is
Obviously, the goal of credit repair is to improve your credit
score and get you back on track financially after past credit
problems. A variety of credit repair services exist, providing
everything from credit counselling and debt negotiation to debt
consolidation loans and budgeting advice.
When used properly, credit repair services can not only help you
to get caught up with your bills and on the path to a better
credit score but they can help you to avoid bankruptcy and set
you up to avoid credit problems in the future.
Credit repair takes time, however, and should never be viewed as
a "quick fix" for your credit.
If an offer claims that they can instantly grant you new credit,
then it's likely not only bogus but can also get you into legal
trouble if you accept it.
Common Types of Credit Repair
As mentioned above, credit repair can take several different
forms. Credit counselling services provide assistance with the
budgeting and repayment of your debts, and offer advice on
simple ways to improve your credit without additional loans.
They also often provide debt negotiation, which is the working
out of a settlement with your creditors so that you only have to
repay a portion of your original debt within a certain
timeframe.
Debt consolidation loans are also used for the purposes of
credit repair, allowing you to take out a loan in order to pay
off outstanding debts and leaving you with a single monthly loan
payment instead of several different payments.
Budgeting assistance services are also available to help you get
control of your spending and personal finances.
Avoiding Credit Repair Scams
Unfortunately, there will always be unsavory individuals who
seek to make money off of those who are in need of assistance.
Any credit repair service that promises instant results or that
offers to simply create a new credit report for you should be
avoided... what they're really creating is a business tax
identification number, and any individual who uses one is in
danger of being charged with fraud and possibly other charges.
Credit repair takes time; if an offer sounds too good to be
true, then it likely is.
Repairing Your Own Credit
Of course, by paying off old debts and establishing and
maintaining new lines of credit you can begin the process of
credit repair yourself.
Request a copy of your credit report and check it for errors,
and then focus on clearing the debts that appear as negative
reports.
It may take years for all of the negative reports to expire, but
by preventing new ones while increasing your positive reports
your credit score will slowly rise on its own.
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