Part 1: Discover The Truth About Credit Report Repair
Did you just try to get a loan for car repairs and get turned down? That is a horrible feeling, and it even makes you feel you have let your family and yourself down. Right? Don’t get desperate and run out to hire a company to do a credit report repair. You may find yourself in worse shape than before you started. This article may well give you 2nd thoughts about using one of these companies.
Chances are you have seen the ads for “Legally Repair Your Credit Report,” “Wipe Your Credit Report Clean In 7 Days”, “Buy A New House With A Clean Credit Report” etc. You have been sitting in your favorite recliner watching the TV, and suddenly somebody starts telling you can have a clean credit report in as little 30 days.
Hold on to your wallet if you are thinking about calling them. No matter what promise these companies make, bad credit transactions are going to stay on your personal credit report. They cannot wave a magic wand and make your bad debts vanish; like magic.
What you are hearing and reading is a first class con job, being played on desperate people. Many of these companies have been put out of business by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and local states Attorney General. The sad part is there are those that remain in business and continue to rake in $1000.00s of dollars per month from unsuspecting people.
Even some of the companies still in existence are a fly by night operation. You pay them a fee from as low as several hundred dollars to a high of perhaps a thousand or more. They collect your money and the next time you call them the phone has been disconnected.
However, there are some that actually offer a legitimate service. But you are going to be paying them to do something you can do yourself. All they are going to do is take the list of your debts, fill in a form letter to your lenders and ask them to prove the debt. Hey! You can do your credit report repair yourself.
O.K. are you now asking how you clean up your own credit transcript? You are most likely not going to believe this but the process is simple, but it can take some time.
Several years ago, the Federal Government of the United States, made it mandatory that the consumer had the right to get a copy of his credit report once a year. So the first step you have to take is to write or call the “Big 3”, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, and request a copy. By law, they have to send you a current copy of your credit narrative.
If you should find false information reported by a creditor, your next step is to write the company about their false information. By law, in 30 days, they must either prove the debt or have it removed if false. However, if you find the reported debts on your report are accurate, this is where the rubber hits the pavement. Because they will remain on your report for 7 years or until you clean them up.
When you hear the outrageous claims made by these companies, the adage applies; “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
In Part 2 of “Discover The Truth About Credit Report Repair,” it will give you more information on how you can legally clean up your own credit transcript.
