The truth about credit repair

Have you ever heard this before: “Credit Problems? No Problem.” “Your Bad Credit Erased…100 percent Guaranteed”?

Beware if you have ever read this type of advertisement. There are numerous companies that claim they can “fix” your credit reports for a fee. However, they do little and sometimes nothing in most cases to fix your credit reports.

What ends up happening is these companies take your money and disappears with it and you’re left with the same “bad credit” and even less money. Many companies also claim that they can create a new credit file for you by getting you a “new” Social Security number. This is illegal and never actually works.

Your credit history is maintained by companies called credit bureaus. These are private companies that collect information reported to them by mortgage companies, banks, department stores and other creditors. These bureaus can legally report any accurate negative information for 7 years and bankruptcy information for 10 years.

Any accurate negative items that are within the 7 (or 10) year reporting period cannot be erased from your report by anyone. This is true even for companies that advertise claiming they are able to “repair your credit”.

Time is the only way to heal your credit report. By making consecutive payments when they are due, you will be able to show a more positive rating on your report, but your negative marks will not be removed.

Steps to check your credit

You are entitled by law to see any information that the credit bureaus have on file about you. To find out what is listed on your credit report, you can follow these simple steps:

Contact the local credit bureaus

Obtain a copy of your credit report. There may be a small fee if you haven’t been denied credit within the last 30 days, during which time it is free. You can visit the credit bureau office to review your credit report in person. Look over the report and check for mistakes.

If you do not understand something, you can ask. By law, the credit bureaus are required to explain your report to you. If a mistake is found, notify the credit bureau of the mistake and provide them with as much information regarding that problem.

A reinvestigation will be done to dispute the information (if legitimately incorrect) and all necessary corrections needed will be made. A corrected copy of your report should be sent to anyone who has received the incorrect version within the past 6 months.

Are you a victim?

If you have ever encountered a serious problem with a credit repair company, you CAN report them. You can contact your local consumer protection Council office. Check with your local directory assistance to see if a toll-free number is available.

Facts

No one can legally remove accurate information from a credit report. However, you can request a reinvestigation on any of the information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete.