Credit repair is the process of hiring a company to correct your bad credit by removing negative and inaccurate information from your credit reports. Legitimate credit repair companies can ensure that inaccurate information is removed from your credit reports so that it doesn't harm your credit rating. However, they can't do anything for you that you can't do for yourself if you're willing to put in the time and effort. And finally, credit repair companies cannot force or encourage you to sign a waiver that would waive some or all of the rights mentioned above.
With the subscription fee structure, the credit repair company has a financial incentive to keep you as a paying customer for as long as possible. Remember that even if you pay to have information removed from your credit report, there is no guarantee that this will increase your credit rating. Credit repair companies cannot hide previous notices in the language of their contracts. There can be a lot of back and forth, but the ultimate goal is to remove negative information from your credit file so that your credit score can improve.
While legitimate credit repair companies can do what they promise, the field is rife with fraudsters. Credit scores are calculated based on information in the consumer's credit report, and sometimes that information is inaccurate. These companies generally offer to review your credit reports and address any negative elements they can with the credit bureaus on their behalf. Enacted in 1996, the CROA clearly articulates what credit repair companies should and should not do to comply with federal law.
The intention is for credit agencies or suppliers to delete credit information completely or modify it in a way that is more favorable to the consumer. If the information is correct, there is little anyone, even a professional credit repair company, can do to change it. Historically, email has been the preferred method for credit repair companies for several reasons. Among the warning signs of credit repair scams are companies that ask you to pay before providing services.
This can happen when creditors report misinformation to the credit agency or if an identity thief applies for credit in the name of the consumer. The pay-for-elimination theory is that it makes the customer happy because they only pay for tangible results, and the credit repair company stays on the right side of the CROA because it doesn't charge its customers until the results have been obtained. By law, you are entitled to receive a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
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