Can I Legally Repair My Credit?
The recent economic downturn has produced two notable things: people in financial hardship and people looking to make money off those who are in trouble. While there are a lot of credit repair services all over the internet, is credit repair legal? The simple answer is maybe.
Credit repair has taken on a negative connotation due to the many fraudulent services being advertised on the internet. While there are methods to repair your credit, they take time and responsible behavior.
All you have to do is search the internet for credit repair services and you’ll find a whole host of companies, attorneys, articles, and seminars who promise to fix your damaged credit. You’ll even find advertisements that promise to fix your credit in a matter of days.
Before we answer the question, is credit repair legal, we should first look at if it’s even possible. According to many experts, it is not possible to repair your credit in any way outside of exhibiting good credit habits over time. Bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 7 years regardless of the service you hire.
Your credit is updated, on average, every 30 days so the idea of fixing your credit in only a few days probably isn’t possible. Don’t respond to claims that appear to be impossible under current laws and procedures.
Let’s look at the question at hand. Is credit repair legal? The answer is that it depends what type of credit repair you’re looking to use. Anything that creates a new identity for you, known as file segregation, is indeed illegal. Challenging information on your credit report is legal and encouraged.
Any service promising quick results that will somehow turn your financial life around is most likely illegal. Any company telling you not to contact the credit bureaus directly are probably illegal. Negotiating with a lender to remove the negative entry in exchange for satisfying the debt to them is legal.
Once again, we use common sense to see if credit repair is legal. If it sounds like a quick fix, it’s probably both illegal and a scam. They will most likely ask you to pay upfront if it is a scam.
Don’t be fooled. If you ran in to hard times, get on the path of repair by doing the right things with your money and paying the people you owe. Your credit will be repaired without the help of anybody else. Whatever you do don’t get discouraged and ensure you keep moving forward.
Congress passed federal laws that entitle you to dispute and remove any item you feel is in error or inaccurate on your credit history. Unfortunately this myth that you just have to live with a damaged credit report has been spread throughout our society, when it couldn’t be more inaccurate.
For a free credit consultation call 1-800-230-1954 or for more about how to repair my credit or for more about credit repair services visit us.