With roughly a quarter of the population that is under bad credit, the market is teeming with loan sharks and bad credit repair scams. These people prey on those desperate people and further bury them in debts. If you have bad credit and is thinking about undergoing bad credit repair, it is very important that you know the tricks that scams can pull off on you. You already have negative marks all over your credit repair and would you really still have to pay just to be able to revive your financial health? While having to invest a considerable amount of cash may be necessary, most of the credit repair services out there offer little help than what you can already do for yourself.
Access to your credit reports is your right – don’t be fooled into paying just to get copies of your credit reports. Upon the consumer’s request, federal law states that the three major credit bureaus are required to provide a copy of your credit report annually. In addition to this, credit repair businesses are required by the new Credit Card Act laws to make known to their clients that the government mandated AnnualCreditReport.com is the right place to go to. As consumer, you need to understand that the information on each of your credit reports may vary.
“Professional” credit products are unnecessary. These so called professional credit repair products are often advertised online with additional fees. But in actuality, these products can’t really offer anything much more than what federal credit laws can offer to you for free. As an example, there’s really no need to sign up for credit monitoring service when you can simply contact each of the three credit agencies and request for free fraud alert to be placed on your account. The credit bureaus can contact you for free when anyone asks about your credit.
Credit counseling may only cost you more because of hidden fees and your credit report may only incur additional damages. You should not believe any credit repair agency that asks you to pay fees upfront just to call up creditors and talk them into negotiating your credit. The best and most effective way for you to go is to gather information and repair bad credit yourself.
You must be aware that the FICO score is the only credit service that you need to pay for. The websites of any of the three credit agencies are sites that you can trust for your FICO score. Your FICO score anyhow is only required when your need to apply for a major mortgage loan so your interest rate will be determined. Be wary about any additional services and charges that may appear once you check out.
Lastly, you should know that a legitimate and trusted credit repair company provides their services first and ask for payment later after resolution. It is always best to do your own homework and check out websites that give you valuable credit repair tips without any charges at all.