 There is no quick fix - If you listen to the advertising from some of the less reputable credit repair companies, it's easy to believe that your credit can be cleaned up in 30 days, that's a lie. Your bad credit did not happen over-night, and it will not clear up over-night.
Those who advertise "fast credit repair" are the same people who want to be paid up-front before "repairing" your credit. Credit repair services can’t ask for payment until they’ve kept their promises.
Nobody can repair your credit any faster than you can, if you know what steps to take. The time it takes to repair credit is directly related to each person's specific credit issues, and everyone's issues are different. On occasion, credit can be repaired quickly, but that is the exception not the norm.
Consumer Credit Counseling - Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS) are companies designed to help you "manage" your debt and lower your payments by negotiating with your creditors. For the most part, these are a non-profit organizations,and mean well., some are not and are in it for the money
Here's my opinion - These companies will not help you anymore than you can help yourself, and here's why. The main thing they are doing is calling your creditors and arranging for a lower payment with them and rolling all of your debt into one payment.
What the CCCS will not tell you is that when they make arrangements for you to pay less than the full payment each month, the creditors will still report you late each month on your credit bureau. These late payments stay on your credit bureau for seven years, you are basically filing bankruptcy without protection from the creditors that bankruptcy gives you.
The only attraction I see is that they can provide advice about how to build a good credit record. They can help you learn how to budget your money and avoid credit problems in the future. The problem is, when creditors (mortgage companies, car lenders etc) see the CCC (consumer credit counseling) on your credit report, they treat it exactly like a bankruptcy.
Paying off debts - If your goal is to clean up your credit without having to make any sort of restitution to the people that you owe money to, you can stop reading now. Credit repair involves "making amends", this doesn't mean you will have to pay back every debt, or even the full amount. However, you will have to pay some, part or even all of your debts during the process.
Credit repair software - Phooey! If you want to pay someone $300 for a program that tells you what to do and when to do it, please send it to me, I have four children in braces. No program can get you any closer to good credit than this tutorial and a pencil and paper can. We will show you what you need to do to repair your credit step by step. If you have unanswered questions at any time simply post them in our blog and I will answer them.
Hiring a professional - I have no issues with credit repair experts, just remember, they perform a service, not miracles. If you don't have the time, or inclination, to deal with creditors and collection agencies I suggest you look into one. Just beware of the ones that make promises to "clean" your credit, get you a certain credit score in a certain time frame or otherwise infer that they can do the impossible. These are the charlatans.
Can I get my credit "erased" or a new credit profile all together? - Absolutely! This practice, is called “file segregation,” and it's illegal, and it doesn’t work. Unless you are interested in free room and board, 3 free meals a day and roommates called Bubba, I would avoid people who say they can do this for you.
Can I remove a bankruptcy? - No, unless it is over the statute of limitations or it isn't yours.
Can I remove back child support? - No, in fact, if you owe a substantial amount of child support, and you are unable, or unwilling, to pay it back you can stop reading now. Most credit underwriters and auditors are women and you stand a better chance of winning the lottery than getting approved for anything.
What about tax liens - I have to be careful here, I am semi-experienced in this matter. When dealing with tax issues NEVER accept ANY advice from ANYONE but the IRS or a tax attorney. That being said, federal tax liens can be negotiated some of the time but only if the IRS thinks that they will never see a dime unless they negotiate. If you have state, city or county tax liens, these almost always have to be paid in full, usually at the courthouse.
Can judgments be removed? - Only after seven years from the time you pay it off. Credit Bureau's will not remove judgments unless it has been rescinded in the court of law.
Most people with bad credit are irresponsible with money - Most people with bad credit have lost a job, battled cancer, lost a loved one or have become disabled physically or mentally. Bad credit is usually a result of life's unavoidable circumstance, not poor ethics. |
Credit Repair Tutorial -
