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Friday, December 13, 2024   
 

The TRUTH About Credit Repair
by Scott Bilker
Scott Bilker is the author of the best-selling books, Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt, Credit Card and Debt Management, and How to be more Credit Card and Debt Smart. He's also the founder of DebtSmart.com. More about and DebtSmart can be found in the online media kit.
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Scott Bilker

Have you ever wondered what companies send you when they claim you can erase your bad credit overnight? How about those ads that say you can get any major credit card 100% Guaranteed regardless of your credit?

Ads abound almost everywhere (online and off) selling books, systems and secrets to help you fix your credit in a hurry. Many of these programs have claims, which read like the covers of supermarket tabloids, "In 3 hours my credit score jumped from 580 to 676!"..."Erase bad credit and smash your debts with just 2 Magic Letters!"..."Create a completely new credit file in 24 hours!" Are these types of claims ALWAYS too good to be true? The answer is "Yes and...no."

On the side of "Yes" there are a few companies that may be able to help.  Law firms that specialize in this area are a good place to start. The review of the firm that you're thinking of using for your credit must find it to be very reputable and experienced in handling credit issues.

While many people would love for you to believe that the only thing that can fix bad credit is time; in reality… nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is, time is only one factor which will fix a credit report (but it's a far cry from being the only factor). How can I back this up? Easy. Under a consumer protection law known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (a.k.a. the FCRA), the only negative information which can remain on your credit report is not what is accurate… but what can be proved as such. What's this mean to you?

It means any negative item on your credit report can only remain there if it is accurate and CAN BE PROVED AS ACCURATE under the guidelines of the FCRA. This indisputable fact presents consumers with both good news and bad news. The good news is that through the FCRA, your credit score can most likely be improved dramatically in a very short period of time with only a modest amount of effort on your part.

The bad news is that while the actual "work" will take very little of your time, it is vital that you have good information on "how" to go about it. This is the bad news; 9 out of 10 courses on restoring your credit will do nothing more than lead you into a snake pit. This is because they provide you with outdated "Boiler Plate" dispute letters which are rarely effective. These are nothing more than form letters and… quite frankly (more bad news) the Credit Bureaus and Creditors will laugh at you if you try to use them.

While I agree with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that "Anything a Credit Repair Clinic can do for you legally, you can do for yourself at little or not cost"… the key element you need for success is the latest inside techniques and procedures to get the results you want. These involve strategies known as "Proof of Contract", "Constructive Notice", "Challenge of Procedure" or "Restrictive Endorsement" and many others.

All these terms may "sound" impressive, but they are really quite simple. In the end, it is nothing more than a method of communication which exercises your consumer protection rights, gets the results you want, and raises your credit score. Even more impressive, once you learn how simple it can be by doing it for yourself, you will find there is a fortune to be made doing it for others! Either way, it all starts by requesting a free copy of your credit report by visiting: www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

Terry Lawson is the founder of Consumer Publishing Group which publishes the Credit Secrets Bible (in print since 1994). To receive Free Credit Tips including "How to Bullet-Proof Yourself From Identity Theft For FREE!" visit their website.

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