Unlike the services offered by credit repair attorneys, many companies suggest options that are questionable and some which are downright illegal.
There have been reports of “credit repair clinics” and specialists which do nothing but take consumers money and then close up shop quickly. If you are interested in legal credit repair, your only real option is to try to do it all yourself or hire a credit repair attorney.
One credit repair scheme (not offered by credit repair attorneys) suggests something called “file segregation”. They suggest that you, the consumer, apply for an employer identification number (EIN) or federal tax identification number. This number is used to identify a business. If you are not a business owner, then simply applying for an EIN is fraudulent. Once a person has this EIN, this credit repair scheme suggests that you use this number and a different address to apply for credit. Making any false statement on a credit application is a crime. A credit repair attorney would never suggest that you do anything illegal, but other credit repair specialists might.
Credit repair attorneys can help you legally repair your credit scores. Even FICO now suggests that consumers should take steps to improve their credit scores in order to receive the best interest rates on mortgages, loans and credit cards. Of course, they also offer to sell you reports and packages to accomplish this feat. If you want to know your FICO scores, you will have to pay for them. The information compiled by the three major credit bureaus and listed on your credit report is available for consumers to view and print free of charge on a yearly basis, but these reports do not include your FICO scores. Before you pay FICO for information, it might be wise to take advantage of a free credit consultation offered by many credit repair attorneys.
There are still many who say that it can not be done, that only time and patience will repair bad credit, but credit repair attorneys and their clients know better. Many of these law firms have been in this business for twenty years or more. If it were not possible to achieve results legally, then logically they would not have been in business for very long. That may be one reason that so many of the credit repair clinics have gone out of business.
One might think that a credit repair attorney would charge a lot more than a credit counselor or other non-law firm affiliated organization, but actually most credit repair attorneys do not charge that much. Especially when you consider the work they do and the results they achieve. The cost of bad credit or even “less than perfect” credit amounts to hundreds or thousands of dollars per year in additional interest alone. Many of those other credit repair companies charge just as much as credit repair attorneys while doing less work for the customer and achieving less if any results.
Most credit repair attorneys charge a start up fee and a monthly fee, rather than a per item fee. Most people have many items on their credit reports that need attention and the monthly fee works out better in the long run, but the best credit repair attorneys offer a money back guarantee related to how much negative information they are able to have removed from your credit report.
Many people have tried to achieve credit repair results on their own. It is possible. It takes time and patience. It can be frustrating and results are often hard to achieve. If you have tried the do-it-yourself approach, don’t give up, contact a credit repair attorney. There are some situations that are very difficult. Sometimes creditors are not willing to talk to you. Credit bureaus are not willing to work with you and no matter how hard you try to correct credit problems on your own; you keep running into brick walls.By: PATSY ROSE