You’ve probably heard lots of stories about those who have gone to credit repair organizations for help to improve their bad credit, only to fall prey to credit repair scams. In order to understand what actions must be taken to protect yourself against such unscrupulous people you must know how they function.
They’re all too aware of that people who find themselves undergoing financial hardship are so desperate as to swallow whatever is told them, hoping these fraudulent companies are really able to help them, so they can reclaim their lives. They will often be so disheartened by the system, which is downright cruel to those who have problem credit, that they’ll take any measures to resolve their problems.
Most people looking for help are ready to declare bankruptcy. These are the people who are the most easily taken in by credit repair scams.
The reason? Because they want fast results, and are unaware that the credit repair process requires at minimum 6 – 12 months. Very often, these folks feel that they don’t have much time, and unless they act right now, it will spell future disaster. Ironically, when they hire these scam artists instead of solving their financial problems, they will lose whatever little money they still had, because they’ve been fooled into chasing a mirage.
Heed these warning signs that alerts you to credit repair scams:
- They promise the impossible – lots of these agencies promise to get every negative trade line deleted from your credit report. They will guarantee you that your credit score will improve within the next 2-3 months.
They try to accomplish this by disputing every adverse accounts in your report. The credit reporting agencies may initially remove some or most of the disputed items that they can’t verify within 30 days. In the meantime, it will seem that this fraudulent agency has delivered on its promise.
- But if the credit bureaus verifies the items at a later date, they’ll go back on the credit report – plus you will have earned the reputation of being a hustler!
They urge you to violate the rules – they actually break the law with their tactics, such as using the identity of others to increase your overall credit, by offering to give you a new SSN, so that you can “start life afresh.”
Also Read
- Danger! Such tactics will only land you into more trouble. Besides the fact that it’s against the law to take up a “new” SSN, the number could have a police record attached to it, or any such things that will be far worse that having bad debt.
You demand full payment up front – most of the credit repair scams ask you for payment in full before rendering their services. This is understandable, because they realize that you will eventually find out that they cannot really remove bad credit or improve your credit score as they had promised. And at that point, you won’t pay them.
It’s entirely possible to avoid credit repair scams. Just remember that no matter how desperate your situation, don’t ignore the warning signs!
