If you are subdued with overwhelming debt burdens and walking down the bankruptcy alley for a fresh start, you perhaps have already faced many entities claiming to repair your blemished credit report after the bankruptcy or remove the stain of bankruptcy and liens from your credit report altogether.
Today, thousands of credit repair companies operate across the US and many of them can help you get back on track financially. However, make sure your are dealing with an experienced and reputable firm before you give out any sensitive information. As a matter of fact, credit repair scams are very common nowadays, and can appear in many shapes. Here are some red flags to be wary of if you are looking for a credit repair company or contacted by a company claiming to offer it:
- 900 or 976 numbers: If it’s a scam company, they’ll ask you to to make a call at 900 or 976, and for which you’ll be charged $50 or more.
- Email advertisements: If you get an official-looking email from a credit repair company, which you didn’t request for, just ignore it. It’s a common practise of scam companies to send email in bulk as bait that lands you in hostile land.
- Upfront charges: A legit company that values its reputation would never ask for fees before any service is provided. If a company asks for any upfront fee by any means, avoid it.
- Claims about altering information: If any company claims to have the authority and can alter information on your credit file, or remove old information, it’s a scam. It’s the credit bureaus that update your credit file and not any credit repair company.
- Claims about erasing poor credit history: If your credit history is bad or very poor for any reasons whatsoever, only time and your deeds can improve it. It’s only inaccurate information that can be erased from your credit file, and that too, before the 7 or 10 years’ reporting period.
- Requests for checking account number: Some scam entities play by asking for checking account number as a validation for easy loan approval or low-interest rates. Once you provide them with what they want, these people simply take out money from your account thereafter.
- Signing blank forms: It’s crazy to sign blank papers or provide personal information. But many people do these crazy stuff, and in a way help identity thieves.
To get information about a company that claims to repair your credit, get in touch with your local BBB, state or local consumer affairs agency and even state attorney general’s office.
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