| An increasing number of consumers are beginning to | | | | application. |
| understand how much a credit score affects | | | | Some credit repair agencies simply dispute every item |
| borrowing ability. And with this rising number comes an | | | | on your credit report, regardless of the truth. Some |
| increase in people looking to repair their credit score. | | | | items are removed if not verified by the creditor within |
| Fixing your credit history may seem like a big task. We | | | | 30 days. But they will be re-added later when they are |
| all have heard the stories of how hard it is to remove | | | | proven. It doesn't help you, just costs you money. |
| errors from your credit report. This leads many | | | | And the most common scheme occurs when a credit |
| consumers to turn to credit repair agencies to quickly | | | | repair agency asks for a flat fee upfront. Once you |
| clean up their credit. | | | | pay, they disappear. Never pay for services up front. |
| However, this isn't always the best thing for your | | | | If an agency requires payment up front, gives you no |
| credit. Many of these agencies are scamming | | | | explanation of your legal rights, recommend that you |
| consumers. | | | | not contact a credit bureau directly or suggest you |
| Common scams include the promise that negative | | | | invent a new identity, you need to look somewhere |
| information will be deleted from your credit report. This | | | | else first. |
| doesn't happen unless the information can be proven | | | | The fact is that you cannot remove accurate |
| false. No one is ever allowed to alter or delete | | | | information from your report. You can easily have |
| information other than the credit bureau. You have to | | | | false information removed yourself. I recently had my |
| go through them to have info removed. An agency | | | | mother's credit card account somehow show up on |
| cannot do it for you. | | | | my credit report. It only took two short phone calls |
| Many credit repair agencies will try to tell you that by | | | | (one was a follow-up) to the creditor to remove the |
| getting a nine-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN) | | | | information. You don't need to pay anyone to help you. |
| you can establish a new credit file. It is a felony to lie | | | | When it comes to your credit score, the two top |
| on a loan or credit application. It is illegal to use your EIN | | | | ways to improve it are in your hands, not someone |
| in the place of your social security number on a loan | | | | else's -- pay on time and give it time. |