The People's Credit Repair Denver
9101 E Kenyon Ave Suite 215, Denver, CO 80237
(720) 647-7999
There are many methods to credit repair and if you have poor credit scores then you should consider restoring your credit. You will enjoy an increase in your financial freedom when you take steps toward bad credit repair.
Bad credit can be detrimental to your financial well being. You might have constant phone calls to your home from bill collectors and the battle may seem impossible. You might make less money than you can financially afford to pay toward your monthly bills. This is called being "upside down in your bills". It is possible to get on the path toward credit repair even though it might seem impossible.
You might have bad credit for many reasons. You could have medical bills, credit card bills, and many more bills that are overwhelmingly high. No matter what the reason is, when your credit scores are low it is viewed a number of ways. First, your debt to income is reviewed. Creditors look at the amount of money you OWE on your credit versus the amount of money that you MAKE. Also, if you have many debts that are small amounts unpaid, this looks very bad too. However, the biggest way a company looks at your credit score is that it shows you don't pay your bills. This means you cannot be trusted with paying back a credit or a loan. The better your credit score is then the more a business will trust you with paying back the loan.
When you have bad credit it is next to near impossible to get a loan for anything. You won't be able to get credit cards, buy a home, a car, or get credit for anything you might need. In most cases, if someone does extend you a line of credit then your interest rate is very high. When you are given a high interest rate then you are almost paying double for the initial line of credit.
When you make the decision to repair your credit with a 'repair my credit toolkit' then you are taking the first step to a better financial situation. Remember, bad credit means higher interest rates. It also means when you have a financial emergency, you can qualify for a line of credit to help you make it through your problems. You have the financial freedom to buy things like boats, cars, and more. You also have a better interest rate on your line of credit.
Through our credit repair tutorials you will find that the first thing you need to do to take a step toward free credit repair is to get a copy of each of your credit reports. There are three primary credit reporting agencies. These companies are Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. You are entitled to one free report from each of these agencies a year. You should compare the three reports and write down all of your debts that appear to be damaging to your credit.
When you begin your credit score repair the quickest way to get started is to highlight all of the small amounts that you can afford to pay. If you have any amounts that are less than $100 on your report then you should pay them immediately. These look the worst on your credit. If you think you can repair your credit on your own then you can. You should start with the smaller amounts first. You should call one creditor at a time. Call each of the creditors and ask them for the payoff amount. Most creditors who show negative on your credit will be happy to get anything. Most of your creditors will accept a deal to pay 60% of the debt owed rather than the full amount. If they accept a deal with you then you should have this agreement faxed to you. You should also demand a receipt for payment and attach to the agreement.
Once you pay on a debt on your credit report it may take up to 60 days to reflect on your credit report as being paid. Keep in mind that although you pay a debt off on your report, it will remain on your report.
If you need credit repair help because your debt and bills seem too overwhelming for you to handle then you can find many places that offer free credit repair. You should be cautious about people you use to help you repair your credit because there are a lot of fraudsters out there who will make promises they cannot keep.
The most important thing is that companies who offer to repair bad credit for free should never charge you for anything up front. They might offer services that do have fees in addition to repairing your credit. These fees might include the cost of copies being made and other things. However, you should not agree to any fees if a company tries to charge you for repairing your credit.
Another thing people forget is that when they go in to 'restore my credit' businesses they might hear that debts can be erased from a credit report. Many people who are dishonestly trying to provide services to people with bad credit will make promises like this. No one can erase negative information. The only type of information that can be removed from a credit report is information that is incorrect. If there is a debt on your credit report that is not valid and that you do not owe then this is the only thing that can be erased. Information that is accurate will remain on your credit report for 7 years from the date the debt is recorded. A bankruptcy will also remain on your credit report for ten years. If you had bills like credit cards and you fell behind on them for a month or two and then caught back up on them, this too will reflect on your credit report. Falling behind on your bills can remain on your credit report for up to seven years, even if you have been caught up for a year.
A credit repair company helps many people with bad credit report repair issues. Most of the companies will sit down with you and total all of your debts. They will offer you consolidation services to help you pay back your debts. Consolidation of your debts is often the best solution if you are paying a bill here and a bill there. It is easy to lose track of which bill to pay this month or next month and a credit repair company can help you get back on track financially.
A credit repair company will use credit repair software to help you organize your debts. You will work with a consultant who will go over all of your bills and your current income. It is important to remember that your most important bills are the bills of necessity for living. These are your rent, electricity, water, trash, and food. Any other bills you are used to paying will be set aside with your debt and not listed as living expenses.
The company will also help you look at your spending habits. You might be used to shopping online or eating out at a restaurant every day during the work week. Your spending habits will be assessed and stopped. You can save a lot of money by taking lunch to work with you or by going home for lunch instead of eating out.
Once the company has assessed your bills, your income, and your spending habits they will figure out how much additional income you can afford for a monthly payment toward your debt each month. The great thing about this is that when a company consolidates your debt for you, then you make only one monthly payment toward your debt. The company will disburse your monthly payment among your creditors accordingly.
If there are things on your credit report that are not accurate the company will help you prepare a credit repair letter to the reporting agencies to dispute things on your credit. They will help you every step of the way work toward getting your credit back on track.
When you make a decision for bad credit report repair and to go with a company then you will receive a detailed written contract. By law, if you go through a company that is for profit, nonprofit, banks, credit unions, and creditors, you are allowed three days to back out of the written agreement. They must give you a full explanation of all of your legal rights. In addition, they cannot demand any form of payment until all promises have been kept by the company. If the company is demanding money up front then you should go with a company who is not in it for the money. Remember, there are many nonprofit governmental agencies designed to help people get their credit back on track.
There are many things you should be aware of when you are thinking about credit repair. If you receive an email about credit repair then you should be leery. Be sure to research the company and confirm they can really help you. Most emails sent out about credit repair are commonly fraudulent and dishonest. Just remember never to pay any money up front for your credit help.
Another thing you should keep in mind is that some fraudulent companies tell consumers that they can help them create a second credit file. They might offer a new social security or tax identification number. Not only does this promise not work but it is considered illegal. The term for a promise like this is called 'file segregation'. No one can give you a new social security number but the Social Security Administration office. There are very rare instances of new numbers being given out in situations of witness protection programs with the government, and serious cases of an identity being stolen. Remember that what you feel to be serious and what they consider serious are very different. There are also thousands of identity thefts that occur on a daily basis. This also has caused the Social Security Administration to consider these issues even less today. If a credit repair company makes a promise to you that sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
When you make a decision to repair your bad credit you are taking the first step toward your financial freedom. You can repair your credit on your own or you can seek credit counseling from a credit repair firm. This is usually the best option for people who are upside down in their bills and the phone will not stop ringing from creditors. A company can help you prioritize your monthly bills. They can also give you the benefit of one easy monthly payment that will be applied to all of your debts. You won't have to worry about your creditors anymore because they will take care of everything for you.
When you repair your bad credit then you can have the financial freedom to have credit extended to you for those things you really want or that house you have been working so hard to qualify for. Don't let your bad credit be a detriment to your financial freedom with poor interest rates and denials anymore. You can get back on track with a positive credit score.
The first thing you should look out for when in need of good credit repair services is the affiliations of the firm you are considering. All ethical credit repair businesses will be eager to provide you with their references on request. These are some important issues you should check out in order to steer clear of deceitful credit repair companies.
1. The agency you're considering should have membership in the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance (ECRA) or a similar regulatory organization. You are often advised to choose businesses that are subscribed to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) when you are looking for any type of service. When you're searching for good credit repair organizations, companies who are ECRA members are an excellent choice.
This body has its own stringent codes of conduct and any business that gets their approval will give you their best services. The members of this organization are required to maintain the highest ethical standards in dealing with their clients. This helps to protect you, the consumer, from any type of unethical and sub-standard practices.
2. Before looking for help, educate yourself as to what credit repair is all about. Most people who are cheated out of their hard earned money while they are seeking ways out of a financial jam, do not know anything about what repair of credit involves. You need to learn what these services can do for you and what they cannot do.
You can identify agencies who offer false promises only when you clearly understand this difference. For example, no one can remove negative remarks entered on your credit report if these can be verified. You will find many such credit repair companies telling you that they can give you a clean credit report within a month or less. Think carefully; is this legally possible? If not - and it clearly is not - would you still want to pursue such unethical methods?
3. Avoid unsolicited offers you receive through email. It's not fate that sent you an email offering to repair your credit at a time when you are desperately looking for help. These are fraudulent companies who obtain your email address through various unethical methods, and are sending out millions of spam emails in the hope that they will "catch" some needy soul whom they can milk dry!
Beware of such emails. In 99.9 percent of cases these are fraudulent companies looking for their next victim. Proper credit repair companies will send their offers through newsletters or emails only after you have opted in to receive them.
4. It is illegal to create a "new identity"." This is one huge fallacy that many people choose to believe, mainly because it would seem to solve all their problems. This belief is due primarily to a lack of knowledge about credit repair. However, this practice - called "File segregation" - is illegal!
Your credit score is a reflection of your entire financial history up to the present time. How is it possible to acquire a "new" credit history? And if you do, would you not have some questions about legality? Do you realize now that the credit repair companies that offer you such a way out of your problems are fraudulent?
5. Demanding complete payment upfront should raise a "red flag." According to Federal Law, you need to have a detailed written contract from the agency beforehand and the payment is to be after services have been completed. In addition you have the right to cancel within three days.
There are agencies that do charge an initial fee for a credit analysis, and thereafter charge monthly fees as they continue the job of following up with disputes regarding erroneous information in your credit report. But if a company demands their entire fee be paid in advance, they are likely doing so because they realize you will not be inclined to pay later when you discover that they cannot deliver on their promises. Such companies are fraudulent and you would do well to avoid them!
6. Repairing your credit score and credit report takes time. As discussed before, a credit company cannot repair your credit overnight by any legal means, nor remove anything in your credit history if it is verified by the credit bureaus.
Best case scenario: it will take about two, maybe three months to solve the less serious issues, by having inaccurate information deleted from your credit report, and by changing your financial habits by consistently paying bills and debts in a timely manner. More significant items ( for example, repossessions, foreclosures etc.) well, even given the very best financial management, remain on the report for seven years. Bankruptcies will stay on the report for 10 years. "Guarantees" that these can be removed overnight indicate fraud.
7. No contract, no pay! A lot of people could avoid being defrauded if they were to insist that there be a contract in writing; and according with the law, this is your right. Fraudulent companies prefer there to be no contract, and if there is one you can expect that information (such as the fees etc.) will be incomplete. You can learn a lot about these agencies by looking at their contract. If they do not offer a contract for any reason whatsoever, stop your dealings with them instantly.
8. If guarantees are offered, look out! Not even the best and most experienced agencies can guarantee the results of their credit repair services. They can assure you - after they study your report - that they will improve your score by any available legal means. But in the business of credit repair results can never be guaranteed.
Unfortunately, it's the nature of people to be attracted to the company that tells them what they prefer to hear, and hire them rather than a company who is being truthful. Do not fall into this trap! Even though you may prefer to be told that positive results are guaranteed, any company that does guarantee such results is not trustworthy.
9. Look for counseling services. Most reputable credit repair companies will offer free counseling services.
If the company that you are considering to engage does not, try looking a little deeper. It might not be a trustworthy agency. A good and trustworthy company will encourage its clients to become knowledgeable about credit repair. The services they offer are regarding those issues that require continued and painstaking follow-up to make sure the mistakes on your credit report have all been removed.
10. Wrong advice is a red flag! Some agencies will tell you to dispute every derogatory account on your report by saying "this account is not mine." Although the results may be a higher credit score right now, the creditor whose loan had been disputed may counter it at a later date, and the bureau will subsequently investigate and verify it.
Given the appallingly poor record keeping habits of the credit bureaus, there is a very high probability that all the details of any item on your credit report may not be accurate. But credit repair companies that advise you to claim "this is not my account" if you are certain that it is, are not to be trusted.
As you can see, there are enough red flags along the way to warn against possible fraud. Prior to seeking help from a credit repair company, you should educate yourself in matters pertaining to credit, including learning the meaning of the terms "credit report" and "credit score". You also need to know the minimum applicable laws before you go for any type of credit repair help. A good start is to check out the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection and the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance.