Consumers today are up to their eyeballs in
debt.
And many
people don't realize it until their good credit has been devastated.
As a result, many "credit repair" agencies are popping up all over the
internet,
in television commercials and in the newspapers making sweeping guarantees that they can erase your
bad credit and remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans from your
credit history -
forever! (ha!).
Consumers are flocking to these "credit repair clinics in droves.
However, estimates show that credit repair companies have defrauded consumers in the United States alone out of more than fifty million dollars. God only knows what the figures are like in other
"industrialized nations".
Let's face it, entrepreneurs with an eye for business know a lucrative opportunity when they see one and so we find many credit repair agencies are started by entrepreneurs in it for the money.
Some Warning Signs
Some of the warning signs that the FTC tell people to watch out for are agencies that:
-
Want you to pay for credit repair services before any
services are provided.
-
Do not tell your legal rights and what you can do
yourself for free.
-
Recommend that you do not contact a credit bureau
directly.
-
Won't give your information about the services they
provide without requiring you to provide personal
information, such as credit card account numbers and
balances.
Related Articles:
Credit Repair: Self Help The Best Policy.
Credit Builder Debit Cards - "The Power To Improve Your Credit Report".
Get Answers To Your Most Common Credit Repair Questions.
The Credit Trap: What They Don't Tell You About Credit Cards In College.
Understanding Your Credit Score And How To Improve Your Credit.
Free Credit Report: Your Credit Right.
Self-Help: The Best Strategy
The truth of the matter is that in many cases if you
want to repair bad credit the best strategy is a self help strategy - not giving away
hundreds or even thousands of dollars in up-front fees to someone or some "agency" that in the end do nothing to
restore your credit, or improve credit;
some simply vanishing in the middle of the night with your money.
Often, what many of these credit repair companies offer are strategies that with a little guidance and discipline,
you can apply on your own.
#1 Recommended Self-Help Source For Credit
Repair
After researching the
subject I found one
excellent do-it-yourself service that offers
FREE CREDIT COUNSELING referral service
including detailed information about
credit scores, disputing bad
credit, credit reporting and dealing with credit bureaus.
It offers up
some of the best advice out there about how to recover your credit worthiness. Credit repair is possible and this guide shows you step by step how to do it your self.
The Information/credit repair guide is a
compilation of years of research and experience in the field and offers you
a great alternative to the hundreds of dollars that you would pay to
some else to do the job when you could just as well do
it yourself.
They also offer
a Debt Management Program which will allow you
to make one monthly payment at reduced interest rates
and have the debt paid in full, generally, in less than
5 years. Also, creditors will generally waive overlimit
fees and reage the account (bring it current if you were
behind”) after a period of 3 to 6 months of being on the
program.
Other inexpensive or even free resources for self-help can be found in libraries and bookstores
which have a wealth
of information about credit management and credit repair
techniques.
In addition, computer
software programs can be useful and inexpensive tools
for developing and maintaining a budget, balancing your
checkbook, and creating plans to save money and pay down
your debt.
#2 Recommended Self-Help Strategy For Credit
Repair
The second self-help credit repair strategy that I
recommend is beating the credit reporting bureaus at
their own game by taking advantage of debit cards which
offers a built in credit reporting feature (isn't this
fun?).
There are many debit cards on offer now that, for a
small fee, report your monthly payment history
to one of the reporting agencies. I discuss those
debit cards here.
Other Credit Repair/ Debt Counseling Links That You May Be Interested In:
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Recommended Debit Card:
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The Prepaid Visa Card you can use with Paypal
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The Western Union Prepaid Debit Card is easy to get and easy to use. And best of all, it's affordable!
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Looking For An
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Check Out My Review
Of A Variety Of Offshore Cards Including: Offshore ATM Cards,
Virtual Visa, Visa Classic And Offshore Visa Electron Card.
Virtual Credit Cards -
Also Known As Virtual Debit Cards, These Prepaid Cards Are Perfect For Online Shopping!
Debit Gift Cards-
Including Debit Master Cards Can Be Given As Gifts To Anyone Including Loved Ones. Or, They
Work Well As An Employee Reward Or Bonus.
Digital Gold Backed
Debit Cards
These Are Debit Cards That Anyone Anywhere In The World Can Apply For.
Debit Cards
With "The Power to Rebuild Your Credit" -
Learn About These Debit
Cards Which Offer What I Call The Extra Benefit Of "Beating The Credit
Reporting Agencies At Their Own Game".
Prepaid Debit Card Links From Around The Web
NEW! READYdebit Prepaid Visa Debit Card
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making on-line purchases and using your card wherever the debit MasterCard®
brand is accepted.
Apply For This Prepaid Visa Or Mastercard And Get A Free Credit Report -
FREE ACCOUNT TO ACCOUNT TRANSFERS (pay your friends and family),
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Credit Repair Links:
Credit Repair:
Learn Some Useful Self Help Strategies.
Learn Answers
To Common
Credit Repair Questions.
For More
Information About Credit Repair, Debt And Bankruptcy Please Visit Our Web Links.
Miscellaneous Links:
Money Blog: Money Making Tips
And Money Saving Tips For Everyday People.
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DEALS - Click Here!!!!!
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