Sunday, March 9, 2008
Credit Report Repair - Consumer Alert!
There is a widespread problem in America at the moment, thousands of people are being ripped off by credit report repair scammers, they will take your money and you will be left to pick up the pieces.
You need to know the warning signs so you are not another victim, act now before it's too late. I'll share with you the top tips to fight the scammers. I've combined information and advice from the top consumer advocacy sites on the web.
My information comes from trusted sources including the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
So how bad is the problems, well it's bad enough for the FTC to launch a huge operation to net the fraudsters. It was called "Project Credit Despair" to try and bring about an end to these scammers. They netted over 20 operators and shut them done, but they say many more are out there and they need more resources to keep them off the market.
Be vary wary if Credit Report Repair companies tell you the following:
- Make sure you do not tell you your legal rights and what you can do all totally for free, by law they have to tell you this.
- Run a mile if they recommend that you not contact a credit bureau directly
- Get up and leave if they want you to pay for credit repair services before any services are provided; or
- Look for the exit door if they advise you to dispute all information in your credit report or take any action that seems illegal. Especially things such as creating a new credit identity by obtaining a federal employer identification number to use instead of a social security number. If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you may be subject to prosecution.
Here are some other top tips to look out for
- Know that No one can erase negative information if it's accurate.
- Act Now, If you have credit problems, get counseling
- Know that credit repair services can't ask for payment until they've kept their promises.
- Be cautious about emails for credit services.
- You can't create a second credit file
- file segregation is what this is know as, it's illegal and dose not work, or it may work for a while but it will catch up with you, it's therefore not worth it.
- Correct mistakes on your credit report yourself
- Add an explanation to your report.
- You can actually make contact with your creditors and offer an explanation, they will put this on your report and it's very much worth it. maybe you lost your job, or got ill.
- The very first step always is to learn what information is in your credit report.
Ge tour Report from one of the bureaus, best get a 3 in 1 package, that way you will get all your reports together, you need to have all 3 copies as you will no doubt have information that is not consistent, then you need to make sure your reports are all the same, you can contact the bureaus directly for this.
1. Equifax - Get 3-in-1 Credit Report with Score Power $39.95
2. Experian - 3 Bureau Credit Report and PLUS Score for $34.95
3. TransUnion - A 3-in-1 Credit Report with FREE for $29.95
I hope this information gets your mind ticking over and gets you into action. I also hope it provides you with a few tips and some good Credit Report Repair advice to think about when obtaining your credit report.
To get more advice and information on Credit Report Repair, or Credit Score and Credit Reports click on http://www.credit-reporter.net
Written By: Justin Fox
Get your totally free credit report today - follow Credit Report, and check out www.credit-reporter.net.
