Are credit repair services worthwhile? Absolutely!
That’s like asking if you should have a certified auto technician perform work on your car. Sure, you can repair your car yourself to save money, but will it be right, how many more hours will it take, what if you screw it up?
Over the past decade the credit bureau and collection industries have exploded with new activity, revised laws, and less than compliant operations. The complexity of their procedures and systems makes the process of verifying your credit report accounts very confusing and difficult. For these reasons and more, we say yes, absolutely credit repair services are worthwhile, if they operate legally, have experience, and are priced fairly.
Here at USFCA, we applaud consumers who dedicate the hundreds if not thousands of hours to research the law, to educate themselves about the credit and collection industries, and the training to read and understand credit reports. Then applying that knowledge to the credit reporting process and how it relates to the entire credit system today. We caution consumers that get led to believe a single dispute letter or a DIY credit repair kit will provide the same results as a professional, legal credit verification service.
The use of free letters, do-it-yourself kits, or inexperienced credit repair companies may cause you difficulty and the inability to verify your account properly in the future. Credit bureaus like to use a clause from the FCRA to resist dispute investigations. They may respond with “account previously verified”, or “investigation is deemed frivolous, no further investigation will be completed”, if an account was previously disputed or previously deemed verified. If you attempt to dispute an account via a free dispute letter, the credit bureau online dispute system, a DIY credit repair kit, or unqualified credit repair organization, you take this risk. Then what do you do? It ends up costing you more money and time in the long run. Let USFCA handle the dispute process for you. US Fair Credit has the knowledge and experience to get your credit report cleaned up fast, correctly, legally, and at a very affordable price. Get started today.
We have enrolled many clients in the US Fair Credit Alliance Program after they attempted a do-it-yourself program. They hit a roadblock after some minor success, or weren’t having any success, and didn’t know what to do. Each do-it-yourself case can cause delays due to the improper procedures or lack of knowledge utilized previously. We evaluate each case before we accept the enrollment and in many cases we have turned the file down, due to the mess that was created.
The free letters and DIY kits do not provide the training or experience to understand the entire verification and validation process, or the numerous responses you may receive from a credit bureau or reporting company. They either lead you to believe that a few template letters are all you need. We disagree. That is not an accurate method of account verification and validation. You must have a working knowledge of the credit system and the entire credit reporting process to legally verify and validate your credit report accounts.
Legitimate credit repair services are very beneficial
NO ONE, no consumer, no attorney, and no credit repair agency can legally remove accurate, current, verifiable information from a credit report. However, the term accurate is more than just recognizing an account, it is the 100% accuracy standard the FCRA and FDCPA mandate that credit bureaus and credit reporting companies must meet and maintain, and that is the level of accuracy you should expect from these companies. It is the standard we achieve through our verification process. It is your legal right!
You have the right, and more importantly the personal and financial obligation to make sure your credit report is accurate, current and verified. No matter what your present credit score is, you should require the credit bureaus and reporting companies maintain the level of accuracy mandated by the FCRA and FDCPA. It costs you too much money not to!
The credit bureaus report what the creditor or collector provides and if you have worked on the 1000’s of credit reports that we have, you know that way too many times the information reported by a creditor or collector is not accurate or verifiable, and even if it was, credit bureaus make mistakes too. The credit bureaus are in the business of selling information; granted the information that makes them and the reporting companies the most money is negative information. You ask how, because the consumer that is having difficulty getting approval will most likely apply with several companies, each one purchasing the consumers credit file; more fees for the credit bureau. With negative information on your credit report, the creditor can charge more interest and fees for your loan or credit.
As you can see, it is a vicious cycle perpetuated by the credit bureaus and credit reporting companies with no incentive for either party, or for that matter, the system to provide the 100% accuracy level the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and other federal and state statues stipulate. It cuts too much into their profits and they are counting on you, the consumer, to not understand the proper procedure to verify your accounts. The only party that has any incentive to ensure your credit report accurate, is YOU! US Fair Credit can help you do that and at a very fair price.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are entitled to dispute inaccurate or outdated items on your credit report without charge. YES, you can verify and validate your accounts yourself, and if you have the knowledge and time, we encourage you to do so. However, most consumers do not understand the laws that govern the reporting agencies and the creditors/collectors that report to those agencies, nor do they have the knowledge, determination, or time to properly complete the verification and validation process. US FCA can help you!
Call (888) 212-1415 to speak to a Credit Specialist for your No-Obligation Consultation today. We will opnely answer your questions and determine if our program is a good solution for your needs. We believe in full disclosure and have nothing to hide. You will discover that our fees are very reasonable and our service is straightforward. There is No-Obligation and we are happy to answer your questions.
Credit Repair Organizations Act
Congress passed the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) to ensure that consumers are given information they need to make an informed decision regarding the purchase of credit repair services, and to protect the public from unfair or deceptive advertising and business practices by credit repair agencies.
The CROA requires that credit repair agencies do the following:
Provide potential clients with a written explanation of the rights afforded by CROA before a contract is signed, including the consumer’s right to ontact the credit bureaus themselves.
Provide a written contract, which sets forth the services to be performed and all payment arrangements.
Provide a copy of the contract to the consumer.
Provide a three-day “cooling off” period before the contract takes effect and services begin to be rendered.
If the credit repair agency is not complying with the CROA, you should not be doing business with them. Remember, under CROA you have a three-day “cooling off” period to cancel the contract without paying any fees, and credit repair agencies are prohibited from asking you to waive your rights under CROA.
Beware of the following sure signs of a scam:
Any request for payment before the service is rendered. The CROA clearly prohibits credit repair services from charging a fee before they complete a particular service.
Promises that ALL negative information will be removed from your file even if it is accurate, current, and verifiable. Credit repair companies cannot remove accurate records of bankruptcies, judgments, liens or bad loans from your file if they are accurately verified. Most negative information stays on your credit report for seven years, and bankruptcy for up to ten years.
Any offer to create a new credit identify for you. If the credit repair service advises you to create a new taxpayer identification number for the purpose of applying for credit, run! This is also referred to as file segregation, and is a federal and state felony. Also, if you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you can be prosecuted yourself.
How long does it take?
Unfortunately, there is no overnight fix to improve your credit. Some companies tout their ability to improve your score in 30 or 60 days. That is absolutely ridiculous, it takes approximately 45 days just to receive the first round results. However, on the flip side, it should not take much more than 6 months. Our service typically is complete within 6 to 8 months depending on your individual credit file.
It took time to develop a poor credit history, and it’ll take a little time to repair it as well. However, the good news is that with a little time, patience and expert help from an ethical company, you can be sure your credit report is accurate and verified. With an accurate credit report and some solid credit optimization strategies you can be well on your way to creditworthiness.
Call (888) 212-1415 to speak to a Credit Specialist for your No-Obligation Consultation. We will openly answer your questions and and help you determine if our program is a good solution for you. We believe in full disclosure and have nothing to hide. You will discover that our fees are very reasonable and our service is straight-forward. There is No-Obligation and we are happy to answer your questions.
