You can try to fix bad credit all on your own, but in the end, it might be easier for you to go through a credit repair program. There are legitimate services available for cleaning up consumer credit reports. You have to be careful and choose a real company over a scam.
According to the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), federal law prohibits these programs from making misleading claims about their capabilities. A huge red flag to look for is a company to claim that it can increase your credit score by a specific amount within a particular time frame. Also, do not sign anything that states that you have to pay upfront and forfeit your rights that you are legally entitled to through the CROA.
As long as you familiarize yourself with the CROA and read reviews on credit repair services, you should be okay in choosing the right one. The DIY option to fix bad credit will involve pulling up all three of your reports. Then, look for errors or anything suspicious, clarify every negative item on the report with the creditors and credit bureaus, and send a request to have invalid or unfair items removed.
Fix Bad Credit Using a Service
The benefit of using a service is that it can speed the process up a bit. You might have a better chance of getting some items removed if the experts handle everything for you. It is especially true if the company you choose has a network of paralegals and lawyers.
What does your credit score look like right now? Ideally, it should be over 680. The lower it gets, the harder it will be to qualify for new credit, loans, affordable insurance rates, or even rent an apartment or buy a new car. Your credit report affects more areas of your life than you might think. This reason is why it is so important to fix bad credit as soon as you can. Also, avoid getting even more negative items. Cleaning up your reports will do you no good if your current financial situation isn’t good. Get out of debt first, and then worry about your credit score.
When choosing a credit report clean-up service, you should receive a statement in writing detailing the services that will be provided to you well and terms and conditions regarding the payments. Once again, do not pay upfront.
An excellent company to help you fix bad credit is Lexington Law. You can sign up online to receive a free consultation. It has a lot of positive reviews from consumers from just about every state.