Credit Repair: Self Help May Be Best
You see the advertisements in newspapers, on TV, and on the Internet.
You hear them on the radio. You get fliers in the mail. You may even get
calls from telemarketers offering credit repair services. They all make the
same claims:
“Credit problems? No problem!”
“We can erase your bad credit — 100% guaranteed.”
“Create a new credit identity — legally.”
“We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans from your
credit file forever!”
Do yourself a favor and save some money, too. Don’t believe these
statements. Only time, a conscious effort, and a personal debt repayment
plan will improve your credit report.
This brochure explains how you can improve your credit worthiness and
gives legitimate resources for low or no-cost help.
The Scam
Everyday, companies nationwide appeal to consumers with poor credit
histories. They promise, for a fee, to clean up your credit report so you
can get a car loan, a home mortgage, insurance, or even a job. The truth
is, they can’t deliver. After you pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars
in fees, these companies do nothing to improve your credit report; most
simply vanish with your money.
The Warning Signs
If you decide to respond to a credit repair offer, look for these tell-tale
signs of a scam:
companies that want you to pay for credit repair services before they
provide any services.
Companies that do not tell you your legal rights and what you can do for
yourself for free.
companies that recommend that you not contact a credit reporting
company directly.
companies that suggest that you try to invent a “new” credit identity — and
then, a new credit report — by applying for an Employer Identification
Number to use instead of your Social Security number.
companies that advise you to dispute all information in your credit report
or take any action that seems illegal, like creating a new credit identity. If
you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you may be subject to
prosecution.
You could be charged and prosecuted for mail or wire fraud if you use the
mail or telephone to apply for credit and provide false information. It’s a
federal crime to lie on a loan or credit application, to misrepresent your
Social Security number, and to obtain an Employer Identification Number
from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses.
Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot
require you to pay until they have completed the services they have
promised.
The Truth
No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a
credit report. The law allows you to ask for an investigation of information
in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no
charge for this. Everything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you
can do for yourself at little or no cost. According to the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA):
You’re entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against
you, like denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment,
and you ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action.
The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the
consumer reporting company. You’re also entitled to one free report a
year if you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you’
re on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including
identity theft.
Each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax,
Experian, and TransUnion — is required to provide you with a free copy of
your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
The three companies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone
number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free
annual report.
To order, click on annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or
complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer
reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from
each of the companies one at a time. For more information, see Your
Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ .
Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $9.50 for
another copy of your report within a 12-month period.
You can dispute mistakes or outdated items for free. Under the FCRA,
both the consumer reporting company and the information provider (that
is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about
you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting
inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To take advantage of
all your rights under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and
the information provider.
You see the advertisements in newspapers, on TV, and on the Internet.
You hear them on the radio. You get fliers in the mail. You may even get
calls from telemarketers offering credit repair services. They all make the
same claims:
“Credit problems? No problem!”
“We can erase your bad credit — 100% guaranteed.”
“Create a new credit identity — legally.”
“We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans from your
credit file forever!”
Do yourself a favor and save some money, too. Don’t believe these
statements. Only time, a conscious effort, and a personal debt repayment
plan will improve your credit report.
This brochure explains how you can improve your credit worthiness and
gives legitimate resources for low or no-cost help.
The Scam
Everyday, companies nationwide appeal to consumers with poor credit
histories. They promise, for a fee, to clean up your credit report so you
can get a car loan, a home mortgage, insurance, or even a job. The truth
is, they can’t deliver. After you pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars
in fees, these companies do nothing to improve your credit report; most
simply vanish with your money.
The Warning Signs
If you decide to respond to a credit repair offer, look for these tell-tale
signs of a scam:
companies that want you to pay for credit repair services before they
provide any services.
Companies that do not tell you your legal rights and what you can do for
yourself for free.
companies that recommend that you not contact a credit reporting
company directly.
companies that suggest that you try to invent a “new” credit identity — and
then, a new credit report — by applying for an Employer Identification
Number to use instead of your Social Security number.
companies that advise you to dispute all information in your credit report
or take any action that seems illegal, like creating a new credit identity. If
you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you may be subject to
prosecution.
You could be charged and prosecuted for mail or wire fraud if you use the
mail or telephone to apply for credit and provide false information. It’s a
federal crime to lie on a loan or credit application, to misrepresent your
Social Security number, and to obtain an Employer Identification Number
from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses.
Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot
require you to pay until they have completed the services they have
promised.
The Truth
No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a
credit report. The law allows you to ask for an investigation of information
in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no
charge for this. Everything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you
can do for yourself at little or no cost. According to the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA):
You’re entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against
you, like denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment,
and you ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action.
The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the
consumer reporting company. You’re also entitled to one free report a
year if you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you’
re on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including
identity theft.
Each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax,
Experian, and TransUnion — is required to provide you with a free copy of
your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
The three companies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone
number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free
annual report.
To order, click on annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or
complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer
reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from
each of the companies one at a time. For more information, see Your
Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ .
Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $9.50 for
another copy of your report within a 12-month period.
You can dispute mistakes or outdated items for free. Under the FCRA,
both the consumer reporting company and the information provider (that
is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about
you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting
inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To take advantage of
all your rights under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and
the information provider.
| Why I hate credit counselors! |
Three debt-service companies settle FTC charges that they
cheated customers out of $100 million
Three consumer debt services will pay $6 million to the Federal Trade
Commission to settle charges that they cheated poor customers out of
$100 million by promising debt relief that didn’t work and instead worsened
personal debts and in many cases led to bankruptcy.
The three companies are the National Consumer Council Inc., of
California, Debt Management Foundation Services, of Florida, and Better
Budget Financial Services, of Massachusetts. According to the FTC, the
National Consumer Council, which collected more than $84 million from
44,000 consumers, violated the FTC’s do-not-call rules by pretending to
be a nonprofit during as it gained customers through a telemarketing
campaign.
Significantly, the three companies were all put under court receivership
last year, effectively shutting them down. Such a move highlights the
ability that the government has to shut down companies that show
complete contempt for the law.
"All three lied about who they were, what they could do for consumers and
what they charged," said Lydia Parnes, acting director of the FTC's
consumer protection division. "We're concerned there are folks out there
engaging in unscrupulous practices."
The settlement is part of an ongoing FTC effort to target credit-counseling
and debt-management firms. The FTC estimates 9 million Americans
contact such firms annually.
For more, see:
Debt-Relief Firms To Pay $6 Million In FTC Settlement, Caroline E. Mayer,
Washington Post
cheated customers out of $100 million
Three consumer debt services will pay $6 million to the Federal Trade
Commission to settle charges that they cheated poor customers out of
$100 million by promising debt relief that didn’t work and instead worsened
personal debts and in many cases led to bankruptcy.
The three companies are the National Consumer Council Inc., of
California, Debt Management Foundation Services, of Florida, and Better
Budget Financial Services, of Massachusetts. According to the FTC, the
National Consumer Council, which collected more than $84 million from
44,000 consumers, violated the FTC’s do-not-call rules by pretending to
be a nonprofit during as it gained customers through a telemarketing
campaign.
Significantly, the three companies were all put under court receivership
last year, effectively shutting them down. Such a move highlights the
ability that the government has to shut down companies that show
complete contempt for the law.
"All three lied about who they were, what they could do for consumers and
what they charged," said Lydia Parnes, acting director of the FTC's
consumer protection division. "We're concerned there are folks out there
engaging in unscrupulous practices."
The settlement is part of an ongoing FTC effort to target credit-counseling
and debt-management firms. The FTC estimates 9 million Americans
contact such firms annually.
For more, see:
Debt-Relief Firms To Pay $6 Million In FTC Settlement, Caroline E. Mayer,
Washington Post
| There is a legitimate service offered by our credit vendors that can assist you with improving your credit the correct way, and not getting ripped off! Call me now and I can arrange a loan for you that not only will save you thousands in interest, it may be tax deductible! So call me now at (888) 956-7060 Talk to you soon, Paul |
| Call me to find out, "HOW YOU CAN FINALLY STOP DEBT FOREVER!" 1 (888) 956-7060 ext. 222 |
| Paul Spenard |
| The Local Home Loan Specialist |
| Got a question? Call me at (888) 956-7060 or contact me NOW! |
|
