Gone are the days when you could get a loan for pretty much anything regardless of your credit scores.
In today’s financial markets, lenders are expecting borrowers to have very high credit scores that many people for one reason or another do not have. This leaves many people out in the cold when it comes to being able to secure a loan or mortgage.
What many people also fail to realize is that employers are also using job applicants’ credit scores to make final hiring decisions.
As you can see, a low credit score can cost you a lot in terms of money and frustration.
It is not all bad news however, as there are ways to fix your credit score and get yourself in a much better financial position — the process is called credit repair and the two most common ways to accomplish credit repair is using credit repair companies or doing the work yourself, either one works fine to fix credit issues but they both have goods and bads which we will look at below.
Using Credit Repair Companies
Is using a credit repair company to fix your credit right for you?
Credit repair companies are an effective way to fix credit problems if you do not want to do it yourself, and finding one is not hard at all. A simple search on the internet or even a glance in the phone book will show you a huge amount of companies, some of these companies are good and some are bad and picking the right one is crucial to getting your credit score increased quickly.
But how do you know how to spot a good credit repair company?
A good credit repair company:
- Does Not Ask for Large Amounts of Money Upfront
- Makes Realistic Promises
- Can Supply Client References
- Has a Contract That States What The Company Will Do For You
- Does Not Lock You Into a Long Term Contract (Should Be Month to Month)
- Does Not Pressure You and Makes You Feel Comfortable
- Has Paralegals On Staff
The only drawback to hiring credit repair companies to fix credit problems is that it is expensive when compared to doing it on your own, on average most companies will charge you a monthly fee for their service and most credit repair will take 3-6 months. Some also have a small set up fee. This is used to order your credit reports and develop a plan for you.
The added money will however buy you convenience and the ability to get your credit score repaired with minimal involvement. If you want a cheaper route you may want to think about doing the work yourself.
Using Self Credit Repair to Fix Your Credit
Self credit repair is not a hard process but will require you to look at your own credit report and determine where the problems are. You will also need to do all the correspondence with the credit bureaus and your creditors to deal with the negative information that needs to be fixed.
While it may sound overwhelming there are many low cost but very effective and proven self credit repair kits on the market and even credit repair software that will help anyone that has a bit of motivation to fix their own credit by providing a step by step plan and other tips and advice to help you fix your credit.
On average these kits will cost between $37 and $99; there are some low cost options for sale online but they generally lack quality and quantity of information.
When buying a self credit repair kit make sure it has the following:
How To Spot a Good Self Credit Repair Kit
- A Step By Step Plan
- Fairly Priced
- A Money Back Guarantee
- Testimonials On The Sales Page
- A Person Who You Can Contact With Questions About The Product
- The Ability To Download Instantly After Payment
Whatever method you chose to fix credit issues that you have, nothing is going to happen unless you take the first step.
So ask yourself what you prefer — low cost or higher priced convenience — and take it from there. Shop around a bit and make your choice, then stick to it and your bad credit will start to get better giving you more opportunities and a better financial life then you have right now!
Author: Darin Sewell is the owner of CreditFix123.info/blog and also a freelance writer on the subject of credit and credit repair. He worked as a mortgage broker and his goal is to help people fix their credit and turn their financial lives around.
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The reasonably financially literate should be able to do most credit repair on their own. And most people should know where the problem is – if they’ve defaulted on loans, they’ll know. But for people who really would have trouble understanding a credit report, or when there is a blemish on one’s credit score that seems to have come out of thin air (yes, that can happen) it doesn’t hurt to hire a professional.
I was very pleased with the service I received. I was treated respectively and not as someone who couldn’t be helped due to bad credit problems. If you need to fix your credit , give Trinity Credit Services a call at 888-669-7372.
What about those organizations that offer to help fix your credit score for free? (I’m thinking non-profit agencies). Are they worth it?
Another point I want to add is the importance of taking care of the biggest, most dangerous debts first as a priority. You don’t need a debt help service to tell you this. If you owe the IRS or any other financial entity that can forcibly levy you or seize assets, get to work on that debt problem ASAP.
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