It is very necessary to have a good credit rating as it often acts as the most significant differentiator in getting a consumer the all-important home loan, or auto insurance. Often they determine whether one would need to pay a utility deposit or is eligible to get the new, dazzling mobile phone. Even apartment renting decisions factor in credit history and in rare cases job offers also take them into account. It is only natural that one such consumer tarnished with a bad credit history would desire a reversal in his fortunes and would leave no stone unturned to find a miracle that promises to correct all his credit rating woes. In desperate times like these, online fast credit repair agencies serenade them with polished, professional sites, with testimonials of their prowess from all and sundry and besiege the hapless consumer with promises that border on the absurd.

A simple web search throws up countless such sites whose advices range from casual to dangerously malicious. Most importantly, they claim to reify a bad credit history by removing or deleting the errant information from the credit file. However, the fee they charge for that goes to waste as such information removal is illegal under the Federal law framework that governs the credit activities.

But to a desperate consumer such promises do not need to be examined for veracity and actual facts and most often he gets drawn into such scams and ends up paying a fortune only to be left stranded when such agencies disappear in thin air without making a single change to the concerned credit file. Ironically, all services offered by such agencies are ones which can be taken care of by the consumer, on his own, often free or at a very low cost. It helps to know the truth about the claims of such agencies.

Unless any credit information is inaccurate, any attempt or motive to change it is going to be deemed illegal. Not even a hired, self-proclaimed credit repair expert can do this. Under the governing Federal Act, if an agency provides such repair services, they cannot insist on a payment before they actually provide evidence of work done by them and cannot claim a payment on promises alone. Often these agencies might try to keep the consumer’s credit information under wraps, evade details about his rights and advise him to not contact the reporting agencies.

Every consumer should know that when denied a loan or similar application or when in possession of evidence for a change in credit information on the file, he is entitled to a free annual credit report if he passes some not-so-stringent conditions. Similarly, if there is information on the file which is incorrect, it can be attempted to be corrected, free of charge. Credit agencies can be contacted for details of incorrect information and when evidence of explanations to counter such information is being consolidated, counseling can be sought with local credit bureaus.

Lastly, often such agencies might persuade a consumer to provide false information and use it to apply for a new credit rating by creating a new credit entity. Such falsification of information is tantamount to fraud and likely to be recognized as a federal offence with severe repercussions.

By: Dave M Williams