When you really need to fix your credit, there are scammers out there who know how desperate you can be. There will be offers to fix your credit immediately, which sound great, but are often using illegal means to “wipe your credit report clean”. You have to understand that there is no legal way to literally delete all bad credit from your credit report. Follow the old saying: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
For starters, avoid any credit repair scams that claim they can get you a brand new clean credit report. These companies often rely on getting an Employer Identification Number, which is like a social security number, but does not replace your existing social security number. It’s to be used for business, hiring employees, etc., where the tax rules may be different. You can’t start using an EIN instead of your legal social security number. If you’re found out by a lender, they can call your note due and prosecute you to get the full amount of their loan back immediately.
Finding legal credit repair services is not impossible though. There are many non-profit organizations who help you work out a financial budget and work out a repayment plan for your credit legally. These are legitimate credit repair companies, and while you may pay some fees, they are not excessive. You will work with an individual who will review all of your expenses and income, find places you can save money, and help get your monthly payments reduced temporarily while you get back on your finacial footing. Look for a member of the Consumer Credit Counseling Services organization, located in every state.
You can also begin to take steps to repair your credit yourself. The only real, legitimate way to repair credit is to bring all your payments current, and start paying on time. Gradually reducing your avaiable credit may help too, by closing store cards or credit cards you pay off. This takes time and patience, but it’s the only real way to fix your credit problem. Actually, you can start to see improvement in your credit score within just a few months. If you’re unable to bring your accounts current because you are so far behind, you can talk to your credit card companies to see if they will work with you to modify the past due amount. This is really all the credit counseling agencies will do, they have been at it longer and have authority with the credit card companies, but many of these lenders will work directly with you as well.
Explore your options before you fall for a credit repair scam. You’ll set yourself back many months in achieving true credit repair, and may even suffer adverse consequences from using illegal means to fix your credit.