Credit Repair Scams
If you are looking for a way out of your credit problems,
do not believe promises like these:
Erase Bad Credit! 100%
Guaranteed!
Remove Bankruptcy and Liens from Your Credit File!
Federal law mandates the time periods that accurate negative
information remains on a credit report. Delinquent payments
are eliminated from credit reports after seven years and personal
bankruptcies after ten years. Information concerning a lawsuit
or judgment against you can be reported for seven years or
until the statue of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.
Time is the best solution to an undesirable credit history.
Consumers should be aware of the following facts:
- Your credit history is maintained by credit bureaus that
collect information reported to them by banks,
mortgage companies, department stores, and other creditors.
They can legally report accurate negative credit
information for seven years and bankruptcy information for
ten years.
- The only information in your credit report that can be
changed are items that are actually wrong or beyond the
seven (or ten) year reporting period.
- If there are genuine mistakes or outdated items in your
report, you can fix them yourself. Most service a credit
repair firm does legally can be done by consumers themselves
for free or at minimum cost.
- No one can legally remove accurate information from a
credit report. Only time can wipe out bad credit.
- Any consumer can dispute inaccurate information at no
charge. Inaccurate information will be changed or deleted
free of charge. Credit reports contain an easy-to-complete
dispute form to help consumers who disagree with the information.
- There are no miracle cures for bad credit.
- Remember that lenders are in business to lend money and
want to say "yes." However, their livelihood depends
on extending credit only to consumers who repay their debts.
How to correct errors in your credit report yourself
- Review your credit report for any mistakes or information
more than seven years old (ten years for bankruptcy).
This information should be deleted. If you do not understand
something, ask. The credit bureau is required by law to
explain your report to you. If there are mistakes, you
can take the following actions:
- Notify the credit bureau of the problem and provide
as much information as you can about what is wrong with
the report. The bureau must, at no charge to you, reinvestigate
the disputed information. It then must correct any mistake
or delete any information it cannot verify. At your request,
the bureau must send a corrected copy of your report to
anyone who received the incorrect version within the past
six months.
- Sometimes, it also is helpful to contact the creditor
directly to ensure that the creditor's records are correct.
- If these steps do not resolve matters, you can file
a written statement of up to 100 words with the credit
bureau explaining your side of the story. This explanation
will be included in your credit report.
For more information
If you want more information or believe you have been victimized
by a fraudulent credit repair scheme, please contact:
Consumer Response Center
Federal Trade Commission
Washington, DC 20580
(877)FTC-HELP
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