Let’s calm your fears right away–yes, real credit repair specialists are legit! However, when shopping for someone to help guide you through the process, it is definitely important to select the right company, as fraudulent companies do exist, just as with any profession. Once you find a legitimatecredit repair service, you can reap the benefits.
Credit repair, in theory, is something you can do yourself; however, you can also represent yourself in a court of law, a practice advised against by professionals. Much like a lawyer, a credit repair specialist is there to work on your behalf to navigate the labyrinth of bureaucracy.
What Is a Credit Score?
There are three major credit reporting bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These three companies control whether or not you get approved for a credit card, a home loan, or a loan on a new car. They also help determine insurance rates and, potentially, whether or not you get approved for a job. How can three companies have this much power? Your credit score.
Your credit score is rated between 300 and 850. Each agency arrives at their score slightly differently and uses a slightly different formula. Theoretically, as long as you make your payments on time every month, you should have an excellent credit score after a few years–but that’s not all there is to the equation. Say, for example, you make all your monthly credit card payments on time, but all of your credit cards are maxed out and you are only making the minimum payments. The credit reporting agencies may give you a lower score because by maxing out your limits, you aren’t considered to be using your credit wisely.
In a nutshell, if you have a high credit score, banks will typically be more willing to loan you money at lower interest rates. With a low score, banks may be unwilling to loan money to you at all, or they may charge exorbitantly high interest rates.
What Credit Score Do I Need?
Typically, you want a score of at least 650 to start shopping for home and auto loans. Scores beneath this number are considered high-risk, coming with higher interest rates and causing banks to ask for co-signers or additional income in order to grant a loan.
How Can Credit Repair Help Me?
Credit repair specialists like those at The Phenix Group can help by examining your credit report with you and verifying each account. When an inaccuracy is found, the credit repair specialist will draft all the necessary forms and fill out any paperwork for you to dispute the inaccurate items.
Once items are successfully disputed, they will be removed from the credit report. This should help to raise the customer’s credit score by eliminating negative factors. Credit repair specialists may also provide additional assistance in recommending ways to help boost your credit score. The cost for credit repair varies based on a few factors, including how many items need to be examined or disputed.
What Should I Look Out For?
You might be wondering, can a credit repair company hurt my credit? The answer is a simple no, as long as they are a legitimate company. When selecting a credit repair specialist, it’s important to make sure the company isn’t making exaggerated claims. No one can guarantee a higher credit score in twenty-four hours, nor can they promise to build a brand new credit identity. Furthermore, companies who promise to remove accurate information from a credit report are trying to trick you out of your money–if there is a legitimate foreclosure or bankruptcy on someone’s credit report, it cannot be changed.
If there is inaccurate information, such as an account that was closed years ago, an account that was paid on time but that shows late payments, or accounts that you never opened, then a legitimate credit repair service like The Phenix Group can assist in getting these matters resolved efficiently.