The Simple Truth About Free Credit Reports And Paid Credit Repair

There is more information available today that we can imagine that has to do with fixing credit. Many of these systems put forth claims and guarantees that read like covers of the latest gossip sheet:

"In only 3 hours my credit score jumped from 580 to 676!"

"Erase bad credit and smash your debts with only two extraordinary Letters!"

Are these types of claims ALWAYS too good to be true? The answer is "Yes and... no."

While many people would love for you to think the only thing that can fix bad credit is time, in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, time is only one of any number of factors which can fix a credit report, but it's a far cry from being the only factor. How can I back this up? It's simple.

Under a consumer protection law known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (aka the FCRA) the only negative information which can remain on your credit report is not what is accurate, but only what can be proved as accurate under the FCRA. Exactly what does this mean to you?

It means any negative item on your credit report can only remain there if it is accurate and CAN BE PROVED AS SUCH under the guidelines of the FCRA. This fact has both pros and cons from a consumer standpoint.

The good news is that, through the FCRA, your credit score can more than likely be improved dramatically in a very short period of time with only a modest amount of effort on your part.

Now, the bad news. Even if you are moderately committed to this type of endeavor, you will not succeed unless you are armed with the exact information that the insiders have. Believe it or not, 9 out of 10 courses on credit restoration will do nothing more than lead you into snake pits because they will provide you with what the industry refers to as "Boiler Plate" dispute letters. These types of letters are nothing more than form letters and, quite frankly, the Credit Bureaus and Creditors will get a good laugh at your expense if you try to use them.

I agree with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that there are things that a credit repair clinic can take care of for you legally that you can do for yourself with little or no cost, what makes the credit repair clinics successful is access to the inside tactics and techniques. The actual process involves a number of strategies which all have names as long as your arm. trategies like "Proof of Contract", "Constructive Notice", "Challenge of Procedure" or "Restrictive Endorsement" and many others.

the question you have to answer will be what are you trying to accomplish and how much time will it take you if you do it yourself? Remember, you get what you pay for. Don't expect something for nothing. Be willing to do what it takes to get clean up your credit.

This may "sound" impressive but it's are really quite simple. When all is said and done, it is nothing more than a method of communication which exercises your consumer protection rights, gets the results you want and raises your credit score. More importantly, once you learn how simple all of this can be by doing it for yourself, you will find there is a fortune to be made doing it for others! Maybe even be on your way to a new career, who knows? Regardless of how you decide to proceed, request your free credit report here: http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

In a future article in this series, we'll answer the question: "Is Your Credit Score Costing You A Fortune?"