Does Credit Repair Really Work?

Maybe you ran into trouble in the past and your credit report took a hit, and now you’re wondering if credit repair can work for you. These days your credit score is more important than ever, and in a rough economy places are becoming more more strict about who they give money to. It seems like you’re being punished again and again for something that you did in the past, so it doesn’t quite seem fair, but it’s just the world we live in. So when you see an ad for credit repair for $99, can that really work?

Overview
Many of the items that are listed on your credit report could be ones that could be removed because they are either inaccurate, or they are outdated. If you haven’t taken any steps to repair your credit in the past, there is a high likelihood that you could take measures to clean up your report. There are also ways to be responsible with credit, which can help boost your credit score, but it can be confusing to know what exactly helps your credit, and what hinders it further.

The Claim
A lot of credit repair specialists, including credit repair lawyers, claim to be able to boost your credit score in a matter of a few weeks or three months or so. They say that they will go through your credit report and remove any erroneous items, or things that just don’t belong there anymore. Some will even dispute items on your report on your behalf, and if they win, those items will be removed and your score should improve. At least that is the theory. Of course there are good credit repair places and bad ones. That is why you sometimes hear some horror stories, but there are also those urban legends of people getting their credit totally turned around.

The Hype
The hype comes from the shady companies out there that make outlandish claims that they’ll be able to add a few hundred points to your credit score in a very short time. You have to realize that your credit score didn’t get where it is overnight, so you shouldn’t look for an overnight cure. Even though you probably want that car or that house right away, you have to take a long-term view on this and start taking small steps towards that goal. It may or may not involve a credit repair service, but even if you do it yourself that’s the mentality should have.

The Cost
You can find people willing to repair your credit for advertised specials of $99 to get things started, but in all reality that’s just a promotional price and once you come and get the process started you find that there are additional costs such as a monthly maintenance fee for them to monitor your credit report and make sure that nothing goes on it that shouldn’t be on there. Some of the better credit repair specialists will charge $500 and up to repair your credit, and it might be a better idea to invest the extra money to clean things up right, since better credit can result in better interest rates down the road.

The Commitment
One of the features of using a credit repair service is that once you sign up, pay the fees, and hand over your Social Security number and other information they require, the rest of the process is pretty hands-off for you. Basically, all of the things they’re going to do for you you could do yourself. This is a way to outsource that task to someone that is a little more qualified. So really your only commitment is sorting through the different credit repair agencies or lawyers and doing your due diligence so that you pick a good one and avoid the scams out there.

Evaluation
So the basic question still remains as to whether credit repair is an effective way to boost your credit score, and improve the way your credit report looks. Does removing items from your report help your credit score? In theory, it should, all else being equal. However, it is really a case-by-case basis as to whether the item removed is detrimental to your report and score. There is even some discrepancy between the three major credit bureaus as to what they consider negative, positive, and neutral. That’s why it’s crucial to pick a knowledgeable credit repair specialist. They’ll know how to handle all three companies that keep track of your credit, and will be able to avoid any problems at each one.

Final Credit Repair Review

So the answer to whether credit repair works or not fully depends on the caliber of the person or firm you end up going with to fix your credit. If you respond to one of those advertisements that says they’ll be able to fix your credit for $99, you

might be disappointed with the kind of results you get. You have to also watch out for the straight up scams that are out there that just want your Social Security number and other personal information so that they can use it for identity fraud. Overall though, compared to not doing anything to your credit report, or trying to do-it-yourself, we’d have to say that there is a lot of benefit into letting someone better suited to the task handle it.

Our Recommendation
Compared to sitting idly by and letting your credit score sit where it is, or potentially get worse, credit repair seems like a pretty good idea. Most credit repair places aren’t going to be able to prove to you without a doubt that their service works because they will have to protect the privacy of their clients. This makes it harder to figure out whether or not you’re going with a good company or not, but do your best to evaluate them and make sure that they have some sort of guarantee in place so that you’re not left high and dry if they are unable to improve things.

What do you think? Does Credit Repair work or not?