As the image to the right states, most credit repair companies will not tell you when credit repair won’t help you. I want to change that today with this article. Yes I am a credit repair company, and you may think this would hurt business, but I would rather be up front and honest with my readers and clients than to take their money and give them absolutely no result from it.
Why credit repair won’t help some people
One of the first reasons credit repair won’t help people is the fact they give up, either before have given it time to work, or walk away from it before they begin. The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” serves as a reminder that likely your credit situation did not happen overnight. Credit repair is the same. It is a process, and a commitment. It takes time to improve and restore damaged credit. You may have not followed though on your desire to improve your credit, however,
you have to start sometime. Otherwise, you will be sitting in your situation 7 years or longer. Remember, you can’t finish something that you never start. Click here if you want to get started with just a free consultation.
Taking A Hands Off Approach
Another reason credit repair won’t help is usually lack of involvement with the process. I wish it was as simple as going to a credit repair company, handing them a credit report, and saying have fun with it. It actually takes a little direct involvement and getting your hands dirty. This could mean simply answering the phone or email your credit repair company sends you. A little piece of information, or an answer to a question could make all the difference in the results you receive. Also, not sending dispute results, or any other letters you receive in the mail. Often, the credit repair professional needs these things to plan their next move. Without staying directly involved, actively communicating, and sending the company everything you get, regardless of how small or inconsequential you think it is, you are sabotaging your own credit repair experience as this is what it takes to have the best results you possibly can have.
continuing bad habits
A good credit repair company worth it’s salt will educate you about the credit industry, how it works, and the factors that the credit scoring models look for. It all starts with changing your habits. Don’t max out your credit cards, pay your bills on time, constantly apply for new credit, pay off and
close credit accounts. You can’t expect credit repair to work for you, if you work against it. Start small, keep your credit cards with a balance of 30% or less of the credit limit. Pay the bills early, keep those credit cards you have open by using them periodically, and don’t apply for new credit unless you absolutely have to, or if you are building your credit.
Other Reasons Why Credit Repair Won’t Help
The use of ineffective or antiquated credit repair methods
609 Disputes
I wrote an article about one of these common ineffective, and antiquated methods not long ago. If you run into a credit repair company, self help program, or online source that talks about your rights under section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN IN THE OPPOSITE
DIRECTION! You will only be wasting your money, time, or effort. Your rights under section 609 is your ability to obtain a full disclosure credit report from the credit bureaus. When you visit annualcreditreport.com, or ask the credit bureaus for your credit report, the credit bureaus have satisfied that requirement. Section 609 of the FCRA does not obligate the credit bureaus to produce contracts, signatures, and other debt originating documents.
making false claims in disputes
There was a time (a long long time ago) before computers, or the internet that credit repair was easy. All you had to do was take a credit report, circle the derogatory tradeline and write the words “not mine, or never late”. Believe it or not, there are many sources online, or maybe even a handful of credit repair “companies” (I put quotations here because these are not likely professionals, but scammers) that claim you should send disputes like this. I will say this method will not pass the sniff test at the credit bureaus, but likely this method also instructs you to get a police report, or an identity theft affidavit from the FTC to send with this claim. In our industry this is what we call “credit sweeps”. Credit Sweeps are highly illegal! Claiming identity theft, especially with a police report, or affidavit will land you and the “company” behind bars with hefty fines and penalties.
No “Outside The Box” Thinking
The credit industry has changed a lot over the years, especially since the Covid-19 Pandemic, yet the credit services industry, by in large, hasn’t capitalized and adapted to those changes. This is why we have seen many things like ignored disputes, and charge-off accounts becoming harder to get
removed. This is where leveraging credit reporting laws and regulations, and factual disputing has become critical to having an effective credit repair experience. Until credit repair professionals step up their game with continuing education, quit relying on 5 minute per client dispute software, sending non-factual “609” disputes, and if they are factual disputing, quit disputing based on credit monitoring reports alone, then we will continue to see wide client dissatisfaction, and more scrutiny on the credit repair and credit services industry. Pre-Litigation credit repair methods are little known, in fact a so called “law firm” that happens to be the nation’s largest credit repair company states in their contracts that they do not do Pre-Litigation credit repair (If you are a “Law Firm” then why wouldn’t you use Pre-Litigation methods?). Credit repair won’t help until more companies including the “law firm” steps up their game and changes with the credit industry.
What Is Pre-Litigation Credit Repair?
Pre-Litigation credit repair methods involve leveraging the laws of credit reporting. Those laws are the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and other laws and regulations. Our methods at Credit Wellness Solutions go beyond other methods. In Pre-Litigation credit repair we look at every piece of information an an account. We apply the credit reporting rules per the Metro2 credit
reporting manual to check for errors, omitted information in an account. Then once we have the information sorted and identified, we compare how each account is reporting amongst the big 3 credit bureaus. Since data furnishers report to the credit bureaus though Metro2, the account should be reporting EXACTLY the same across the bureaus. Metro2 is the credit industry’s standard for reporting credit information for them to meet the “maximum possible accuracy” mandate of the FCRA. We then generate a dispute calling out the errors, omissions, and inconsistencies. It’s like giving a student the answer sheet to a test. If they fail the test
we give them, and the data furnisher another opportunity to correct or delete the account. If then they still fail the test, you the client could be entitled to compensation for the errors on your credit report, and have the derogatory item removed from the credit report. Each letter is drafted in a manner that is easy to understand so there is no question
what is being disputed, and why it is being disputed. This gives you leverage unlike traditional methods where credit repair won’t help you. We have a copy of the Metro2 manual, and even dispute codes for the bureaus. We use these tools to give you the maximum results.
Arbitration & Litigation The New Tools For Effective Credit Repair
When disputing and traditional credit repair won’t help, the law can. This is why when you dispute, you want your dispute to be accurate and factual, otherwise you will just grow frustrated as you see stubborn accounts like charge off accounts staying
on your credit report, especially when you know it is reporting full of damaging errors that are dragging your credit scores down. Sometimes speaking out, and taking the bureaus and/or data furnishers (creditors) to court or arbitration is the only solution. Although we are not a law firm, knowing the credit reporting laws, and the industry standards in place to comply with those laws, with our network of consumer protection attorneys, and the ability to use arbitration in some circumstances in lieu of attorneys and court we have all the tools you need to help you get the fair and accurate credit report you are entitled to under law. Click here to schedule a free consultation with Credit Wellness Solutions.
