Can a credit repair company hurt your credit?

Legitimate credit repair companies can ensure that inaccurate information is removed from your credit reports so that it doesn't hurt your credit rating. However, they can't do anything for you that you can't do for you if you're willing to put in time and effort. Unfortunately, none of those promises are true. Credit Repair Companies Offer to “Fix Your Credit by Eliminating Negative Elements from Your Credit Report”.

They offer to file disputes about negative items on your behalf with credit bureaus and have them removed. What is the problem with this approach? The whole strategy is based on taking advantage of a legal loophole in the credit system. When accurate items are removed, it is only temporary a few months at most. Having a good credit score is important.

Without it, you may be denied low-interest loans and lines of credit, a job, a rent, and even an insurance policy. If your credit report shows a history of debt problems or contains errors, you may consider using a repair service to “clean up” it. However, before you pay, know how these companies work. In the vast majority of cases, hiring an external company will only waste your money.

Credit Saint is one of the most aggressive credit repair companies (which is good), but they understand that a single solution doesn't work for everyone. Credit Saint has 3 different service packages to choose from, depending on your credit repair needs. What might seem like a simple and positive solution to your credit situation is actually a series of false promises that are likely to damage your credit. The best credit repair companies often offer additional services that help improve your financial well-being.

With the subscription fee structure, the credit repair company has a financial incentive to keep you as a paying customer as long as possible. The company will assist you by contacting the three credit monitoring organizations and instructing them to block fraudulent information from appearing on your credit report. Credit Saint has earned an excellent A rating on the Better Business Bureau for over 10 years and has helped thousands of customers successfully improve their credit ratings. You can maintain a good credit score by making payments on time, limiting the amount of credit used, establishing different types of credit, and paying off debt.

Credit repair companies generally charge a monthly fee for work done in the previous month or a flat fee for each item they delete from their reports. Credit repair companies make sure you know when these items are recalled, but they don't tell you when they reappear. Unfortunately, credit repair is a product that doesn't “do everything” regardless of how it's sometimes advertised. Typically, these companies offer to review your credit reports and address any negative elements they can with credit bureaus on your behalf.

Not only can closing scores hurt by eliminating that available credit and increasing your credit utilization ratio, but keeping paid accounts open can also be an advantage because they are old accounts that are in good standing (paid). This negative information will stay on your credit report and affect your credit ratings for seven to 10 years. Opening multiple credit accounts in a short period of time can make it seem risky for lenders and, in turn, adversely affect their credit ratings. If a credit repair company promises you that you will see a specific number of items deleted from their reports, you may want to do more research on the company's reputation or simply choose another option.

As with many things in life, credit repair is a process you can do yourself or you can hire a professional. Credit repair companies are not allowed to hide the above notices in the language of their contracts. .

Gwen Dasilva
Gwen Dasilva

Entrepreneur. Proud coffee advocate. Wannabe music fanatic. Certified twitter enthusiast. Coffee geek.