Questions to Ask a Credit Repair Firm Before you Sign On

Not a day goes by that people with poor credit histories are not approached in some way by firms that promise that, for a fee, they can help repair damaged credit. Many of those firms promise far more than they can deliver. You can protect yourself from false claims by understanding what can and cannot be done to repair your credit. This article suggests that you ask several questions before getting involved with a credit repair firm.
Ask if the firm can remove a bankruptcy from your credit report. The truth is that, while in some rare cases, bankruptcy can be removed, it is unlikely. Furthermore, a bankruptcy has little impact on the credit score after two-years especially if one has worked hard to restore credit by meeting all financial obligations in a timely manner.
Ask if the firm bills you prior to performing services. If they do that firm is in violation of the law and should not be trusted to do what they promise to do for you.
Ask if you can repair your own credit without their help. If they tell you no they are in violation of the law. In fact, you can do what any credit repair firm does as a do-it-yourself project.
Ask who contacts the credit bureaus. If the credit repair firm warns you about contacting the credit bureaus on your own, they are misleading you. Watch out. You are not only entitled to contact the credit bureaus on your own, you are penalized every time an outside inquiry is made. When you make a consumer inquiry, however, there is no FICO inquiry penalty to your credit score.
Ask if you should obtain a new SSN or apply for an FEIN to skirt around the system. If a credit repair company suggests that you create a new identity by obtaining a new social security number or forming a corporation and obtaining a FEIN number as a way around a poor credit score – run away! You are being advised to break the law, to commit a felony. You will be caught and you will be prosecuted in federal court. It is not worth the risk.
Ask if the credit repair company disputes all items on your credit report or if they are selective in what they will or will not dispute. If they use the scrambled eggs against the wall technique of disputing everything hoping that something sticks on the wall, they are doing you a disservice. Not only will disputing everything send up red flags at the credit bureaus, it will damage your efforts to challenge or appeal decisions that are made by the credit bureau that are not initially in your favor.