Credit Report Repair Services–Are they worth it?
Many people use credit report repair services to improve their credit. These companies make promises to improve credit scores and remove negative debt for a fee. Are credit report repair services worth the time, money, and effort that consumers put into the services? It all depends on how consumers look at the service and what their expectations are of the companies.
Pros of Credit Report Repair Services
- Professionals handle debt repair. Credit repair professionals know how to handle creditors to get results. They are trained to negotiate consumers’ debt for less than the amount owed. They know the laws regarding consumer rights, and they know how to get results very quickly.
- Consumers do not have to hassle with creditors. For consumers who know nothing about credit laws, a credit repair company may be just what they need to improve their bad credit. The will dispute accounts on behalf of their clients so that the bad credit issues are resolved as quickly as possible.
- All negative information may be removed. It is very common that inaccuracies appear on credit reports. For this reason, credit repair companies take care of the negative information for their clients. It is possible for consumers to have all of the negative information removed from their credit reports with the services of a credit repair company.
- Consumers receive improved credit scores. As the negative information is removed from credit reports, consumers can expect to see improved credit scores on their credit reports. Many people see improvement to their credit scores of 100 point or higher. Results vary by client.
Cons of Credit Report Repair Services
- Consumers pay a fee. Consumers are expected to pay a fee for credit repair services. These services can get very expensive. Credit report repair services can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars to take care of past bad credit. The expensive fees may not be affordable for everyone, and their credit may not improve in some cases.
- Not all repair services are provided by professionals. Consumers must check to make sure that the company that they choose has a good reputation for repairing credit. Anyone can claim to be a credit repair specialist. Check for information on the company and their services to make sure that the investment is worth it.
- Consumers can do the same thing as the professionals. Some may argue that consumers can repair their credit on their own. Credit repair professionals dispute the information on credit reports in hopes that the information is removed. Consumers can dispute information on their own without paying expensive fees.
- Information may remain on credit reports. Just because information is disputed does not mean that the information will be removed from the credit report. In certain cases, credit agencies remove information only to reinstate the information later once the information is verified. Consumers can waste a great deal of money and still have bad credit.
Results vary with credit reporting repair services. It is very important to investigate these companies before paying large sums of money to have credit repaired. Do as much research on the companies and their services before making a commitment.