Credit restoration: Can you do it yourself? |
By David Pilley on October 5, 2010
.jpg.aspx?width=75&height=75) A late or defaulted payment here and there, and your credit score will quickly go down the tubes. If you want it to get better, you must do something about it. You can choose either to restore your credit by yourself or to use the services of a company.
If you’re going to do it yourself, you need to know your purchases, and you need to be good with numbers. You must have a budget to create a solid foundation for improvement. Know which services you can live with, and those which you can live without. With a budget in place, you can determine how much of your debt you can pay back, and how long you will be doing so.
If you are a do-it-yourself person, you can negotiate with your lenders to pay a set amount of money. This would be a good thing to do if you are undergoing personal stress. Illness, injury, and/or divorce are three situations that would cause financial troubles. These situations are beyond your control, and lenders are willing to listen to your story. However, you can’t negotiate successfully if you don’t have a reason. If you’re perfectly healthy and you have excessive debt because you’re living beyond your means, a lender might be less willing to hear your story.
There may be some situations where you need the help of a company to battle your debt issues. If you think you’re a victim of theft, you obviously need to take legal action. In this situation, you need proof of all your purchases to show someone else is illegally using it.
There are plenty of agencies that do business online, and you need to be aware of the sheer multitude of them. You need to keep your eyes open for possible scams that could entrench you in further debt. Restoration agencies will charge fees for doing business with them. You should never pay for any service until you have an agreement in writing. The FTC tries to crack down on all the companies deceiving its customers, but it can’t catch everyone. Even companies like “Credit Restoration Brokers,” who “brag” about being “1000 times better” than other companies, cannot be fully trusted. The FTC has recently charged the company with illegally charging its customers money before any services were done, and with failing to tell customers they could cancel the contract within three business days. Just because a company says it’s better than the rest does not mean it is the truth.
You must be careful if you decide to do business with someone who advertises it can restore your credit score. If you wish to do it yourself, you must be proactive in creating a plan to gradually lessen the debt. Whatever you decide, don’t do nothing. Don’t pretend the debt isn’t there. Action must be taken.
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