While this story may make me look like an advocate for the paid credit repair services, it must be taken with a grain of salt. The program was really only useful to me because there was an error on my credit report. Had there been any substantiated derogatory accounts and late payments on my credit report I wouldn’t have been able to simply clear them away with credit tools. Sure I could have challenged them, but probably with little success. All I’d really get out of the service would be the credit report itself along with weekly reports of any changes.
The point of my story is that credit repair programs are only useful if you legitimately find something wrong and need it fixed immediately, or if you plan on paying down debt on some credit lines. If time isn’t an issue, and there aren’t any inaccuracies, it’s really pointless to use credit help programs. You might as well just order the official free credit report and analyze ways to organically raise your credit score. This includes lowering outstanding balances, paying off credit cards, raising credit lines, and avoiding late payments and collections. Also avoid opening any new credit accounts if you want your credit score to keep moving up. New credit always brings your score down a bit in the short-term. All of this takes time, but is the most effective way to fix bad credit. And you’ll learn to manage your credit. For free!
Rapid rescore programs are another scrutinized credit service that I’d like to highlight here. As I mentioned before, if there are legitimate mistakes on your accounts, rapid rescoring can be helpful in quickly updating the three bureaus' information. Rapid rescoring is also useful if you pay off some big chunks of debt and want that to be reflected on your credit report immediately. It does come with a cost though, and I find it hard to believe that these companies can give you a solid estimate of how much your score will move. And if you follow my advice, you shouldn’t put yourself in a position where you need to do last minute credit rescoring. You should obtain a credit report months before you set out to purchase a property to avoid any late surprises.
Article comments
1 - Marcos
Well this was helpful. I have low credit score and trying to refinance and this article helped me understand what I need to do to make my score better.
2 - Shiela
To get a house, get a car, have a credit card, and basically legally exist in the United States, you need to have credit. And if you want to have the best opportunities for success, you’re going to need GOOD credit. Yes, you did see those words ‘Good Credit’; it’s not an oxymoron â€" it’s quite possible!
3 - nickle young
Great!Well this was helpful for me. I have low credit score and trying to refinance and this article helped me understand what I need to do to make my score better.thank you!