Credit card applications can be found in any mailbox and every inbox in the world and in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada especially. VISA, MasterCard, Discover card and American Express are more then willing to throw themselves at spend-happy card holders who can do everything but resist impulse shopping! And because of these happy shoppers, debt is becoming more of a prevalent thing then ever in our society. With debt at all time high levels credit repair companies have started to surface, promising to fix one's credit in under 48 hours! However, consumer should be aware of these too good to be true offers because they are often more dangerous then helpful! Quick fix scams have always been around. In the 1800's there was the magical snake oil that supposedly could cure cancer and the common cold. Snake oil was promoted heavily by the drug stores of the time and obviously, as we know today, snake oil isn't much more then a money grabbing scam! Credit repair companies operate on the same level. Although there are several well meaning companies out there, the majority have earned the reputation of ripping people off through scams. Examining credit repair companiesIf you have a bad credit history or have a tendency of getting in financial difficulties then you have probably already been contacted by a credit repair company. These ‘little helpers' often prey on those who are in deep trouble and are looking for any way to get out. Just like finding the best credit card deals, finding the best way to get out of debt is pretty important. But as a consumer you should realize what a credit repair can and cannot do. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, there are many regulations about what can be changed/ corrected in your credit score/ history. If a credit repair company is trying to convince you that they can improve your credit by taking off any negative items, don't believe them! They don't have the legal right to go into your credit report and fix anything at all. In reality, this is how a credit repair company works: They go through your file and pull all of the negative information they can find. Then, they dispute all of it, sending the disputes off to the credit bureaus whether they have any merit or not. And then, just because this is the way the process goes, the credit bureau will take the negative information off your credit report until they investigate it. Investigations will last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks so your credit report should show no negative signs during this time. Many people see this and think that the credit repair company did a great job...until a few weeks later when all of that negative material is posted back on their reports! By then, the credit repair company is out the door with your money and is too busy not returning your phone calls! This approach by credit repair companies is only a short term fix and will do nothing to your credit score except hurt it in the end. If you think that by hiring one of these companies that you will be able to get the top credit card deals then you are sadly mistaken because you will only have more financial troubles after their ‘help.' Many credit repair companies will also try a different tactic before or after the first one doesn't work. They will often advise walking away from your current bad credit and getting a new credit card deal by getting new credit. Sound hard? Well if you talk to a credit repair company they will make it sound easy, and legal! In fact doing this is a federal crime and the chances of getting caught are very, very good! Well, just in case they ask, this is how the process is supposed to work: They will try and get you to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) which has the same number of digits as a Social Security Number. With your new number you can apply for a credit card and since you're not linked to your bad credit history, your credit card company will not even suspect anything. This is how it is supposed to go but the thing is, most credit card companies will find it suspicious that you have no credit history and they will bring the federal government in for an investigation. Now this is where you get in trouble because it won't take long for them to link you to the EIN!If you feel that you are in pretty deep financial difficulties then you should seek the help of a good credit counselor because they will get you on track with your spending and you're budgeting. Don't fall victim to credit repair companies because they would like nothing better than taking your money and leaving you in a worse position then you started off with. If you do things right you won't only stay on the right side of the law but you will be applying for the best credit card offers available after no time! It's easy to get sucked into a quick fix, but when it comes to your credit it will take patience and time.
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