If You Can`t Pay the Balance, Look for a Low Interest Rate

by Jerry Standefer

But credit counseling can help you find other ways to reduce your debt and develop future financial goals. Tip: Don't confuse legitimate, nonprofit credit counseling services with fly-by-night outfits or so-called debt settlement firms. While credit counseling services are generally non-profit, commercial counseling services (clinics) may charge you 10%-15% or more of your total debt. However, most people with bad credit are likely to still be in debt. Free credit counseling differs from credit repair and debt consolidation, which are other approaches debtors can take. If you are already knee deep in debt with a bad credit rating the last thing you want is a consolidation loan. Consider credit counseling if you can't figure a way out from under your current debt load. While many people have been greatly helped by reputable credit counseling agencies, there are people who have been hurt by unscrupulous debt management companies. When selecting a debt management company, be sure that they have qualified credit counseling personnel. Many debt management companies provide consumer credit counseling agents to advise and help individuals find a way out of debt. Consumer credit counseling is especially useful for people suffering from huge debt burdens.

Credit Score - The FICO Score

Information on how to repair bad credit and where to get your free credit report can be found at http://www.oboth.org . Those references to credit counseling, by the way, are typically removed from a credit report after a consumer has successfully completed a repayment plan. Contrary to what you might have heard, credit counseling probably wont hurt your credit score. Credit monitoring is another service marketed to help those concerned about bad credit. Unfortunately, consumers who fall for this might wind up with more than continuing bad credit.

Those references to credit counseling, by the way, are typically removed from a credit report after a consumer has successfully completed a repayment plan. Contrary to what you might have heard, credit counseling probably wont hurt your credit score. Most importantly, you don't want to end up in the same boat you are in now, after you have gone through credit counseling. Every situation, requiring credit counseling, is unique. In this instance, rest assured that there are reputable, non-profit, credit counseling companies that will assist you for free. One factor to consider is whether it is going to cost you anything to pursue credit counseling. If you feel as if your finances are out of control, you may need to seek credit counseling. In addition, you can check with your employer, bank, credit union, or housing authority for no-cost credit counseling programs. If you are unsure about how to proceed with your credit repair, you can get some help from your local credit counseling services. If you need help working out a payment plan and a budget, contact your local credit counseling service.

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The companies that advertise credit repair services appeal to consumers with poor credit histories. Credit repair services help consumers who have bad credit to improve their credit ratings for a fee. And the fact is, and what virtually all credit repair services fail to tell you, is that you can do this yourself. In the past 5 years hundreds of internet-based credit repair services have sprung up, preying on consumers in need of real help. Accurate items that are reported within the seven- or ten-year period cannot be erased from your credit record by companies advertising credit repair services.

If you have ever encountered a serious problem with a credit repair company, you CAN report them. From a credit repair standpoint the significant starting point is closing the book on each of the bad credit items on the credit report. Getting this inaccurate information off your report will help your credit repair. A good first step when dealing with bad credit is to obtain a copy of your credit report to see just where you stand. One technique used in credit repair is challenging every negative piece of information on a consumer credit report, even the ones that are undeniable. There are no "loopholes" that credit repair companies can use to remove information from your credit report. If the credit bureaus still refuse to remove the errors from your credit report, contact a bad credit specialist. How long does your credit report reflect your bad credit.

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No matter what a credit repair company claims, credit repair can not remove negative items that legally belong on your credit report.

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