If you are a Michigan consumer who’s struggling with bad credit, you may be looking for a quick way to improve your credit score. When you see advertisements for credit repair companies, you’re probably wondering if these agencies might have the solutions to your problems. They might, but there’s no guarantee.
Credit repair companies have limits in what they can actually do to improve your credit score. The reputable ones primarily work to remove errors from your credit reports. However, if you do have credit report errors, removing them will go a long way toward repairing bad credit.
How Reputable Credit Repair Companies Work in Michigan
Now is a pretty good time to call Michigan home. The auto industry is doing well, the economy is improving, and unemployment is on a downswing. There are a lot of opportunities in the Mitten, but having bad credit can really hold you back. A low credit score can tack a higher interest rate onto your auto loan. It can prevent you from buying a new home, or cause you to miss out on your dream job. This is why credit repair is so crucial.
When you hire a reputable credit repair company, they will first ask you to pull all three of your credit reports. Three credit reports? Why? There are three primary credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Lenders and creditors may only report to one credit bureau, and this information may or may not get passed on to the others. Therefore, it’s entirely possible to have three very different credit files.
Once a credit repair company has your credit reports, they will look for any errors that they might contain. If a mistake is found, a dispute letter, along with supporting documents, is sent to the appropriate credit bureau. The credit bureau then has 30 days in which to conduct a reasonable investigation of the claim. Within this time frame, if the consumer’s dispute is valid, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the credit bureau must remove the inaccurate item from the credit report. They are also required to communicate this removal to the other two credit bureaus.
Of course, you could do these things for yourself, but dealing with the credit bureaus with no experience can be frustrating. Sometimes persistence is required, and it helps if know exactly what kinds of supporting documents you’ll need and where to get them. For these reasons, many Michigan consumers have employed the services of credit repair companies.
When Michigan Residents Should Avoid Credit Repair Companies
Let’s make one thing absolutely clear. No credit repair company in Michigan or any other state can legally remove legit negative items. In fact, you should avoid doing business with any service that wants you to dispute every negative item on your credit report. You should also walk away from credit repair companies that ask you to:
- Use an Employee Identification Number (EIN) in order to establish a “new credit profile.”
- Make up a false Social Security Number or use someone else’s.
- Pay for services up front.
- Accept their promises to do work without receiving a written contract explaining all of the services that will be performed.
Credit repair companies that use these tactics are operating outside of the law, and they should never be trusted. Of course, even legitimate credit repair companies usually charge fees for their services. On the other hand, at Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we never charge clients out of pocket costs for the work we do. Instead, we can offer you a FREE credit repair lawyer to help you clean up your credit reports.
The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit
Don’t let debt collections and errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at 248-353-2882 or sending him a message through our contact page.
