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A lot of people have bad credit. It is
unfortunate that good people with good
intentions are sometimes lured into credit card
offers with outrageous interest rates or
convinced to buy a new, overpriced car that they
cannot afford. Sometimes, it is a stroke of bad
luck. You may have recently lost your job or
been involved in an accident that made you
unable to work which in turn also made you
unable to pay your bills. Whatever the case bad
credit can follow you for a very long time and
repairing your credit is no easy task. You may
have seen advertisements claiming to be able to
repair your credit for only a small fee. Some
advertise credit repair kits for anywhere from
$10.00-$20.00. This may seem like a small price
to pay to have your good credit reinstated. But
beware, the price is often much higher. Jail
time or high fines are the price you must be
willing to pay since these scams are
illegal.
Credit repair kits claim to be able to repair
your credit through a process called "file
segregation". This is a fancy term for obtaining
an employment identification number or EIN.
Employment identification numbers can be used to
apply for credit instead of your social security
number. The problem is that you must use false
information to apply for this number. This is
illegal and you can be charged with not only
misrepresenting your social security number, but
if you used the telephone or mail to apply for
the credit you could be charged with telephone
or mail fraud.
Keep in mind that you should never have to
pay money for a service before it is received
and you have the right to see all paperwork
regarding the case. So ask for all agreements in
writing and carefully examine the documents to
be sure that you are not participating in
something that is illegal. If you are still
thinking of using a credit repair service,
contact the state Attorney General and the
Better Business Bureau to determine if the
company is legitimate. If you have previously
purchased a credit repair kit or been a victim
of a credit repair scam, you should also contact
the state Attorney General to report the crime.
The best way to repair you credit is through
time and effort. You can do it, but nothing is
going to fix your credit instantly.
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