If it sounds unlikely to be true, it probably is. This rule holds true even when it comes to credit repair. More often than not, the promises of certain credit repair companies to help clean up your credit history are completely false. Here are some of the things they will ask you to do in order to ‘repair’ your credit:



Get a new identity

Some companies will try to get you to create another identity – one with no bad history – as a means to clear all your bad credit history. Not only is this impossible, it is also against the law to have another social security number to your name.

Submit incorrect information

Rather than work on your bad history, these companies insist that you submit incorrect information pertaining to your purchases. This is so that you can dispute the information or get the company to ‘correct’ certain bad histories to make your credit report look better. Technically, it is a good idea but in reality, you are committing fraud.

Pay them to get you your credit report

Under certain circumstances, you are able get a free credit report without having to pay a credit repair company for it. If you are denied the application for a credit card, you can ask for your credit report within 60 days for free. In the event that you spot a mistake within the report, you have the rights to contact both the reporting company as well as the information provider for a dispute. An investigation will ensue and within a month, the problem will be rectified – all without a fee.

Payment first, service comes later

In reality, no individual or agency can legally rid your credit report of any bad history. Some companies will ask for payment from you to help clear up incorrect information, which can be done by yourself for free. Others will ask you to send them checks so they can handle the ‘payments’ for you, then vanish into thin air months later. Regardless of the reasons they give you, if you do not receive your ‘goods’ upon payment, they have committed an offence, punishable by law.