The repercussions of having bad credit extends from having high interest rates on your credit cards, being denied of loan applications, apartments and cell phone contracts and even employment, paying for security deposits on utilities, getting higher insurance premiums and difficulties in starting a business.

If you want to avoid such inconveniences, you should know how to repair your damaged credit. But before you can actually do that, you should be able to get your hands on your annual credit report and understand what it contains. There are different ways by which you can have a copy of your credit report as much as there are many proven ways to repair your bad credit.

You should however be conscious of the fact that there are people who can make a profit out of your misery. You definitely repair your credit yourself. The first thing you should do is to check your credit report regularly. It is possible to find malicious information on it, and if that happens, there are procedures to follow to file disputes.

On the other hand, if you think that repairing your poor credit is already beyond your capabilities, seek the assistance of people who have an established reputation. Other than that, be wary of "credit clinics" that claim to repair your credit but won't be of any help at all. These establishments would recommend creating a new identity and credit file for you.

Credit Clinic Characteristics

Most fraudulent companies tell consumers that they have the ability to remove late payments, bankruptcies and other information that hurt your credit score from your credit report. But of course, they wouldn't be offering such services for free. In fact, the prices are far from affordable.

One of the tactics used by credit clinics is to ask consumers to write to the reporting bureaus for verifications over and over again. This is to extend the process of "repair" which would be found out fraudulent after some time. If you come across a company that offers help, you would know that it is a fake if it does not tell you the office address or if it demands for your decisions too hastily.

Also, credit clinics are very likely to charge first before they apply the services to save your credit. Don't forget that the Credit Repair Organization Act mandates credit repair agencies to provide service before asking to be paid.

They would also recommend that you avoid contacting the credit reporting companies. But they would suggest that you dispute all the information contained in your credit report. Finally, almost everything is charged, even information about your rights and what you can do to help yourself, which a reputable credit repair company would freely give away, could only be given for a price.

When you come across establishments that have the mentioned characteristics, you can very well inform the Federal Trade Commission. Other than that, remember that repairing your bad credit is not a simple matter and definitely does not happen over night. If you want a clean credit report, there are procedures you should take.