Credit Repair for 2010 - A New Year for Better Credit

Are you wondering how to protect your family through a recession and tough economic times? Families are scrambling to protect their financial security while watching their nest egg shrink. Between the foreclosure epidemic and closed or reduced credit lines, Congress has been left to bail out the financial industry. Many consumers are experiencing severe stress as it relates to their economic stability and general well-being. With unemployment at an all time high and an economy that is struggling with food prices and professional services that have increased at alarming rates, many families have scaled back on their spending to include only the necessities.

In an ever worsening economy your good name and reputation within the community is becoming more important. Creditors have tightened their guidelines effectively barring millions of Americans from borrowing money. Even those with excellent credit are experiencing reduced limits and closed equity lines. Mortgage lenders, auto finance companies, card issuers and banks have all raised the bar. Borrowers with low scores can expect to be denied or to pay significantly higher interest rates than those with excellent histories. Long gone are the days of obtaining goods, benefits, services and/or employment with a 620 score. In more instances than not, a consumer will be denied if they maintain a score lower than 720.

The terms credit repair, credit restoration and/or credit rehabilitation are somewhat synomous. Those with bad histories cannot afford to ignore the potential benefits of credit repair. In today's society, credit repair is more important than ever. Approximately 78% of consumer profiles contain some sort of error or omission materially impacting credit worthiness. As such, one would be wise to at least explore retaining a reputable credit service organization in the restoration of their own good name and reputation within the community.

Most - but not all - credit service organizations specialize in the restoration of consumer credit worthiness as well as issues related to identity theft. Assuming that said credit service organization is performing within the law, they utilize laws enacted by Congress to dispute negative, erroneous, obsolete, and/or fraudulent information contained within your consumer credit profile.

Utilizing the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act, and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, a reputable credit service organization will assist a consumer in the submission of disputes electronically, verbally and in writing to the Equifax, Experian and Trans Union consumer reporting agencies in addition to creditors, collection agencies, third-party record providers and state/federal/local/private regulatory authorities. Keep in mind that anything a credit service organization can do - you can do yourself. With that said, a reputable credit service organization will have the edge as they should possess the education, knowledge and a source proven method that is generally unknown to the average consumer.

Unlike most credit repair clinics that submit the same written dispute letters monthly, a reputable credit service organization will have devised a strategy whereby disputes are submitted electronically, verbally and in writing over a long period of time to the credit reporting agencies, creditors, collectors, and third-party record providers reporting negative, inaccurate, obsolete and/or erroneous information. A reputable credit service organization should have a provable track record of results as well as the ability to modify and/or remove erroneous or inaccurate judgments, liens, foreclosures, bankruptcies, short-sales, student loans, inquiries, derogatory tradelines, personal identifiers and other transient data from a consumer's credit report. Although the credit restoration process can take anywhere from 30 days to six months, most individuals should see dramatic results within the first 45 to 60 days.

Credit repair, credit restoration and/or credit rehabilitation is as legal as pleading "not guilty" in a court of law. With that said, one must understand that most credit service organizations are not law firms and that none of their employees is an attorney licensed to practice law. As such, even a reputable credit service organization cannot provide legal advice nor represent any individual before any court or in any legal proceeding. In the event that legal representation is required, a reputable credit service organization may provide an appropriate attorney referral for consultation.

William E. Lewis, Jr., is a credit repair expert and host of "The Credit Report with Bill Lewis" on AM 1470 WWNN, a daily forum for business and financial news, politics, economic trends, and cutting edge issues. The Credit Report is brought to you by Credit Restoration Consultants - the leading credit restoration firm in South Florida. If you are having credit problems, if your bills are out of hand, or if you just want a credit check up, call CRC at (954) 581-5050 or visit them online at http://www.TalkAboutCredit.com