How trustworthy are “credit clinics” and other organizations that claim to help me out of financial trouble?
Consumers with credit problems have paid millions of dollars to firms that claim they can “remove negative information,” “clean up credit reports,” and allow consumers to get credit no matter how bad the credit history. Consumers should beware of the following promises by credit clinics: • “Based on little-known loopholes in Federal credit laws, we can show you how to clean up your credit report!” The loopholes are the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), under which you have the right to challenge information in your credit report you believe incorrect. • “We can show you how to remove negative information from your file–including judgments.” No matter how quickly you may pay off outstanding bills, creditors are under no obligation to remove negative information from your file. • “We can get you a major credit card–even if you’ve been through bankruptcy!” You will have to “secure” the card first by putting a deposit in the bank and getting a bankcard with a credit lim
