Free Credit Score Repair Services: Are They For Real?
Free Credit Score Repair Services: An Overview
You may have heard about free credit score repair services or seen ads online. But are these companies for real or are they a scam? In this article we will look at what you can expect to get from anybody advertising free credit score assistance.
The first thing to keep in mind is that there probably are some services that will offer you free advice on debt management and credit repair with no strings attached. However, these services have to be funded from somewhere. Their staff must be paid and so must their electricity bills.
So usually, these services will be hooked up to welfare or charities that have been set up to help out people in a certain state or situation. For example, a charity whose aim is to help military veterans might offer a free financial planning service. So if you are looking for free credit score help, it is worth looking for charities that might help you according to your particular situation.
Any commercial company, however, will probably need to cover its costs by selling some kind of service to you. This means that while they may offer free credit score repair at a basic level, you are likely to have to pay something to get the full service. Or you might be offered some free help, but then you have to pay later.
Sometimes this takes the form of a free trial where you get to try out the service for free for a week or two, and then there is a charge, usually to your credit card. If the company is asking for your credit card number, always be sure that you know exactly why they want it. Some people find that they are being charged without their knowledge. So be sure to read the fine print and know what you are signing up for.
The first thing you will need to know is what is your current credit score. You do not need to pay for this information. Under US law, you can claim a free credit score report every year from annualcreditreport.com.
Your credit score will be something between 300 and 850. Anything over 700 is excellent. Over 600 is fine and you will still be approved for loans, but as you get down around 600 the interest rates might begin to rise. Therefore if you score is between 600 and 650, you might be better off trying to get your score a little higher.
A score below 580 is a bad credit rating. Under 500 is real bad. At that point you will probably have trouble getting approved for loans unless you go to a company that offers loans for bad credit, and these are usually at very high interest rates. So at this level you should definitely be working on your credit score.
If you are looking for credit repair information, you will find plenty of advice for free on websites. You can use this to improve your financial position and repair your credit history. This is one of the best ways to get help with free credit score repair.