Navigating through the credit repair industry can be a tricky job. With so many companies claiming to fix your credit score, it can get hard to differentiate between the companies which can actually help you and those scammers that just charge you a hefty amount of money and then vanish. To help you stay safe from these scammers and protect your hard earned money, Alex Miller, one of the most trusted names in the industry of credit repair, provides his expert opinion on how you can spot them and stay safe from these scammers.
How to Spot and Avoid Scammers
To stay safe from fraudulent companies and individuals, look for the following warning signs:
Promises of Providing Results Overnight
“No authentic credit repair firm can promise you results overnight. That is just not possible”, says Alex. so, if you come across an individual or even a company that promises to remove all of your negative accounts within a day or two, understand that they are trying to deceive you. At Alex Miller Credit Repair, customers are given a time period of at least 30 days, only after which the first results will start becoming visible.
Demanding Upfront Payment
Another sign that you should look out for is the demand of upfront payment. Alex shares that according to the federal law, credit repair companies can not ask you for full payment upfront, before they do the work you hired them to. Fraudulent people and companies tend to insist that you pay them the full fee in advance and say that paying in advance will help them get your work done quicker. Never pay anybody for services that you haven’t even started utilizing.
Keeping You in the Dark About Your Legal Rights
People and companies looking to deceive you will never inform you of your legal rights, states Miller. Before signing any sort of agreement, be sure to ask them for a written copy of your legal rights. Alex insists people to be up to date on what rights the law has given them. Credit Repair firms are, by law, required to provide you a copy of your rights. He shares that when clients come to his firm, the very first thing his team does is ensure that the customer knows his/her legal rights and most of the people are surprisingly unaware of them.
Offers of a Brand New Identity
The offer of a ‘brand new identity and credit report’ is perhaps the biggest red flag present. You should know that if someone is offering you a ‘clean slate’, they will scam you, because that is legally impossible. There are many examples of companies and individuals who tell their customers to use their EIN, which is their employer identification number, instead of their social security number for credit applications. Always remember that it is illegal to lie on a credit or loan application and this can get you in great trouble.
Now that you’re aware of all the signs you can use to spot a scammer, always keep them in mind while you find the right organization to help you improve your credit score. In case you’ve had the misfortune of being scammed, report it as soon as you can. This can help the authorities take the required action in order to save other people from falling prey to their scam.
