| Finding the right credit repair info to suit your personal financial situation can sometimes be a little confusing. There are plenty of tips available, but many of them seem to revolve around trying to keep you in debt longer than you need to be or working on debt negotiation strategies.
The unfortunate part about credit repair info that includes these things is that they have the potential to sometimes damage your score even further if they're not dealt with the right way.
Debt Settlement
Debt settlement is where you, or a company working on your behalf, negotiate with your creditors to accept an amount of money that is often a smaller amount than the full balance you owe. The agreement is supposed to represent payment in full for your total debt and in some cases can see your penalty fees waived or the total balance lowered a little.
There are some cases where this tactic can be an excellent way to help some people begin rebuilding credit. While this sounds great on paper, the reality can often be a little different. Even though you might get your creditors to agree to accept a lower amount of money as the total payment, you still need to pay it. This usually means entering a payment agreement where you must pay a certain amount off your debt each month until it's paid off in full.
If you miss a payment or fall behind, this is listed as a far worse credit infringement than a regular missed payment. On top of this, some lenders may report a debt negotiation or settlement more negatively than the original late payments, which can reduce your score even further than it already was.
What many of these credit repair info tips neglect to tell people is that you're able to make payment arrangements with your creditors on your own. Simply call your bank or lender and tell them you want to make a payment agreement with them. They'll work with you if they think they're going to get their money back. This will also do far less damage to your credit report.
Debt Consolidation
There are many programs and companies available willing to help those with bad credit to consolidate outstanding debts into one easy consolidation loan. While this can help to clear many of your unpaid balances and help to reduce your monthly payments too, it might not always be the ideal credit repair info you need to boost your score quickly.
Once you've consolidated all your past debts and paid down those outstanding balances, your credit score may not get the boost you were hoping for. The unfortunate part about the credit scoring system is that a portion is calculated by the average length of time you've had available credit. When you pay out all those older accounts and open new credit, like a debt consolidation loan, this has the potential to reduce your score a little.
Remember to always check the credit repair info you find before you sign up for any programs or counseling. If you're ever unsure of the info you've found, contact a non-profit debt counseling service to see if they can help to put you on the right track. |