Credit Repair Advice: DIY Vs Agencies PDF Print E-mail
Written by Tiffani G Peterson   
Thursday, 29 October 2009 20:56
Some credit repair advice: think over the costs and benefits of hiring a credit repair agency.
by TiffaniGPeterson


Some credit repair advice: think over the costs and benefits of hiring a credit repair agency.

You'll save a monthly fee you would pay an agency by doing it yourself. You'll know exactly where you are in the process at all times when you send a letter or make a call. If you make all your own contacts, you'll be able to provide the personal touch to make it all that much more believable. Nothing screams agency like a form letter with no details.

Repairing credit yourself gives you more flexibility. If you need to wait for some life event to pass, you can. If you're ready to get it done, you can. For example, if you see a 6 year old delinquent account, it might make sense to leave it alone rather than dispute it. It will fall off anyway after 7 years of inactivity. An agency might figure that out or they might go ahead and challenge everything.

You should consider hiring an agency if you're short on time, have the extra money and don't want to be bothered to manage your finances. Also, if you struggle with low self esteem and couldn't bring yourself to call your credit card company on the phone, then an agency is right for you. Chances are though that no one fits that description. Like maintaining your personal health and raising your own children, your finances are something you should attend to yourself.

If you're just getting started, there's more than enough than you could ever need online about how to repair your credit. The challenge is sorting through it and putting it all in order. My advice is to find a reputable book or course that puts all the pieces together for you.

Using An Agency

Chances are, a credit agency will do exactly what you could do. They'll send letters. They might give you credit repair advice to close or open lines of credit. They'll probably tell you to ask for better rates. You'd probably feel more secure knowing someone was working on your behalf.

Unfortunately, the experience of many consumers has been that credit repair agencies take your money and then just spit out a form letter on your behalf if that. Maybe the reporting agencies see the letter and reject it based on not enough information. They don't like anything that looks like spam either.

You'd end up wondering what's happening as the credit repair agency continues to collect a fee month after month. And while you were waiting there will have probably been other things you could have been doing to improve your credit. If only you would have known.

My advice is to skip the agencies and spend that money on a good book or course. Take responsibility for your own financial future.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.