There are various forms of credit repair kits that are available for consumers looking to erase previous financial mistakes, and unfortunately, many of them are very misleading in terms of defining the actual results that could be expected. Several of the more popular credit repair kits are designed to erase inaccurate or outdated excerpts from a credit report, while others are designed to walk consumers through the process of doing it themselves. Some credit repair kits may attempt to introduce positive credit histories for consumers in order to balance out negative data, and there are also nonprofit organizations that offer credit repair kits to consolidate a consumer’s expenses.
Perhaps the most popular credit repair kits are the type that guarantee to erase anything from a consumer’s credit report for a monthly fee. The data stored with the three major credit bureaus in the US is constantly updated, and often there are mistakes made that should be challenged. Several companies that offer credit repair kits will fight everything negative on the consumer’s credit report in hopes that the creditor will not respond in time to have the debt erased, and often this type of strategy will indeed work. There is absolutely nothing preventing that debtor from reentering the data in the credit bureau’s database again, though, so these types of credit repair kits are often frowned upon by government agencies.
A more reliable form of credit repair kits can be found in debt consolidation, and there are thousands of agencies worldwide that perform this service for little to no money from the consumer. These agencies will contact each of the parties that are trying to collect money from the debtor and arrange a settlement, usually payable in installments over a period of 12 to 24 months. The consumer would then make one lump-sum payment to the credit agency each month in order to cover each of the agreements until the debt is paid in full. In turn, a stipulation within the contract usually states that once the matter is settled, the negative entries on the consumer’s credit report are deleted.
While both types of credit repair kits can be valuable, it is important to note that each of these services can be completed by a consumer without outside intervention. The easiest way to do so would be to contact the credit bureaus to challenge any erroneous information contained within a credit report, or to make direct contact with debt collectors to work out a settlement. Many businesses are more than happy to deal with struggling consumers and will often grant more favorable terms when a genuine interest is present.