1) What is credit repair? [top]

• Credit repair is a general term that refers to the practice of a consumer challenging inaccurate, misleading, or unverifiable information on the consumer's credit report to improve one's inaccurate credit standing.

2) Is credit repair legal? [top]

• Yes, although it depends on the method. For example, while it is legal to challenge negative items on your credit reports which you believe to be inaccurate, misleading, or unverifiable, accurate information is supposed to remain on your credit report. By contrast, it is entirely illegal to create a "new" identity by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead of one's Social Security Number — a process known as file segregation — in order to escape responsibility by hiding one's credit history. File segregation is a serious crime and can result in fines or imprisonment.

3) What types of items can be corrected? [top]

• CREDIT SERVICE 1, LLC has successfully corrected a wide array of inaccurate items including late pay, collection, charge off, bankruptcy, item in bankruptcy, judgment, closed by grantor, repossession, foreclosure, garnishment, and liens.

4) Have you corrected bankruptcies? [top]

• We have successfully challenged bankruptcy references on credit reports, as well as items included in bankruptcy. However, because each case is different our past success cannot and does not guarantee a successful correction or removal of bankruptcy references on your credit reports.

5) How long will the process take? [top]

• On average, most of our clients see incredible results in the first 45 days.   For a completely accurate report it may take up to 9 to 12 months. 

6) What happens after I apply? [top]

• Upon enrollment you will be contacted by one of our certified consumer credit specialists to consult and review your case. At that point you will decide which program you would like to enroll in.  Over the phone upon completion of payment, you will identify those items which you believe to be inaccurate, misleading, or unverifiable.  There is no time wasted!  You then will receive a disclosure packet in the mail a few days after, that you must sign and mail back to us.  We take care of the rest.
• We do an in depth analysis of your credit report.
• We identify which items on your report could be most damaging.
• We create a plan of action to increase your credit score and improve your credit history as fast as possible, by addressing what we consider to be the most damaging, items first.
• We put your credit profile through a systematic audit of the information that you have directed us to challenge for federal compliance.
• We are your information resource to assist you in your decisions for your credit future. You have rights and we are here to assist you in making sure that your rights are upheld

7) Why does credit repair carry a negative connotation? [top]

• Credit repair's reputation can be traced directly to exploitative and predatory companies operating within the credit repair arena such as those advocating file segregation. Many are reckless fly-by-night operations seeking a quick profit. Unsuspecting consumers are the unfortunate victims of such operations, and the damage inflicted upon them reflects negatively on the industry as a whole.

8) Aren't there laws regulating the credit repair industry? [top]

• There are indeed. The most prominent one is the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), a bill signed into law in 1996 to protect the public from unfair and deceptive advertising practices by credit repair organizations. Among other things, CROA requires that you be given a copy of the "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law" before you sign a contract, as well as a contract that spells out your rights and obligations. Credit Attorney does both.
  
  Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigates complaints about credit repair organizations and takes appropriate legal action. Fraudulent credit repair organizations have long been the target of FTC investigations, culminating most recently in Project Credit Despair which has snared 20 credit repair scammers to date.

9) What is a credit bureau? [top]

• A credit bureau, credit rating agency, or consumer reporting agency (CRA) is an agency that compiles and distributes your credit and personal information to creditors.

10) What do credit bureaus do? [top]

• Credit bureaus gather information about you and your credit history on an ongoing basis. This information may include payment habits, number of credit accounts, balance of accounts, and length and place of employment. Lenders, such as credit card companies and banks, provide this information to the bureaus in return for the ability to request credit information about you. Each of the credit bureaus collects information differently and uses its own proprietary method to determine your credit rating. Your credit rating measures your credit worthiness—the ability to pay back a loan—and affects the interest rate applied to your loans.

11) Who are the three major credit bureaus? [top]

• The three national credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. In the United States most credit history information is collected and managed by these three agencies.

12) Are the credit bureaus government agencies? [top]

• No. All three consumer reporting agencies are national, independent, for-profit companies owned by their shareholders, and they are regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the federal law which covers credit bureaus and credit reporting.

13) Who is Fair Isaac? [top]

• Fair Isaac Corporation is the developer of the the FICO score, the worldwide standard for measuring a consumer's creditworthiness and credit risk. All three credit bureaus use Fair Isaac's specialized software that uses the information on your credit history to calculate your FICO score.

14) What is a credit report? [top]

• A credit report is a record of the information in your credit file that is used by a prospective lender, employer, or others to help evaluate you when you apply for a loan, job or in other circumstances. Credit reports chronicle the credit payment history of a prospective borrower. A company that collects and sells this information to creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses is called a consumer reporting agency (CRA). Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the three largest CRAs in the United States.

15) Who can request a copy of my credit report? [top]

• Only people with a legitimate business need can access your credit report, as recognized by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). For example, a company is allowed to get your report if you apply for a credit card, loan, insurance, employment, or to rent an apartment. Moreover, creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses cannot get a report about you that contains medical information without your approval.

16) What information appears on a credit report? [top]

• All credit reports contain essentially the same four categories of information: identifying information including your name, past and present addresses, Social Security number, date of birth, and employment information; trade lines on your credit accounts including types of accounts (bankcard, auto loan, mortgage, etc.), dates accounts were opened, credit limits or loan amounts, account balances and your payment history; inquiries, both voluntary and involuntary, for loans listing everyone who has accessed your credit report within the last two years; public record and collection items from state and country courts which includes bankruptcies, foreclosures, suits, wage attachments, liens, judgments, as well as information on overdue debt from collection agencies.

17) How long does information stay on credit reports? [top]

• Generally speaking, information can remain on your credit report for seven years from the date of last activity. Some exceptions apply: bankruptcies may be reported for 10 years; criminal convictions can be reported without a time limitation; information reported for a job application with a salary exceeding $75,000 has no time limit, nor does information on an application for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance; and information about a lawsuit or unpaid judgment can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations expires, whichever is longer.

18) What happens to listed items after seven years? [top]

• Most derogatory items such as late payments, collection accounts and charge-offs "fall" off seven years from their date of last activity. Certain items such as bankruptcies can be reported for up to 10 years. Others items including unpaid tax liens, student loans, and child support obligations have no statute of limitations and will typically show for seven to ten years from the date they are paid, or the date of their legal disposition. Positive credit items can be shown indefinitely.

19) How often are credit reports updated? [top]

• Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion officially update credit reports four times a year. However, most banks and other financial institutions report account status to the consumer reporting agencies on a monthly basis, so your credit report is, in practice, updated every month.

20) Do lenders and creditors pull all three reports? [top]

• Not necessarily. Most mortgage lenders pull credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies, while other lenders will use just one agency's report and one credit score.

1) What is credit repair?
2)  Is credit repair legal?
3)  What types of items can be corrected?
4) Have you corrected bankruptcies?
5) How long will the process take?
6)  What happens after I apply?
7)  Why does credit repair carry a negative connotation?
8)  Aren't there laws regulating the credit repair industry?
9)  What is a credit bureau?
10) What exactly do credit bureaus do?
11) Who are the three major credit bureaus?
12) Are the credit bureaus government agencies?
13) Who is Fair Isaac?
14) What is a credit report?
15)  Who can request a copy of my credit report?
16)  What information appears on a credit report?
17) How long does information stay on credit reports?
18) What happens to listed items after seven years?
19)  How often are credit reports updated?
20)  Do lenders and creditors pull all three reports?
 

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