Summary – The Three Biggest Credit Repair Mistakes
As you can see from reading the information in this chapter, fixing your credit can be a long involved process with many opportunities to slip up. Here are the three biggest mistakes you should avoid to prevent further devastation to your credit score.
• Hiring a disreputable firm. Unfortunately the credit consolidation business is full of scam artists. You can pretty much assume a scam if a company guarantees results in advance, suggests you create a new credit report by using a different social security number or tries to charge you a big upfront fee. Most people can handle their own credit repair without paying big fees or committing fraud.
• Failing to get things in writing. Always leave a paper trail and make copies of documents when dealing with a creditor, collector or credit bureau. Also be sure to print documents off the Internet.
• Triggering a dormant statute of limitations. States have differing rules with how long a creditor can sue you over a debt with most periods lasting from three to six years. Making a payment on an old debt or even acknowledging it can leave you vulnerable to a lawsuit. This is because it is like an admission of guilt. Make sure you know the rules for your state when dealing with old debts.