Credit report repair is big business and credit repair scams are everywhere. If you want to know more about improving your credit score, and don’t want to bother with disputes or inaccuracies you could consider consulting an independent credit repair company.

How are you able to determine who is real? That’s why the Credit Repair Organizations Act was passed, as it can help you do just that. If you know what to look for, you will be able to successfully avoid scammers.

1. When looking for a company, get a feel for their different types of standards. As with all services, it is usually better not to respond to people who contact you cold, directly by telephone or letter. By all means shop around, if you do agree to meet with any company, do not let them pressure you into signing anything.

2. If a company asks you for money at the beginning, avoid it. You should not have to pay them before they perform their services.

3. Don’t select a company that promises or guarantees the results you’ll get - for example, if they promise you an increase of 100 points on your credit score. They can only advertise the average scores from other clients, but this isn’t a promise that yours will be that good because they cannot control the outcome. They cannot even accurately estimate your credit score before they eye your report and acknowledge your conditions.

4. You must be informed by them of your rights to repair your credit for yourself. Unless you want to, you do not need to hire anybody. A company may not be legitimate if their written information does not inform you of this.

5. Never sign a contract that you cannot break or leave. Make sure you can cancel at any time. You don’t have to pay more than the work they had accomplished for you.

6. Keep far away from any company that offers file segregation. It involves creating a new credit identity for you and is illegal.

If the credit repair company tries to talk you into file segregation, please remember that if they get caught, you get caught also. Your participation as a client is unlawful too. If one unhappy client reports them, all of their files will be examined, and it could result in trouble for their other clients… This would mean trouble for you, too.

Credit companies always dispatch letters to individuals who have filed for bankruptcy, promising to resolve all their credit problems. It may seem lawful, but then you will be required you to fill in false information every time you apply for credit. It is fraud to get credit with falsified information. Penalties can include fines or even jail time.

Many companies that promise credit score improvements are, in fact, legitimate. Avoiding common credit repair scams will be easy, if you remember these points.