Credit Monitoring Services - Great Tool for Credit Repair

by William Lingle

As you begin repairing your credit you will be able to monitor your credit score at periodic intervals.
This will let you see if the changes you are making are having a positive effect. This can be a great
benefit as you will be able to tell immediately what is working and what isnt. Some of the services
even offer tools to let you see what changes will benefit you the most, such as paying off a certain
credit card, before you even make such a change. This can be very beneficial in determining your
strategy to repairing your credit.


By combining your credit reports from all 3 credit bureaus, you will easily be able to see the
differences in your credit reports between all credit bureaus. Since each credit bureau maintains
its own consumer credit database, don't be surprised to find differences on each one of your
credit reports. This is why its essential to get a copy of all 3 credit reports because you wont know
which credit agency in advance that a lender might check your credit with.

Alerting is a feature that allows you to receive email notices if any major changes happen to your
credit report. Most services allow you to monitor changes from all 3 credit bureaus. This can be an
ideal way to detect Identity Theft. Also, if you are in the process of getting a home loan or auto loan,
you will want to know ahead of time if something changes in your credit report that may hinder your
approval process.

Many of the credit monitoring services even offer Identity Theft insurance. By being enrolled in their
service, you entitled up to $25,000 in damages if you are a victim of Identity Theft.

Credit Monitoring as a service then allows you access to your credit report at all 3 credit bureaus,
and the ability to see the bureaus own credit score or your FICO score. Alerts can be setup to notify
you of significant changes to your credit that could be Identity Theft.

Check out my 3 bureau credit monitoring review page for a breakdown of the most popular
companies offering credit monitoring services. 

William Lingle is the owner/operator of Clever Credit Repair - http://www.clevercreditrepair.com.
 Please view my site to view a unique approach of learning credit repair. We will arm you with the
 best quality information, articles and resources to repair your own credit as good or better than
any professional service can offer.

Credit Repair Scams: The Warning Signs

by sas_upena1

"We can erase your bad credit -- 100% guaranteed."

"Create a new credit identity -- legally."

"We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans from your credit file forever!"

Do yourself a favor and save some money, too. Don't believe these statements. Only time, a conscious effort, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your credit report.

This article explains how you can improve your creditworthiness but you have to remember that it can take time. If you stick to a plan you can repair your credit and get your life back to normal. Take it one step at a time and make sure that you are not planning to do anything illegal.

The Scam

Everyday, there are companies nationwide that appeal to consumers with poor credit histories. They promise, for a fee, to clean up your credit report so you can get a car loan, a home mortgage, insurance, or even a job. The truth is, they cant deliver. After you pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees, these companies do nothing to improve your credit report; most simply vanish with your money.

The Warning Signs

If you decide to respond to a credit repair offer, look for these tell-tale signs of a scam:

companies that want you to pay for credit repair services before they provide any services.

• companies that do not tell you your legal rights and what you can do for yourself for free.
• companies that recommend that you not contact a credit reporting company directly.
• companies that suggest that you try to invent a "new" credit identity -- and then, a new credit report -- by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security number.

• companies that advise you to dispute all information in your credit report or take any action that seems illegal, like creating a new credit identity. If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you may be subject to prosecution.

You could be charged and prosecuted for mail or wire fraud if you use the mail or telephone to apply for credit and provide false information. Its a federal crime to lie on a loan or credit application, to misrepresent your Social Security number, and to obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses.

Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot require you to pay until they have completed the services they have promised.

Make big affiliate money with a credit card site. Sign up for free at Credit Card RepairSubmitted by: Super Article Submitter