The first thing that needs to be addressed when you’re in need of trustworthy credit repair services is the affiliations of the agency you chose for this purpose. All established and reputable agencies will be eager to give you their references on request. Here are some pointers to keep in mind to protect yourself from fraudulent credit repair companies.

1. Check to see that the company is a member of the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance (ECRA) or another reputable regulatory body. You will often hear it advised to select companies that are subscribed to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) But if you are considering. those agencies affiliated with the ECRA are most likely to be the best choices.

This organization requires that its members agree to a stringent code of professional ethics and the member companies will do their work in the client’s best interest. All credit repair companies that have membership in this organization will have to maintain high standards in everything they do pertaining to repair of credit. The result is to protect you, the consumer from being “taken” by a predatory scammer.

2. Educate yourself about credit repair before hiring help. Most people who are cheated out of their hard earned money when seeking assistance to improve their credit, do not understand credit repair. It’s important to know what credit repair services can do for you and what they can’t do.

Only when you know clearly this difference, can you distinguish those companies in which you can place your trust. For instance, no one can remove derogatory accounts on your credit report if those accounts are verified by the credit bureaus. There are numerous credit repair companies claiming to be able to completely clean your credit report in a very short time. Think this over carefully for a moment; is this even possible to do legally? And if not are you sure you want to engage in methods that are illegal?

3. Ignore any offers you receive by e-mail. When you get an e-mail offer to repair your credit, at the very time when you most need help, don’t fall prey to the belief that divine intervention is somehow involved. These e-mails are sent by scammers who obtain your email address through various unethical methods, and send out emails to millions of unsuspecting victims hoping to “snare” a person in dire need whom they can milk dry!

Beware of such emails. Most of the time these are fraudulent companies looking to profit from people’s desperation. Trustworthy credit companies will make their offers through newsletters or emails only after you have indicated you’re interested in receiving them.

4. Creating a “new identity” cannot be done legally. This is a big mistake too easily accepted by a lot of people, primarily because it looks like the “Silver bullet” that will resolve all their difficulties. This is so easily believed because, again, most people do not understand credit repair. This illegal practice is called “File segregation” and will get you in deep trouble with the law!

Your credit score is a reflection of your payment history from the onset of adulthood until the present. So acquiring a “new” history is an impossibility. And if you should do that, would you think it possible that doing so could be legal? Thus there’s no question that the credit repair companies that offer you such a way out of your problems are operating outside the law.

5. If a company asks for complete payment before any services have been rendered, beware! Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act these credit repair service must present you a written contract and that payment be made only after services have been performed. In addition you have three days to cancel the contract if you so choose.

Some companies may charge an upfront fee for credit report analysis or a consultation, and then charge additional monthly fees as they follow up with the credit bureaus on a continuing basis. But if a company demands their entire fee be paid in advance, there’s a good chance it’s because they know no payment will be forthcoming once you realize that their claims have been overstated. Companies such as these are ripoffs and you must not deal with them!

6. Credit repair won’t happen overnight. As explained earlier, no reputable company is able to fix credit in a short time or delete derogatory accounts from your credit report if it is verifiable.

In a best case scenario, less serious issues can be fixed within two or three months, by removal of mistakes, and by improving the way you handle your finances and overall payment of bills and loans. More serious issues such as foreclosures and the like stay on your credit report for 7 years, even with excellent financial management. Bankruptcies can remain on your credit report for 10 years. If you are given guarantees of a fast removal, you can be sure of fraud.

7. No contract, no deal! Always insist on a written contract; by law you have the right to insist on a written contract. Scammers are leery of presenting a contract, and if they do there will be information missing on aspects of the services, the fees to be charged, and so on. You will be able to understand the nature of these companies by looking at the contract. And if there is not a contract.

8. No reputable agency will make guarantees! Not even the most experienced organization will make guarantees in regard to results of their services. They can realistically promise to use all legal means to improve your credit score. But to guarantee results is a different matter entirely.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of human beings, people would rather hire a company that tells them what the want to hear, rather than hire a credit repair business who gives them an honest and truthful assessment of the situation. Avoid this all too common self deception! Although you might rather hear promises of positive results, credit repair companies that guarantee they can achieve given results are not telling the truth.

9. Look for counseling services. A good many credit repair companies will offer free counseling services.

If the organization under consideration is not offering them, look a bit deeper. It might not be a trustworthy agency. All agencies of repute encourage and educate people on how to repair credit. The role of the company is to perform the services that are for those matters that need continued and persistent follow-up to clean up all derogatory errors on the credit report.

10. Wrong advice is a red flag! Some organizations will dispute all negative trade lines on your credit report stating “this is not mine..” Although this may result in short-term improvement in your credit score, the creditors whose loans have been disputed may later counter it, and at a later time the bureaus will verify it.

Given the fact that the record-keeping habits of the credit bureaus is appallingly poor, there is a very high probability that there are inaccuracies on your credit report. But credit repair companies that tell you to state “this account is not mine” if you are certain that it is, are not worthy of your trust.

As you can see, there are enough red flags along the way to warn against possible fraud. The most important action you must take before hiring credit repair companies is to educate yourself on what “credit report” and “credit score” mean. You also need to know the minimum applicable laws before you go for any type of credit repair help. A good beginning is to visit the web sites of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection and the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance.