We get the question every day: “How do I know I can trust you?” It’s valid, especially when we all know that there are companies out there that are either only looking to line their own pockets, or they’re straight up frauds.
For a lot of people, the do-it-yourself approach isn’t going to work. They need to find someone that’ll help them through these tough times. It may be that they just don’t have the time or they don’t have the patience to write the letters, wait for responses, make the phone calls, negotiate debts and keep detailed records every single detail.
What I tell people I speak to is that as long as they research the business that they want to use, ask questions when they need to, and keep their expectations realistic, then credit repair and debt relief can be both painless and positive.
Do Your Research
Do not, I repeat, do not trust online review sites. They are affiliate marketing sites, which means that the person who wrote those reviews is getting paid by the companies they’re reviewing. Not exactly the sort of unbiased help you’re looking for.
The Better Business Bureau is obviously a good place to check a company out. They won’t review the specific services, but they’ll give an overall BBB rating (mycreditgroup.com is bbb A rated). It’s in your best interest to stick with the A-rated companies and away from the “F’s.” That pretty much goes for any industry.
Ask the Right Questions
Don’t get me wrong, there is no wrong question when it comes to investing your hard earned money. But get a complete understanding of what’s going on once you pay your money. Understand the whole process. When you don’t, ask for an explanation.
These credit repair services and debt relief solutions are meant you turn your credit profile around and get rid of your credit card debt. Find out specifically how they plan on doing this. A reputable financial service will offer you a free consultation to discuss your specific needs and diagram a plan to meet your goals.
Do Your Part
None of these companies are going to do everything for you. They can’t be with you when you’re at the mall, credit card in hand, ready to make that impulse purchase you know you can’t afford. You need to stop yourself from ruining your credit and piling up more debt. You’ll also want to get a feeling for what’s being done by your company, what is expected from you, and a relative time frame for results.
Be Realistic
Unfortunately, we live in a world where we expect everything to be done for us immediately. The commercials you see on TV, hear on the radio or see whenever you’re on the internet aren’t helping either. They make it seem like you can be debt free with an stellar credit profile in a month’s time. That’s not going to happen. If it seems too good to be true … it is!
These improvements to your finances aren’t going to happen overnight. There’s no magic formula, no inside knowledge, no one has a “buddy” that knows a “loophole.” It’s going to take some hard work and probably a whole lot of budgeting. Don’t think that you can just run up debt, pay off some debt relief or credit repair company and they make it go away. If that was the case I wouldn’t be writing this blog write now, I’d be spending as much money as anyone would lend me.
Get Started as Soon as Possible
If you know your credit profile is absolutely trashed, or you’re overwhelmed with debt, you need to face the music. Don’t think that you might be able to get this sort of thing done in a month or two, especially if you want to apply for a mortgage or a car loan. Not going to happen.
The process generally takes anywhere from 3 to 12 months to make sure it’s done right. Of course this all depends on the financial damage you’ve done over the years. If you need to pay off $100,000 in debt and your salary is $30,000 a year, then obviously this is going to take a bit longer than a few months.
But if you’re looking to save yourself the time and aggravation of repairing your own credit or negotiating your own debt, make sure that you research the company first. Talk to them until you’re comfortable with what’s being done. And make sure you’re staying up to date with what’s going on with your account. Lastly, make sure that you’re doing your part. If you’re fixing your finances on the one hand only to immediately ruin it with the other, then you’re not making any progress.
