Credit Myths

There is a lot of information out there about credit. Unfortunately not all of it is true, here are some common credit myths:

MYTH: When I pay off a past-due account, such as a charge-off or a collection account, it will show “paid” and will no longer negatively affect my credit report.
TRUTH: Unfortunately, paying off a charge-off won’t remove it from your report. In fact, it will likely stay on your report for 7 years after your payment.

MYTH: If I succeed in deleting a negative item, it will just come right back on my credit report.
TRUTH: If we remove an item from your credit report, it won’t come back. All of our results are guaranteed permanent.

MYTH: There are negative listings, such as bankruptcies and foreclosures, that are impossible to remove from the credit report.
TRUTH:We have had success in removing bankruptcies and foreclosures. (Your results may vary.)

MYTH: Disputing the credit report is easy and any consumer can do it himself for the price of a few postage stamps.
TRUTH: Not always the case. Any items you get removed will likely return.

MYTH: By changing numbers in my social security number or by using an EIN tax number, I can fool the credit bureaus into creating a completely clean, new credit file under my name.
TRUTH:This is NOT legal!

MYTH: If I build enough good credit, it will offset my bad credit and make me credit worthy.
TRUTH:Your negative items will still bring your scores down. The only way to improve your score is to get those items removed.

MYTH: I can improve my credit score by closing down some credit cards.TRUTH: You want to keep the credit cards with a long, positive credit history.