Fix Your Own Credit Problems -- May 1992

If you are having trouble getting credit, ads that promise to fix 

your credit history or clean up your credit report may sound like 

the answer to your problems. But before you pay a credit repair 

clinic to "fix" your credit record, learn what the law says and 

consider saving your money by making some phone calls yourself.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to learn 

what your credit report says. If you have been denied credit 

based on a report from a credit bureau, the creditor must provide 

you with the name and address of the credit bureau it contacted. 

If you contact that bureau within 30 days to learn what is in 

your file, there is no charge for this service.


If you simply wish to learn what is in your credit file, check 

the Yellow Pages under Credit Bureaus or Credit Reporting 

Agencies. If several are listed, call to find which ones keep 

your file. Credit bureaus may charge to give you file 

information. Their fees usually range from $5 to $15.


After you review your credit record, contact your credit bureau 

if you find inaccurate information in your file. By law, the 

credit bureau must investigate it and, if it is inaccurate, 

remove it.


However, if the information is accurate, no one can require the 

credit bureau to remove it _ unless it is outdated. If you have 

been late paying your bills during the last seven years, the law 

permits the credit bureau to tell creditors about your history of 

late payments. Bankruptcy may be reported for 10 years. That is 

the law. If anyone tells you that they can remove negative but 

accurate information from your file, they are making promises 

that they cannot keep.


If you are having problems paying your bills and need help, you 

have several options. You can contact the companies you owe money 

and try to work out an adjusted repayment plan yourself, or you 

can check your telephone directory for non-profit financial 

counseling programs to get help. Some universities, local county 

extension agents, military bases, credit unions, housing 

authorities, and banks operate such programs and charge little, 

if anything, for their assistance.


You also may want to contact a Consumer Credit Counseling Service 

(CCCS), a non-profit organization with more than 850  offices 

located in 50 states. CCCS counselors will try to arrange a 

repayment plan that is acceptable to you and your creditors, and 

they also will help you set up a realistic budget. Check the 

White Pages of your telephone directory to get the number for the 

CCCS office nearest you, or call 1-800-388-2227 using a 

touch-tone phone. If you have other questions, write or call: 

National Foundation for Consumer Credit, 8611 Second Avenue, 

Suite 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910, (301) 589-5600. For more 

information about credit, write: Solving Credit Problems, Public 

Reference, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580.

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