Removal Guaranteed?

Negative/Bad Credit Removed Guaranteed! Call: 1-877-***-****.

Enticing ad isn't it? This ad sure grabbed my attention in the Tuesday edition of my local newspaper. Knowing all that I do about credit, the first word that came to mind was "How?" What better way is there to find out how something is done than to go directly to the source. That is just exactly what I did.

I picked up the phone and dialed the toll free number to get in contact with Bad Credit Removal Services based out of Washington D.C. I first announced myself as the owner of an Ezine that is aimed at helping and educating consumers. No sooner did I mention that I was planning on writing an article about this, did I get transferred to the general manager, who never gave a name.

When asked how he could 'guarantee' removal of bad credit, he replied with, "We actually guarantee that our contractor will get 50% or slightly more of the bad or negative credit will be removed from the consumer's report." Next came the two most logical questions that a general manager should have been able to answer, "How does your contractor do it?" and "Can you tell me how I can reach your contractor?" I must admit there was no surprise in finding out that this gentleman either could not or would not reply to my questions other than to say "I don't know."

Are you wondering how much this company charges for it's 'services' yet? How does $315 sound? Never fear though, even though you have bad credit, they will offer you payment plans! Getting excited yet? Wait just a second there, I forgot to mention that in the state of Virginia and 17 other states in the union, it is actually illegal to demand money in advance for credit related services, aside from receiving an actual report. I guess this company forgot to think about that little law before placing an ad in the Virginian Pilot and offering to do business in the state of Virginia.

My conclusion was that this amazing offer was a total scam. Not only would you be paying them $315 for a service that they cannot provide, due to credit privacy acts, but you would be handing over your social security number, credit card numbers and a wealth of personal information. Have you ever thought that you would be paying someone to steal your identity? Of course not! If you took advantage of this ad or any other ad like this one, that is just what you could be doing!

Some of you out there may be slapping yourselves on the head because you have recently taken advantage of an offer like this. Thanks to the rise in identity theft over the past 10 years, the federal government and credit reporting agencies have teamed up to prevent this type of theft from taking place.

If you fear that you have exposed yourself to identity theft, call all 3 reporting agencies and have a fraud alert placed on your credit file. "The fraud alert will tell the perspective creditor that in order to approve any form of credit for you over a set period of time, they must legal contact you first by phone or request that you provide much more proof of your identification. You choose a contact phone number or address when you place the alert on your file that cannot be changed without going through a thorough verification of identity process first." say M.B. of Trans Union.

Should a creditor not contact you if you have this alert on your report, you can sue the creditor and be liable for absolutely no balance what-so-ever of the credit extended. This is a federal law that is reinforced by 41 states in the union.

The moral of the story is, not to sound like a cliche', if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Do not be taken in by these scams. If you have made a mistake however, there are steps you can do to protect yourself.

Equifax: www.equifax.com (1-800-997-2493)

Trans Union: www.tuc.com (800-888-4213)

Experian: www.experian.com (1 888 397 3742)

Debra Vaughn is a stay-at-home mother to 3 young girls. She is a freelance writer in her spare time. Debra Vaughn also edits and publishes The Family Budgeteer Weekly Online and Newsletter which can be found at www.familybudgeteer.com

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