Money

3 Simple Ways to Know If You Should Sign Up For Credit Repair

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Research shows that the average American household that has credit card debt owes $15,983. You would have to spend about $1,500 per month to eliminate that much debt within a year. Since few families can afford to dedicate that much cash to debt repayment, you may wonder whether it makes sense for you to sign up for credit repair.

There is a good chance that you will benefit from credit repair if you meet these three simple criteria.

Your Credit Card Debt Prevents You From Reaching Life Milestones

Life milestones like purchasing a home, having a child or retiring from work become much more difficult when you carry a lot of credit card debt. Depending on how much you owe, lenders may not want to give you a mortgage. You may not even qualify for a new credit card or checking account.

If you feel like your credit card is holding you back from life milestones, then you should consider signing up for credit repair.

Your Credit Card Company Charges Outrageous Interest

The national credit card interest rate has been growing for several years. Currently, the average stands at 16.15 percent. A person with excellent credit may get a rate as low as 12.8 percent. If you have bad credit, though, you can expect to pay more than 23 percent.

High interest rates can make it nearly impossible for you to get out of debt. A person who owes $15,983 with 14 percent interest will spend $1,428 per month to eliminate the debt within a year. When you increase the interest to 23 percent, it costs $1,504 per month to get out of debt within a year.

Since it’s unlikely that you can afford payments over $1,500 a month, you could benefit from a credit repair company that will help you get a low rate.

Your Credit Report Contains Inaccurate Information

Technically, you can petition the credit bureaus to remove inaccurate information from your credit report. In reality, the process takes a lot of time and energy. If you’re already struggling to make ends meet, then you may not have enough free time to gather evidence and write letters to get negative information removed from your report.

Hiring a credit repair company can make the task significantly easier, because you can count on a professional to do the work for you.

Not all credit repair services are trustworthy. Make sure you compare the pros and cons of companies like Sky Blue, Lexington Law, The Credit People, CreditRepair.com and Ovation before you choose a credit repair service to represent you.

About the Author

Mary Beth Eastman

Mary Beth Eastman serves as the content manager for Versus Reviews, where she is dedicated to helping readers compare popular products. Mary Beth has a degree in Journalism from Bowling Green State University and has focused her 20-year journalism career on putting readers front and center, carefully considering their concerns and presenting information that will help them in their everyday lives. She has won numerous statewide journalism awards. Her writing has been featured on numerous websites in addition to Versus Reviews, including the Huffington Post and the Lexington Law blog. Mary Beth resides in Pittsburgh, Pa., with her family and two rescue dogs.

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