Christians: Avoid Credit Repair Scams

Credit preditors are everywhere on the Internet. Many promise to simply make your credit problems vanish overnight. Here's the lowdown on how to spot and avoid scam artists.

Most scams, credit and otherwise, rely on our own greed and willingness to "take shortcuts" to achieve riches, or some other desirable end. It's the "end justifies the means" arguement. This doesn't work for followers of Christ for many reasons. Such as:

• We are to lay up our treasures in heaven and not trust in uncertain riches (Matthew 6:20)
• We are to stay away from even the appearence of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
• We are to deal honestly with all men (2 Corinthians 8:21)

While some phony credit repair services may advise you to:

• Dispute all information in your credit report 
• Take an action that seems illegal - such as creating a new "credit identity" by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security number. 

If you follow illegal advice and/or commit fraud, you may be subject to prosecution.  It's a federal crime to make false statements on a loan or credit application, to misrepresent your Social Security Number, or to obtain an Employer Identification number from the IRS under false pretenses.

Of course, as Christians we are subject to an even higher standard - we answer to God. Shouldn't we take great care to make sure we follow not only the letter of the law, but the spirit also? Yet we are human and we do make mistakes - so what happens when we get over our heads, ending up with a bad credit report?

Here are the facts about negative information on your credit report:

• It's generally reported for seven years. 
• Bankruptcy information can be reported for ten years. 
• Default information regarding US government insured or guaranteed student loans can be reported for seven years.

Sometimes bad things happen even when we do everything right. As Christians, we need not allow ourselves to be "doormats" either. Everything we have, including our good credit, is God's. Therefore we should be good stewards and make sure the record accuratly reflects the facts.

While no one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report, the good news is that the law does allow you to request a reinvestigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. 

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can dispute mistakes or outdated items for free.  Here's what to do:

• Ask the credit reporting agency for a dispute form or submit your dispute in writing. 
• Include supporting documentation, clearly identify each item in your report that you dispute, explain why you dispute the information, and request a reinvestigation. 
• Make sure you remember to keep a copy of the dispute for your records. 

If the new investigation reveals an error, ask that a corrected version of the report be sent to anyone who received your report within the past six months. If the reinvestigation does not resolve your dispute, have the credit bureau include your version of the dispute in future reports. 

Many states have laws regulating credit repair companies.  If you believe you have been cheated by a fraudulent credit repair service, don’t hesitate to report the company to your local consumer affairs office or your state attorney general.

However, the best strategy is to avoid any "quick fix", admit our mistakes to God and accept the consequences of our actions. God forgives our tresspasses and sins when we confess them and then presents us with the opportunity to prove our repentance by correcting our mistakes.

Here’s to living debt free!

In Christ's Name,

Andy Havens

Andy Havens is a writer, marketer and businessman who also happens to be a Christian...or is that the other way around?