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Credit Repair"Credit Repair Promises Fall Short" Advertisements offering to 'clean your credit reference file' or 'restore your credit rating' by rubbing out any record of debt, should be treated with caution according to the Government's consumer protection authority. The Office of Fair Trading warns that the information given by so called credit repair companies may be wrong, misleading or guaranteed to get you into worse trouble - and ensure that you are even more out of pocket. They may also be a 'front' for a lender or broker who is simply trying to sell you a loan. Typically the companies say they can remove unfavourable information, such as county court judgments, from your credit files and give guidance on how to make a successful application for credit. Often the advertisements urge you to call a costly premium rate telephone line for more information. John Bridgeman, Director General of Fair Trading, said: 'These companies offer nothing that you cannot do for yourself. County court judgments cannot be removed from credit files unless they have been discharged or were incorrectly granted. Unsubstantiated claims that a court summons was not received or that correct procedure was not followed will not persuade a court to remove a judgment from its records. 'It is possible to check for yourself what is on your files and request that corrections are made if the information is incorrect. Advice and guidance on this is available from your local trading standards department and local citizens advice bureau. 'Some credit repair companies provide booklets containing advice on how to make successful applications for credit. These explain the system of credit scoring used by many lenders and suggest answers by which you can score high points. What they don't say is that supplying false information on a credit application form could amount to fraud, which is a serious criminal offence. Don't be tempted.' Credit files on almost every adult in the UK are kept by credit reference agencies which supply information about your credit record to lenders. If you are refused credit, lenders do not have to tell you exactly why they have turned you down but they should give you an indication of the reason such as information provided by a credit reference agency. What you can do about it:
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