Granted the state of the economy nowadays, it seems like almost everyone is typing “raise credit score” into search engines like google. In fact, even recruiters are now getting picky about their applicants, subjecting future hires to thorough background checks that contain their personal credit histories!

Although property owners have always asked for such information, but this is about the first time anyone can recall in a very long, that job candidates must reveal such details. So it is no wonder that “raise credit score” had become such an important keyword..

And when searching Google or Bing for it, the first thing individuals discover are these credit repair companies offering to do just that, to fix people’s scores or improve mediocre or even good ones (after all, it cannot be too good in these days of much tightened credit lines). But what’s going on here? Why couldn’t you just go about it by yourself?

After all, what’s occurred is that someone’s accusing you of owing them money. One can either pay up, contest it in court, or make an effort to work out a more or less convenient repayment schedule that will not hit you in the wallet so hard. Why is “raise credit score” such a popular search phrase, anyway? Isn’t this something that could be easily dealt with by oneself?

Well, like most such things in life, it depends. Some individuals value their time more – and it can take a little while to sort things out, even if you consent to basically pay everything claimed against you. (And in such a case, it may still be beneficial to seek the advice of a qualified professional, since some law or other may apply which could benefit you: for instance, in some states, numerous kinds of financial debt are automatically dismissed after seven years – if there’s been no payment for those seven years; pay up even one cent at any time within this seven-year period, and the life of the debt, as it were, gets renewed for another seven!)

Other individuals simply don’t know what they may be doing and are afraid to deal with things on their own. Whatever the reason, make sure to acquaint yourself with CROA, or the Credit Repair Organizations Act, and find a company that strictly adheres to CROA standards!