Having Good Credit scores is paramount to a lot of things in your life and Credit counseling agencies are Government recognized bodies which can either be set up for profit or non profit purposes. These agencies have the primary aim of helping those who have fallen into debt manage their debt and improve their financial well-being and also get these good credit scores.
The truth of the matter is that, a lot of these agencies are a highway to financial ruin as a lot of them, rather than boosting your credit rating end up hurting you through one of several means such as delay in remitting your payments and arbitrarily closing down your credit accounts thus, reducing your recorded length of open credit history and your debt-credit limit ratio.
Joining a credit counseling body is an optional decision as you can easily do credit repair yourself and avoid fees they may charge for things such as negotiating lower interest rates for your debts which you can easily do on your own.
If you could not get guidance and you ended up joining a credit agency which caused a drop in your credit score, then this is for you. I would give you a few simple tips which can help you stem further reduction in your credit score and possibly give you really good credit scores with time.
1.) Carefully cross-check your credit report for any mistakes which might have been made and lay a complaint AT ONCE if you find any is found. By Law, the credit bureaus are meant to delete any errors from your credit report if spotted.
2.) Make double sure your payments on your debts get to your creditors on time. When you send your payment to your agency, also send another directly to the card company so in case there is a delay, your payment would still arrive on time.
3.) Settle all your card debts on time as this would enable you get a good credit score and also lower your debt-to-credit limit ratio.
4.) If all your card accounts have been closed by the agency, try applying for a new open credit card. Since this would be a bit difficult to get through conventional means, you can get one from popular retailers or if you are any king of student, get a student credit card. After getting this card, make sure it reports to the credit bureaus and also make sure you make regular payments on it.
5.) If it is difficult to get the credit card mentioned above, try getting a loan. though this might lead to a slight drop in your score at first, making regular payments on it would be good for your credit history.
6.) Try avoiding new credit (that is, apart from those suggested in the previous two points)
7.) Immediately you get the first opportunity, dump the credit agency!
