This time of year, many Americans are feeling stressed about paying those holiday bills.
You may start seeing ads that claim they can turn around your credit score in no time, and while it's important to improve your financial health, you want to be careful about believing some of those credit repair promises.
Manuel Navarro is a credit counselor with Money Management International, and he worries about people at the end of their financial rope.
"They're desperate, they're panicking, because their situation is changing and it's something they hadn't gone through in the past,” says Navarro. "They are definitely vulnerable."
And there are plenty of people making wild promises to fix their credit, for a price. "There's a lot of companies out there that are basically out to make money on their desperation,” says Navarro.
The problem is, people want financial solutions now but it takes time and anyone that promises they can do it in a hurry, be cautious.
"If they can make a promise to you before they look at your situation, then chances are they're not being honest with you,” says Navarro.
Credit repairs take time; the best place to start is checking your own credit report and make sure it's accurate. That's something you can do for free from the website, AnnualCreditReport.com.
"Because anything on your credit report that can be fixed, corrected, you can do yourself without having to pay for it,” says Navarro.
If you need help, check out a credit counselor with the Better Business Bureau before you agree to see them. Any credit repair company asking for money upfront to fix your problems shouldn't be trusted; companies offering new social security numbers are asking you to commit fraud.
So where do you turn for help? Experts say not to respond to an ad from an email or someone you've never heard from online.
Asking your bank or credit union for recommendations is a good place to start. There are also legitimate non-profit credit counseling services that can help you clean up your report where there are mistakes.
(Information courtesy NBC News)
