The USA has always been a country that has advertised an entrepreneurial attitude. American citizens have always been unchanging in this way of thinking and acting. In the past there was the pharmaceutical industry which promised a cure-all remedy called ‘snake oil'. This remedy was supposed to cure anything from an ankle sprain to cancer but obviously ended up being just a false hope. Today, there is something that is strikingly similar- credit card repair companies. They are supposedly there to help you get through your most severe credit problems.

While sure, there are some good, honest credit repair companies out there, most of them have the reputation of being crooks. What these credit card companies do is attempt to clear your record of all the negatives and improve your credit score in only 48 hours! While this may seem pretty good on the outside, when you look a little bit closer you will find out that the long term effects are not so good. If you feel that you are being promised something that is too good to be true then you're probably right! Let's look at the myths behind these credit card repair companies:

Credit Card Myth Number One

While people with excellent credit, good credit and even fair credit are getting bombarded with credit card offers all promising the best credit cards, those with bad credit are being solicited by companies who want to help them clean up their credit scores. The truth however is that these credit repair companies are not really out there to help- they are there to collect hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees- before leaving you high and dry in a worse situation then before. These companies do nothing to help you long term.

Many credit repair companies insist that they can repair a person's negative credit history, despite what the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) says. What the credit repair company actually hopes to do is form a negative claim against every negative showing in your credit history- whether it is truthful or not. The thought being if they can remove it temporarily then it will show no negative activity. While this will look good for a few weeks it won't stay that way. Once the creditors finish investigating, the negative information is usually re-entered back into the system. By this time the credit card repair companies are usually out of there with their cut of money- and they probably won't be answering your phone calls!

It always seems easier to obtain a VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express and use it excessively then it is to pay back your debts! And when it comes to credit card repair companies it will make it even tougher on you!

So, since you can't count on credit card repair companies- what can you do to improve the negative information in your credit report?

Well, first of all you must determine if this information is accurate or not. Many times credit reports will not have the most accurate information or they will not be completely up-to-date. In fact, if you check the three main credit bureaus you will probably find three different credit scores!

If you do find some inaccurate information then you should request an investigation by the bureaus. Once you get an investigation going you will usually have a result in around 30 days. If they find the information inaccurate then they will remove it from your credit history and your credit score will go up.

This entire process of checking, re-checking and fixing any inaccurate information may seem complicated at first but it can soon make a huge decision. These trivial activities are the first step to a financially secure future and a debt free life. If you have any hopes of getting a guaranteed approval credit card then you must first take these fact checking steps.

Credit Card Myth Number Two

Another thing many credit card repair companies will try and make people with bad credit believe is that they can just walk away from their credit histories and create a new ‘identity'. This is also known as ‘file segregation' and it is used by credit card repair companies to get you a quick fix out of bad credit.

This is how it works: A consumer struggling with bad credit will apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), which has the same number of digits as a social security number. This new number will then be used as their original SSN when they start applying for new credit card offers. Since this EIN number isn't connected in any way to the person's credit it will only show up that they have no credit. However this can backfire pretty quickly on a card holder because this ‘no credit' plea will flash red flags for most credit card companies who are aware of the EIN ploy. They understand that many people try this as a last resort to get some sort of credit.

What happens next is the credit card companies will contact the police and let them know they suspect someone is attempting to misrepresent their social security number- which is a federal crime. This is pointless in the end and is a poorly designed tactic for trying to get a new credit history.

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