If you're currently in the midst of credit repair, one thing you've probably come across on your journey to relief from credit card debt is the option to monitor your credit score on a monthly basis. All three credit bureaus offer this service for about $15 a month on average. They promise to keep you up-to-date on every account on your report and inform you of any changes, good or bad, that your score goes through.
While this may sound like a great way to keep you informed of all the changes your credit report goes through on a monthly basis (and it actually is a good idea for anyone who wants to stay involved with as little effort as possible), there are also some clear disadvantages to this service as well that could actually do more harm than good for your finances in the long run. credit repair services
* You're only adding to your bills. As I pointed out earlier, each of these services will run you up about $15 a month to monitor your score, which they charge automatically to your credit card. Luckily, each bureau offers a 3-in-1 deal so you'll know what's going on with all 3 reports without having to sign up for all 3 services. Still, when you're trying to achieve total debt relief, you're money would probably be best spent elsewhere each month.
* That's not the information you're looking for. If you sign up for one of these services thinking you'll be getting a complete, detailed credit report each month, you've got another thing comin'. Instead of a complete rundown of each of your credit accounts, the most you'll be treated to is a quick note on what your credit score is that month and whether or not it looks good on paper. That's all you get. More information may be available upon request, but it won't be as exact as you might hope.
* You have [400] new emails! Hope you enjoy spam in your inbox, because once you sign up for a credit monitoring service, your inbox will be overloaded with junk almost as quickly as that one time you "accidently" clicked that "I'm Over 18" button. The next time you go to check your email, you'll find a flood of requests to join other credit monitoring services, as well as offers for all kinds of credit cards and, ironically enough, debt settlement options. If you'd rather keep your spending habits to yourself, consider navigating away from the "Join Today!" link button.
* "One of us! One of us!" Say you've already signed up for one of these services and, upon reading this blog (or looking over your financial records), have decided that you'd rather cancel the service than keep paying for it each month. Yeah, good luck with that. Like every company facing a cancellation from a consumer, they'll try everything they can to keep you hooked, often going so far as to try and tack on MORE services to what you already signed up for.
No comments:
Post a Comment