We've all seen them: ads offering to repair bad credit. In todays world, companies proposing to fix a person's credit seem to be everywhere--on television, in newspapers and magazines, and in your Internet mailbox.

Their ads are easy to spot. They say things like:

"Repair your credit rating--guaranteed!"

"Remove bad information from your credit file--immediately and forever!"

They're fantastic claims and immensely appealing, especially if you're having financial difficulties that are affecting your own credit rating. Therein lies the problem: their claims are fantastic, based on fantasy, and they can't help repair your credit, regardless of what they may claim. Fortunately, there are ways to get your credit back on track--and you can do it yourself, sometimes for free, without the help of Credit Repair companies.

Here's how to avoid becoming a victim of Credit Repair scam:

First, know what they promise--and it's a very appealing. For a fee, they claim to be able to clean up your credit report, which, in turn, will allow you to be able to get a loan, whether it's for a car, a home, or anything else. Be assured that regardless of how expensive their services may be or how lavish their promises, those companies can't do what they say they'll do. Worse, their credit repair advice can hurt you.

Second, you need to recognize the warning signs when it comes to credit repair scams. If a company wants you to pay them up front for their services, you should immediately begin to be concerned. They'll tell you the fees are to cover the valuable information they're about to give you, but you should know that all that information is available to you FREE from various sources, including the federal government. (For instance, a great source of free information from the Federal Trade Commission can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/repair.htm.)

If you pay up front, many of those companies will simply disappear--taking your hard-earned money with them. To protect consumers from that scenario, congress passed the Credit Repair Organizations Act, making it illegal for Credit Repair companies to require payment until after they've fully fulfilled all the promises they initially made.

If a company encourages you not to contact the various credit reporting companies on your own, that's another warning sign. You have every right to do contact the agencies yourself. And you don't need to pay anyone to do it in your behalf.

A third, and even more potentially damaging, warning sign is if a company suggests that you pay them to help you create a new credit identity, which will allow you to begin creating a new credit report, free of the damaging information on the report you already have. This has serious potential problems, including involving you in a fraud against the federal government. You could even go to prison.

It's your responsibility to remain as creditworthy as possible, but sometimes things get out of hand, often through no fault of your own. When that happens, it's tempting to seek out the help of a company that makes lavish promises, but by knowing what those companies CAN'T do to help, you can safeguard yourself from becoming a victim of a Credit Repair scam.

Copyright Jeanette J. Fisher