Review All of Your Options to Get the Best Credit Repair Help in Nanaimo

Some credit repair companies in Nanaimo are trying to sell expensive services that often saddle people with more debt and don't provide many with the value they'd expect to receive. On top of this, when some people aren't able to make the payments on their new credit repair loan, the credit repair company can send the loan to collections which puts these people in jeopardy of having worse credit than when they signed up for the program. While this may be unsettling, there is some good news. In Nanaimo you can repair and improve your credit for free – and often get better advice and more one-on-one help than a lot of credit fixing companies provide. Keep reading and we’ll show you how to do this.

How to Fix & Repair Bad Credit for Less Than Credit Repair Companies, Services, & Agencies

The goal of credit repair services is to help each of their customers improve his or her credit score. The primary way many of them do this in Canada is by providing credit building loans. The idea is that this loan will create some new good information on someone’s credit report, which shows the credit scoring system that this person is able to borrow responsibly.

This approach undoubtedly helps a fair number of people improve their score, but we think that it comes at much too steep a cost for many consumers. A credit building loan ensures that a company can charge someone interest and fees every month over many years. But there is a better, cheaper, and more effective option.

Why to Use a Cash Secured Credit Card to Fix, Improve or Restore Your Credit Score

Compared to a credit rebuilding loan, a cash secured credit card is a much quicker – and in our experience – a more effective way to improve, restore, or fix your credit score in Canada. A cash secured card requires you to deposit money as security for a card. The cash security that’s needed can be as little as $225 or $350. This card is then just like a normal credit card.

Here are four advantages of a cash secured credit card versus a credit rebuilding loan:

1. A cash secured credit card can give your credit score a much faster and bigger boost than a loan as long as you don’t carry more than just a small balance on your card.
2. It is a lot less expensive than most credit repair loans for two simple reasons: it only has one annual fee, and you aren't required to pay any interest or fees if you completely pay off your balance every month.
3. It is much easier to afford because you don’t have to create some room in your budget for a monthly loan payment and/or a service fee. You can instead use your card to pay for something that you've already included in your monthly budget: gas for your vehicle or a monthly transit pass. You can then pay off your card balance in full when you receive your bill. You don't end up spending anything extra since you were likely going to buy the gas or transit pass anyway.
4. With a loan, if you get laid off, if your hours at work are reduced, if you get injured or become sick, or if your income drops and you can’t afford to make your loan payments, then your loan would be sent to collections. Your credit score would be damaged again/more and you would have more stress in your life. However, with a cash secured credit card, if you don’t use it, then you don’t have to pay anything. If your life hits some bumps in the road, your credit will continue to improve, and there won’t be any additional problems that a loan-based credit rebuilding program could cause.

In short, a cash secured credit card is a far better way to rebuild your credit or give your score a boost. Just make sure that when you use it, you always make at least your minimum monthly payments. If you miss a payment, the credit card company won’t take the monthly payment from your cash secured balance. You will still need to make it and not making the payment will hurt your credit. If you miss a number of payments, the credit card company will close your card and give you your cash security back after deducting any money you owe them.

Another great advantage of a cash secured credit card is that you don’t have to use it much. All you need to do is use it once every few months or so to keep the card active and never use more than 50% of your credit limit (doing this will negatively impact your credit). We would also recommend that you always pay off the card balance in full every month and never carry a balance.

As your financial situation gets better, you may want to think about increasing your credit limit to somewhere between $1,000 and $2,500. This may mean that you’ll need to increase your cash security deposit but having a larger credit limit like this and not using it will boost your credit score even more.

Here's a government list of most secured credit cards in Canada. Just select your province, press the "Apply" button, and then you can compare the cards. Here's another list with some cards that the government missed on their list.

If you’re scratching your head wondering where you’re going to find the money for a cash secured card or eventually increase your cash security to over $1,000, here are whole lot of ideas to help you find the money you need.

What You Need to Watch Out For

Some credit repair agencies will try to promote specific debt relief services and programs to you. Credit repair companies want to earn money, and while there’s technically nothing wrong with a company wanting to earn as much as possible, how they go about doing this is important. If you have bad debts you’re having difficulty paying, a debt relief option might be a good solution for you. So to help you figure out what debt solution in Nanaimo might be best for you, here are three things to be aware of:

1. Every debt relief option (there are 5 of them in Canada) has as many disadvantages as it has advantages. If they didn’t, then everyone would be signing up for one of these programs. The key is to find the debt relief option with the right advantages for you and disadvantages that you can live with. Beware of anyone who pitches a debt relief program to you and focuses too much on the positives and doesn’t spend much time making you aware of the negative aspects of the program.
2. If the person trying to sell you a program earns commission off of you signing up for the program, then they may have their financial best interests at heart and not yours. The fewer options their company offers, the more often this will be true.
3. In Canada, there is always more than one way to improve, restore, or fix your credit, and when you look at debt relief options, there are as many as 5 of them depending on your province: the debt management program, orderly payment of debts program, a debt settlement, a consumer proposal, and going bankrupt. So if you're left with the impression that the person or company you are working with isn’t fully exploring all of your options with you or is promoting a particular one over the others (or isn’t even saying much about the others), then you'll probably want to get a second opinion from a professional who will be more objective in discussing the advantages and disadvantages of all your options with you.

How to Fix, Improve or Restore Your Credit Score on Your Own for Free

It's not necessary to pay anyone on a regular basis just to help you restore or improve your credit score. We have all of the best credit score tips that really work right here – for free. Check them out. We’ll show you how you can repair your credit as quickly as possible along with the most effective methods that take a bit more time. In addition to this, we can also show you what's needed to get an amazingly high credit score. If all of this seems a bit much for you, if you have a complicated situation, or if you’d like some individual help and guidance, there are financial experts located close by you who have expertise in assisting people with bad debt – and they’ll usually help you for free!

Where to Get Free Personal Credit Assistance in Nanaimo to Fix Your Bad Credit Rating

Free Guidance & Information from Non-Profit Agencies Near You

A lot of people aren't aware of this, but some of the most helpful experts on fixing bad credit situations and totally repairing credit ratings are non-profit Credit Counsellors in Nanaimo who offer free, confidential appointments (either over the phone or in person). If you have debts you are having trouble paying or are experiencing financial difficulty, they are the best people to go over your situation with you. Anything you discuss with them is completely confidential. Don’t worry if your situation is really bad. They’ve likely seen far worse, and they are non-judgmental in how they help. Follow this link to locate a non-profit credit counselling service near you.

How to Get Free Credit Repair Advice from Your Bank or Credit Union

To find out about your credit rating, it’s worth asking the lender at your bank or credit union. Maybe you applied for a loan and were declined. Don’t be ashamed; instead, use it as a chance to find out what you can do to get your finances back under control. When a lender turns you down for a loan, line of credit, overdraft, or something else you applied for, they can tell you why. Inquire about anything that isn’t clear. Then ask them to outline what you can do to raise your credit score and credit rating. A mortgage broker can also answer these questions if you applied for a mortgage.

Get a Copy of Your Credit Report for Free

If you haven’t seen a copy of your own credit report and want to find out what it really looks like, you can get a free copy of your credit report. It doesn’t, however, include your score. For that you’ll need to pay either Equifax or TransUnion, the two credit reporting agencies in Canada (they charge between $15 and $25). If you’re okay with just an estimate of your score, you can use this tool for free. The neat thing about this online tool is that you can change your answers to the questions and see how certain factors affect your score. This type of interactive information isn’t usually available, let alone for free, and certainly not from paid credit repair agencies.

Save Money & Do It Yourself - Repair, Fix or Improve Your Credit on Your Own

So if you live in Canada and are seriously thinking about finding a credit repair company to help you repair or improve your credit, we think you’d be far better off doing it yourself. Get a free copy of your credit report (and your score if that’s important to you right now). Speak with your banker or a credit counsellor for guidance. Consider getting a cash secured credit card if your banker or credit counsellor recommends it. And follow the suggestions we’ve laid out here as well as the guidance provided in the resources we link to from this page. Credit repair ultimately takes time and patience, but by taking advantage of the resources we point out here, your credit should be re-established and improved as quickly as is possible and you’ll save a lot of money in the process.