A lot of people have bad credit. It is unfortunate that good people with good intentions are sometimes lured into credit card offers with outrageous interest rates or convinced to buy a new, overpriced car that they cannot afford. Sometimes, it is a stroke of bad luck. You may have recently lost your job or been involved in an accident that made you unable to work which in turn also made you unable to pay your bills. Whatever the case bad credit can follow you for a very long time and repairing your credit is no easy task. You may have seen advertisements claiming to be able to repair your credit for only a small fee. Some advertise credit repair kits for anywhere from $10.00-$20.00. This may seem like a small price to pay to have your good credit reinstated. But beware, the price is often much higher. Jail time or high fines are the price you must be willing to pay since these scams are illegal.

Credit repair kits claim to be able to repair your credit through a process called "file segregation". This is a fancy term for obtaining an employment identification number or EIN. Employment identification numbers can be used to apply for credit instead of your social security number. The problem is that you must use false information to apply for this number. This is illegal and you can be charged with not only misrepresenting your social security number, but if you used the telephone or mail to apply for the credit you could be charged with telephone or mail fraud.

Keep in mind that you should never have to pay money for a service before it is received and you have the right to see all paperwork regarding the case. So ask for all agreements in writing and carefully examine the documents to be sure that you are not participating in something that is illegal. If you are still thinking of using a credit repair service, contact the state Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau to determine if the company is legitimate. If you have previously purchased a credit repair kit or been a victim of a credit repair scam, you should also contact the state Attorney General to report the crime. The best way to repair you credit is through time and effort. You can do it, but nothing is going to fix your credit instantly.