I’d be waiting for the punchline if I heard the promise of “we can bring your credit score up in 72 hours or less” but according to an article we read recently on moneycentral.msn.com, it is apparently a reality!

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Yourcreditrating/P38050.asp

Typically, the process of improving your credit score will take time, at least 30 days. But these services called “rapid rescoring” companies  are a legitimate and growing part of the credit industry. Usually offered by independent credit reporting agencies, these services are used by mortgage lenders or brokers who are trying to get better loan terms for their borrowers.

How does it work? According to the article, The “rescorers” — credit reporting agencies that act as middlemen between lenders and credit bureaus — have established relationships with the bureaus which expedite the required corrections, said Marty Flynn, president of Credit Communications, a San Ramon, California, company that offers rapid rescoring.

The loan officer or broker typically collects proof of the error from the borrower and passes it along to the rescorer. In some cases, the rescorer may contact a creditor directly to get a letter acknowledging the mistake. The rescorers then transmit the proof to the credit bureaus, which have created special departments to collect the information and verify it with the creditors. If the credit bureaus agree an error was made, they update the borrowers credit report to reflect the change, allowing for a new credit score to be calculated, said Christina Karpowitz, spokeswoman for credit bureau Experian.

Of course, there are several  “catches”, not surprisingly.  The rapid rescoring companies do not work directly with consumers (strictly mortgage lenders and brokers); they cannot remove valid or in-dispute items; and, valid proof must be available confirming an error was made.

Although there is no guarantee that the service will be able to provide results, the article indicates that brokers who use the services report that they typically get good results, and that the rapid rescoring services have been a useful tool when encountering credit challenges in the middle of trying to get home-loan financing for a client.

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