Before entering into a contract with a Credit Counseling or Credit Repair firm, consumers should be aware of the following:

• accurate but negative credit information cannot be erased from your credit report;

• a credit repair company cannot take money from you before its services are completed;

• before you sign a contract, the credit repair company must tell you in writing what your legal rights are;

• the credit repair company must give you a written contract that clearly describes all of the terms and conditions of payment, the services to be provided and an estimate of how long it will take to complete the services;

• after you sign a contract with a credit repair company, you have three business days to cancel the contract;

• consumers can get a free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting companies under federal law (annualcreditreport.com or 1-877-322-8228) and under New Jersey law (njconsumeraffairs.com and click on “Free Credit Report”) for a total of six reports per year;

• check with your employer, credit union or housing authority for no-cost credit counseling programs