Desperate times make for desperate measures, and scams are certainly abound. In a report from CBS News’ SmartMoney.com, they advise readers against a plethora of scams, including credit repair:

Another popular scam to look out for is offers of credit repair. If your credit is a mess, time and time alone is what’s going to fix that. There are no easy fixes and anyone who tells you otherwise is probably looking to rip you off and will probably leave your credit score worse off than you started. The best way to repair your credit is to take on debt and handle it responsibly. You can also try reaching out to your lenders directly to see if they will remove some of your bad marks. They are under no obligation to help you, but it’s worth a shot.

This advice comes close to throwing the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. They are absolutely right — and GOOD credit repair services will agree — when they say that there are no easy credit fixes. Credit repair is a tedious task, and it takes plenty of patience and determination. And they couldn’t be more right on when they say that the best way to take care of your credit is by being responsible.

But to say that “time and time alone” will fix a bad credit situation is not entirely true. 79% of Americans have errors or false information on their credit reports. If there’s false information on your credit report, wouldn’t you rather have it taken off now than to wait it out?

At Veracity, we never tell our clients that credit repair is going to be easy, and we don’t promise to remove anything, but we definitely have the tools and resources to make a good go of it. Besides, if a client isn’t happy with Veracity’s services, they’re free to cancel at any time, with no obligation.

The article is also right on when they say that lenders have “no obligation to help you.” Lenders, who make money by loaning money at high interest rates, may have an opportunity in renegotiating debt that is at risk of being defaulted on. However, finding that a lender is misreporting information happens all the time, and at Veracity, we can work with credit bureaus and lenders to fix errors, thus helping heal your credit.

To call all credit repair companies a scam may be hasty. Good and bad credit repair services exist, just like good and bad mechanics exist. We suggest you do your homework like you would for any worthwhile investment.