Can you buy good credit?

Credit repair companies have long been the enemies of the credit reporting agencies. Their tactics account for a significant amount of time and manpower investigating disputes.

In my world - as a consumer advocate and educator — credit repair companies make my job more challenging. So many people think that if they are willing to spend enough money they can erase their bad credit. Usually it’s not true, but there are exceptions.

One way that credit repair has flourished has been through “piggybacking” or “rented tradelines.” This scheme involves adding someone with bad credit to an account of someone with good credit. When done right, the person with bad credit will benefit from a “good account” listed on their credit reports. Piggybacking can quickly boost a credit score more than 30 points, depending on the borrower’s credit history.

But because it has been used to artificially improve credit scores so that borrowers can get mortgages, the credit agencies and Fair Isaac (FICO) have been working hard to eliminate this loophole. It’s not completely gone as a score-enhancing tactic, but it is dying. A recent New York Times article reports on the use of these “seasoned tradelines” as a credit boosting technique.

Buying a good tradeline doesn’t come cheap — it may cost you roughly $1400 or so for the first one, and several grand for the next ones.

I understand how some people who have been through terrible credit problems are lured by the promise of quick and easy credit fixes. But in this case, it is truly not worth it. As the Times article points out, this is a clear case of credit fraud. If your mortgage loan goes bad and you were found to use one of these schemes, you could find yourself with far greater problems than a poor credit score.

Save yourself some money and grief. Read my tips for building stronger credit and get to work.