THE financial challenges some Jamaicans face with debt have prompted a financial technology company in the Corporate Area to offer what it calls a credit repair service.

In fact, since the launch of Tarpa Corporation Limited in May, CEO and co-founder Nico Carridice says the service has been in high demand.

“Within the first week of pioneering this service the customer reception was positive on all counts, and based on how many persons applied within the first three days of the launch, I think it is safe to say that this will change the lives of many well-deserving people across the island,” Carridice told the Jamaica Observer.

He said the service, which is the process of improving a credit report by removing unverifiable or invalid information, is well-needed in the country and will help many people to gain financial independence.

“As a young entrepreneur who had these same issues, the true benefit of this comes from the fact that we are offering a service I once needed. Imagine being in debt and applying for a loan to get out of debt, then you get denied because you are in debt. Where do you go after that?” he said.

“With this [credit repair service], we no longer need to turn a well-deserving customer away due to them having a bad credit score,” he added.

He pointed out that people can gain a bad credit score due to bankruptcy, failure to pay creditors on time, improper usage of credit cards, and being a guarantor.

Explaining how the credit repair service works, Carridice said, “It’s a quite simple process, but each credit report is unique to each customer. Therefore, we would need to pull the customer’s credit report, do a consultation with them to locate all issues related to their report, and then repair or improve their credit history and credit score.”

He noted, too, that having a good credit score is beneficial, especially when purchasing a home.

“The debtor has the ability to negotiate interest attached or if they don’t like what one creditor is offering, they can always go to a next one who is offering better terms. Not to mention that level of peace of mind to not have any debt collectors calling you to request payments for money owed,” he said.

According to Carridice, a credit score ranges from 250 to 900.

“When your score ranges from 250 to 600 you can be seen as a high-risk customer, which would naturally lead you to not having access to loans. Naturally, with credit scores 750 and over you would be seen as customer who is ‘credit worthy’, which would give you the bargaining power to negotiate interest on your loans, better payment periods, as well as the ability to choose which financial institution to work with,” he explained.

The Sunday Observer contacted other financial agencies across the Corporate Area and asked if they offer similar services; however, they said they do not, and had no intentions of doing so.

One representative at a loan agency, whose name is being withheld, said, “Hmm…not that I know of. Credit repair service? What’s that?”

While another representative at another agency said, “No, we don’t.”

Asked if they would be interested in offering the service he said, “No, I don’t believe so.”