Online Credit Repair Secrets

Has anyone used a legit credit repair company?

I have tried to dispute items on my credit report and haven’t had much luck. I have late payments, bad debts, and I have no good credit. Please give me links so I can research the different companies and make a educated decision. Also your experience with the company would be helpful. Thanks so much!

Public Comments

1. Yes I do! But read because its not just that simple That’s good that you tried to repair your credit yourself before you decided to pay someone. Now that you know how aggravating the credit bureaus are to deal with, you need to find a legitimate company. Let me tell you; they are far and few between. I tried to repair my credit myself and gave up. Then I hired a company in California called a “Fresh Start” they charged me $695 and stole my money. I never heard back from them. It turns out it was a complete scam. Still very serious and skeptical about repairing my credit, the 2nd time around, I researched quite a few different companies. I finally decided on a company in Florida called Credit Network. They are a smaller company and they really know what they are doing. They also didn’t charge anything upfront except for a small setup fee, after that they charge $49 mo, after the work is performed for the previous month. When I started I had 73 negative items between all 3 bureaus! That was about 8 months ago, and they have deleted all but 17 bad items. They were realistic when they said it could take over a year, buts that’s fine with me, because they followed through on what they said. Something very important….. The bad debts that you say you owe; you need to pay them off. I don’t care if you settle them or pay them in full, eventually you need to pay them off because if you don’t, there is a very good possibility they will pop back up on your credit after you delete them. I was told that debts get sold and resold, even after the statute of limitations. So if you are as serious as you sound about repairing your credit, you have to pay them off!! Oh yeah, here is the link to them http://www.expert-credit-advice.com/credit_repair_service.htm and the home page: http://www.expert-credit-advice.com/
2. i heard it doesn't really work .
3. NO AGENCY CAN REPAIR YOUR CREDIT- they are all a scam to get your money. Time is what really "heals" your score. Dont believe it...(read the fine print)
4. dude use Credit Attorney www.creditattorney.com I used them I got like 5 items removed from my credit report and my score jumped up like 100 points
5. I was in the same situation as you are in now and can totally understand - I used Alliance Credit Counseling and they were very helpful - Link Below http://www.knowdebt.org/
6. Yes, cccs.com is GREAT... Clark Howard is a founder they are non profit.....also, in charge and greenpath?? Only use non profit credit repair companies...and be careful. Good luck to you :)
7. Honey, there is no such thing as a a legit credit repair company. Only time and a conscientious effort to pay bills on time and in full will 'fix' your credit.
8. There most definitely are legitimate credit restoration companies. They will dispute the accuracy of the information reflected on your credit report. The bad accounts will typically come off the report when the creditor is not able to prove the validity of the late payment or bad debt. Also there is a response time requirement for the creditor to respond by, many times this is not met and the trade-line will simply be removed, even if it is valid. When a trade-line is removed where actual money is still owed that does not mean you don't owe the money anymore. It simply means that it is not reflected on your credit report and will not factor into your score. That is mostly what consumers seem to care about anyways. There is a company in Michigan that will do credit restoration and provide a pre-paid legal program. I have sent a few of my clients to that firm and it is Better Business Bureau approved. The cost is approximately $379.00 for one year, it is one of the best deals I have been able to find. If you need more info email me at cgrothe@primeplusmortgage.net Good luck!
9. I have used an attorney with good results. Here is some additional info. Hope this helps.
10. I used to work in mortgage credit educating clients about how to repair/update their credit reports. There "may" be legitimate credit repair companies out there; however, you can do the same thing on your own for the cost of 3 separate credit reports or NO cost at all if you qualify. The US government recently enacted a law that allows consumers to obtain a copy of their credit report FREE once a year through each of the 3 credit bureaus. See link below for free credit reports. If you do not qualify for the free credit reports (because you have already used the free service), then contact the 3 bureaus on your own and pay for the reports. Whatever you do, stay away from the 3 in 1 merged credit reports that many 3rd party companies offer. That is entirely different ballgame if you need to file a dispute and you will find that you have wasted time and money. Always go to the source - the 3 credit bureaus. Back to credit repair: Let's just say that your credit reports are accurate, but you don't like what you see and you want to "clean" it up a bit. You still can! File a dispute on as many tradelines as you want. In fact you can dispute every tradeline if you want. Sure... some people will tell you that you cannot dispute accurate information, but don't listen to them. The burden of proof is on the creditor... if they can't verify the accuracy of an account... then the account must be removed or updated. Regardless of whether it is true or not. When you file a dispute with the credit bureaus (and by the way, you will have to file separate disputes with each of the 3 bureaus)... the bureaus will contact the lenders/creditors and ask them to verify the disputed information. IF the lender cannot verify the disputed information, the bureau has to remove it (within 30 days of the date the dispute was filed). OR if the creditor does not bother replying at all... the bureau will remove the disputed information. IF you disputed the account altogether by saying "account does not belong to me", and the creditor did not reply back to the bureau, the bureau will remove the entire account off of your report. There is so much more to this... for example creditors that re-attach negative information after it was removed by dispute... what about when you still owe money... scoring... etc etc. But I had to keep it brief. It can and probably will be very aggravating to go through, but DO IT YOURSELF is probably the best way to go. I hope it helps.
11. I have spent the last few years helping people fix their credit as a hobby. I am not a lawyer or credit counselor, but I've been through this many times. So let me give you some honest advice. If you plan to fight with the credit reporting agencies and the creditors, you MUST learn the law. Start by reading the links below. Understand this very importing point! There are only two ways to get a negative item removed from your credit report. 1) The creditor must remove it himself 2) The creditor fails to respond to a dispute investigation from the credit bureau. If the report is "fair and accurate", and the creditor properly validates the debt, there is NO legal way to get it removed from your report. Sorry, but that's the way the law works. So what about all these credit repair agencies who promise to get them removed? Do they? Do you see the word "promise" anywhere in their advertisements? Do this. When you go to them, tell them to sign an agreement where you don't have to pay them anything unless they remove all those negative items. They must boost your credit score to "xxx" amount. Make them put it in writing. Want to know how many will do such a thing? None of them. Why? Because they can not possibly remove accurate information from your history. I run a business myself. I have, on a few occasions, had to chase after debtors, and have had to place items on credit reports. NOBODY is going to get that item removed without my knowledge and permission, or else there will be some charges filed against them. So tell me, how to credit repair agencies stand above the law? They don't. Bottom line, credit repair agencies are largely a scam. They charge you a lot of money for work you can easily do yourself, and they will be just as successful as you will be. Save your $400. Read the links and try fixing it yourself. If you are that desperate, go ahead and toss away more money. If you run into problems, come back and ask here! I'll be around.