Has anyone successfully used a credit repair company? My husband and I found one and it has a money back gaurantee plus it got a satisfactory rating on the BBB website.

Personally, I don't think anyone can "repair" your credit. I wouldn't give any of these folks a dime.

Have you repaid all your debts or are you in need of credit counseling? There are many non-profit credit counseling services that will work with you and your creditors to get your debts repaid and negotiate a lower interest rate and payment plan. The place we worked with when we were younger and foolish with our credit cards did not charge us a fee.

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I used to do this to help friends (not for profit). Basically, you pull your credit report and then you start disputing the inaccurate information with all three reporting agencies. It used to be that the companies have only so long to respond and if they failed to respond within 30 days, then the negative mark was removed.

I'm not sure but I think the laws may have changed regarding the time limits but it's definitely worth a try. I was very successful at clearing up lots of reports. Some companies however are more diligent and respond right away but don't be afraid to try. (try meaning lots of companies will just verify the debt - but you have the right to then ask the credit reporting agency how the company "verified" the debt and dispute it if inaccurate). I certainly wouldn't pay anyone to do this for me. It's a very simple process.

Good luck!

I think it's quite dishonest to do something like disputing something that rightfully belongs on your credit report. Just because they have ways to get around something, doesn't mean you should. It's cheating the system for everyone who rightfully built up their credit over years and years and paid bills on time and went without, when they couldn't afford it.
Now if your disputing things that don't belong on your credit it's a different story, but that's not what it sounds like. It sounds like you are hoping for a quick fix.

Beckyandplacido I did noy post one thing about my personal credit! You assume that I'm a irrisponsible person and you don't even know me! You know what they say when you ass-u-me!

I have found that a lot of inaccurate information is often posted on personal credit reports. I am constantly having to dispute inaccurate information only to discover that another credit reporting agency is now reporting erroneous information. It's like playing the game "Whack a Mole" where you are constantly trying to hit the mole with a hammer only to find another one pop up.

I find nothing wrong with disputing inaccurate information or information that credit agencies have "reset the date" so that it will stay on your report longer. Fight for what is rightfully yours. You do have to be diligent however.

beckyandplacido - I'm not sure why you're offended. Lots of people are uninformed about how to clear up their reports and so they just suffer with a lower credit score. I honestly doubt that anyone else is going to suffer because the original poster cleared up her credit report. Most people have a few things on their reports that were total accidents - like forgetting to mail the Sears payment one month, only to have it haunt you for 7 years. Everyone makes mistakes and grace should be allowed. imho

Check Clark Howard's website. You'll find links to the three credit bureaus and lots of other helpful information.

clarkhoward.com: Save more, spend less and avoid rip-offs

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Natrat,
That's so funny that you ASS-U-me that I was even talking about your post! This was the post I was referring to by Igotscammed... but when I posted it did not say disputing inaccurate information. The gist of the original post was to dispute all negative information and see what gets taken off.

"I used to do this to help friends (not for profit). Basically, you pull your credit report and then you start disputing the inaccurate information with all three reporting agencies. It used to be that the companies have only so long to respond and if they failed to respond within 30 days, then the negative mark was removed."

My point was, if you(a universal you, not anyone in particular) have a bad credit score, I think it would be dishonest to try to get things taken off that are rightfully there. And one late payment doesn't affect your credit score badly enough to "haunt" you for the next 7 years... and even if it did, if it's correct than it would be dishonest to dispute.

I totally agree with you.

Getting inaccurate negative information corrected is one thing, but scheming to get accurate negative information removed is dishonest.

I agree with ya, beckyplacido. I read the reply as advocating disputing negative information (accurate or inaccurate - the distinction was added later) because oftentimes the creditors would not reply within the specified time period.....

cj/

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I was the one that posted about how to dispute negative items. I did change the post for clarification but mostly my post stayed intact. My friend did actually have one negative mark from Sears almost keep her from obtaining her home loan. (not in the recent easy credit days). Sears agreed to take it off (it was accurate but she explained her situation to Sears and they agreed to send her and the credit reporting agencies a letter agreeing to have it removed) and she had a letter stating so but the credit agencies were being neglect in taking if off. She had to dispute and argue quite a bit, only to find that it popped up again after she obtained her loan.

I have had the same thing happen with a tax lien. We sold a mobile home and the new owners neglected to pay their property taxes. Guess who (4 years later!!) is still dealing with this popping up on my credit report. I have sent copies of the release of lien to all three credit reporting agencies only to find that it pops up again after a few months. My score drops at least 10 - 15 points whenever it shows up again. Another annoying thing is that they keep mixing my report with someone by the same name. Her address randomly shows up as my address. Annoying, especially when they want you to verify your previous address and you can't because you never lived there.

I often wonder if the credit reporting agencies exist to cause us grief. Anyhow, I'm sure that if someone blatently lied about disputing something, they could get in trouble. But, I have disputed and will continue to dispute any negative (inaccurate) information that shows up. Sometimes it's easy to get it removed, sometimes you really have to be persistent. I have even found (once) that the credit reporting agency will put the negative information as verified when in fact it has not been verified. (just a lazy rep. not wanting to do their job) You then have the right to ask HOW they verified the debt. They have to provide you with this information if you request it.

Anyhow, I hope I am more clear this time. Yes, the Sears was accurately on there but being the situation, she disputed it. I nor my friend never lied to get things removed. I'm sure if someone has a terrible report and then randomly starts disputing all their information, it will send up some red flags. But that's not the case with the friends I helped.