Do credit repair specialists really work?

Question

My husband and I met w/a credit repair specialist, she went over our credit report that we requested ourselves and said she'll be able to help us clear some of the issues we have on there. My thing is she is charging us 1300.00 plus expenses should they arise. Are we being scammed? We do have about 3 judgements on there and a couple of collections from back in the day, but all were paid. I've heard or read on here that those things stay on your report for about 7-10 years even if there paid for should I just wait for them to fall off our reports. We we're looking to buy a home w/in 6-9 months that's why I'm asking.

Answer 1

Some do work and some don't

Answer 2

The  credit repair companies don't do anything magical. You can do what they do pretty easily.

Check my profile for a link to a site I run. It can give you some tips to get started...and it doesn't cost $1300 to read either.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Many "credit repair" companies claim to remove negative credit with the flick of a wrist. Their advertisements make bold assertions and money-back guarantees; "Bankruptcy, tax liens, judgments, . . . no problem!! One hundred percent guaranteed!! Credit report 100% cleared in 30 days!!" Can they really make such sweeping guarantees?

While some credit repair companies are outright frauds, others are not frauds and they use the dispute process to obtain impressive results. In fact, they delete thousands of negative credit listings every day - regardless of whether or not the listings are technically accurate. In truth, credit repair fraud is less common today then five years ago. Vigorous regulatory sweeps by state and federal regulators have cleared away most of the illegitimate (and some of the legitimate) credit repair companies.

Unfortunately, it's risky to trust anyone to help you repair your credit. It is estimated that credit repair companies have bilked Americans out of more than fifty million dollars. The majority of credit repair companies were started by entrepreneurs with a penchant for marketing. Consumers have flocked to these "credit doctors" only to discover that their advertisements proved far more impressive than their results. Hiring a credit repair company is like playing Russian roulette. Many of them are effective and legitimate, but it is difficult to tell a rip-off from the real article.

Working within the credit bureau maze requires substantial background knowledge; knowledge it takes credit repair companies years to learn. In fact, U.S. District Court Judge J. Wexler entered the following legal opinion in the Federal Supplement. "Since allowing third parties to assist consumers will likely lead to the expedited correction of credit reports, it will further the purposes of the [Fair Credit Reporting] Acts."

So, can credit repair companies really guarantee results?

Not a chance! No credit repair company is so good that it can guarantee a specific outcome. It would be like a defense lawyer guaranteeing that the jury will find his client innocent. Guarantees are a sure sign of credit repair fraud. A warranty, where the credit repair company promises a refund if certain results don't occur, is a better, more realistic claim.

Not surprisingly, the credit bureaus have declared war against the credit repair companies and those selling instruction on how to do-it-yourself. The bureaus lambaste credit repair companies in the media and send anti-credit repair literature to anyone whom they suspect of using credit repair services. The bureaus unflinchingly deny that accurate information can be removed from a credit report.

Some time ago, a couple in the Northwestern United States, who were using the services of a legitimate credit repair company, received a scathing letter of reproach from their local credit bureau. The letter chastened them for relying on the "unethical" methods of credit repair, and pointed out how all their efforts had come to nothing. "As you can see," the letter chastened , "your credit reports remain unchanged." The couple was bewildered because almost all of their many negative credit listings, including a bankruptcy, had long since been deleted.

The simple truth is that you don't have to endure bad credit for seven to ten years. It is possible to repair your credit within a much shorter time.

However you decide to address your credit challenges, realize that regardless of what you may hear in the news media, thousands before you have sought help and repaired their credit. They can show you their homes, cars, and credit cards. Despite the newspaper articles, TV reports, and other credit bureau propaganda to the contrary, you can repair your credit.

How do you go about completely repairing your credit and getting new credit lines, mortgages, etc.?

Any credit repair consists of two phases: removing the negative listings from your credit report and adding new, positive listings.

Since just a couple of negative listings will earn a rejection from most creditors, repair of your negative credit should be the first priority. After bankruptcy, for example, the credit report will show many negative listings including the bankruptcy filing, discharge and numerous "included in bankruptcy" listings. While removing a bankruptcy from your credit report is no easy proposition, it is possible and definitely worth the effort. For more help, see repair Your credit.

It is important to note that you may be able to obtain much of the credit you need even without repairing your credit report.

Most home loan guidelines (including FHA guidelines) require that you have no negative credit appearing within the last two years. This means that you may have no late pays within the last two years and that any collection, lien or judgment has been paid more than two years ago. Even if you have some bad credit in the last two years, you can often find a mortgage amongst the "sub-prime" or "sub-A" lenders that will finance you even before you repair your credit. These loans will charge a higher interest rate and require more equity or a larger down payment before they will close. If you have good income and a reasonable debt to income ratio, a sub-prime loan may be the key to refinancing or getting a home while you repair your credit. In any case, if you are working on your credit repair, you may be able to refinance within a year at better terms.

Automotive financing will typically allow some negative credit before credit repair, but with less than optimal terms. If you have a few late pays, you may pay a little more in interest (but it adds up fast, to be sure.) If you have truly awful credit, you may still get an auto loan, but at very high rates (but you should definitely repair your credit in the meantime.)

Standard rate credit cards seem to be the most difficult when it comes to credit that still needs credit repair. Most standard rate cards will reject you immediately for any negative credit whatsoever. Yet, there are many credit cards that work with bad credit and help you to repair your credit. Some require deposits and others require a significant annual fee. Most have low credit limits.

So, once your credit repair is underway, you can turn attention to adding positive credit. You may have to accept some of these less-than-standard credit options while you repair your credit. But, a word to the wise, there are many credit repair scams out there that prey upon the credit distressed. Even your local auto dealership may take advantage of your vulnerable position and your desire to repair your credit. Many phony credit card offers exist that allow you a card, but one that is only good for the company's limited line of merchandise. Mortgage brokers often hide exorbitant fees in loans to borrowers who need credit repair. It is not uncommon to charge credit repair customers four to eight "points" on a sub-prime mortgage loan. These points amount to tens of thousands of dollars that you must pay over the life of the loan. Make sure that you read the fine print and compare your mortgage, auto loan or credit card to the typical terms of regular financing if you are applying before your credit repair is complete.

With that said, there are many good options for repairing and rebuilding credit that you can find on the internet or at your local credit union.

Maybe you've recently finished repairing your credit or maybe you're young and haven't used credit yet. In either case, here are a few tricks to credit repair and building a positive credit history quickly and cheaply. Most times you start building some good credit in just a couple of weeks. But, beware, if you stack too many open accounts, or too many credit inquiries, you will be denied based on debt to income ratio and excessive credit inquiries.

If you know someone (like a good friend or parent) who has good credit, you can "borrow" their good credit listings and begin to repair your credit. This friend must have credit cards, and must trust you enough to allow you to become an "authorized user" on his or her credit cards. Just have your friend call the credit card company and request that you be placed on his card as an authorized user. A copy of the card will be sent and you may simply return it to your friend. Your credit file should soon show an open account with all of the positive history that your friend has created over the years with that credit card. A small footnote will sometimes show that you are an authorized user of that card. Remember, though, when a new credit grantor goes to review your file, he may insist that the balance on the card appear on your debt to income ratio. That shouldn't disqualify you for credit if your income is sufficient and you don't have an excess of debt on your file.

There are a number of good secured and unsecured credit cards that advertise on the internet. These cards are designed to help you to repair your credit. Understand, however, that secured credit cards will appear on your credit report as "secured" and will not necessarily repair your credit history as much as an unsecured card.

There are a number of creditors who are traditionally more accepting of those with little credit history or who are in credit repair. For example, many college credit unions will extend low limit credit cards to students without a credit history. Many department stores, such as Sears, will extend a credit line to encourage you to shop at that store, even if your credit repair isn't yet complete. Electronics stores, furniture stores and cosmetics shops are all usually open to extending credit to credit repair candidates.

As with any line of credit, you must make su

Answer 4

You might want to read this article on repairing your credit, it might help you, http://www.monitorbankrates.com/how-to-b...

Answer 5

They can do nothing that you can't do for yourself.  You will actually get better results and it will cost you only about 20 bucks (the cost to send you letters cerified mail).  I just disputed and had numerous neg removed from my credit report, my score went up 75 point on two of the three CB and 50 on equifax.  I used the method posted at http://www.creditforums.org/f13/got-my-r...  And you can also do 3 or four at a time, you do not have to do just 1.

Answer 6

Accurate negative information cannot be removed from your credit files.

There is only one tactic that "might" remove some negative entries..and this is something you can do yourself. Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act you have a right to request written validation of each negative item on your credit file. If they can’t validate the item, they must remove the item. Send a written request for each negative item on your credit file with this simple statement:

Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I am requesting written validation of this item.

Do this one at a time for each item, not all at once. This is exactly what credit repair people do. You can do this yourself for free. There is NO guarantee that this will work...all items might come back validated.

Take the $1,300 that you would have wasted on this firm and make Pay for Delete written offers to the collection agencies to remove items from your credit file.

Answer 7

Why on earth would you pay someone to do exactly what you can do yourself?  There is NOTHING they can do to "repair" your credit.

Before  you pay one single penny, please educate yourself.

I did it all myself.  I believe my total expense was around $20, and that was for certified postal charges!

Here's the scoop.

If you have negatives, you pay them.  That simple.  No "repair" agency can remove negatives from your report what so ever.

They remain on your report for 7 or more years.

If you have items that you wish to dispute, then do it yourself.  It's not as hard as it sounds.  Believe it or not, if an item has gone to collections, it's easier to dispute and win even if you owe the money!

Get to reading up.  This free message board helped me all the way.  It's no scam.  Just a message board with a whole lot of people who have been there.  The education is priceless, and did I mention FREE?

Good luck.

Answer 8

There are good credit restoration companies out there.  I know of one personally, my sister has used and got a bankruptcy deleted and a list of other items deleted.  I have heard of much success from this company been in business for 16 years and 2 yrs ago partnered with another company exclusively and offering their services free with membership.  Take a look http://FDIDvd.com/130055