Can anyone recommend a legitimate service that will help you correct the information on your credit reports?

Question

I'm not referring to "credit repair". All three of my credit reports have a lot of incorrect information on them, and I'm really not sure how to go about getting them corrected. I have heard that it's difficult to do, so I was hoping that someone could recommend a service that I could use to help get my information corrected.

Answer 1

Yes I can. There are only three legitimate credit restoration services in the United States. There is a difference between credit repair and credit restoration. I have published articles on this in various places in this forum and in my blog. To ensure that you have all the information you need to determine the frauds from the legits I will post it for you here.

This topic is a really hot one right now. People are falling victim to so many scam artists out there who are taking people's money and offering false hope. There ARE legitimate credit restoration companies out there. But that is the key right there; restoration versus repair. Generally speaking, credit repair is a scam and credit restoration is legit. Does this mean all credit repair offers are scams and all credit restoration offers are legit? NO! It is up to you to do the research. If you can't do the bare minimum to protect yourself, then don't come crying to me if you are taken for all of your money. But, to help you determine the scams from the legits, here are 10 tips on how to tell the difference:

1: If they advertise that they will repair your credit in anything less than 18 months, you are not dealing with a legal company. The LAW requires that any credit restoration agency cannot advertise or represent that they can restore or repair your credit in less than 18 months. (Remember this number, it is going to come up again later.)

2: Check on how long the company has been in business. If they have been around for more than 10 years, you are probably dealing with a reputable company. (Honestly, there are really only three that are recognised as legitimate in the United States.) In a future article I will discuss them in more detail.

3: Do your due dilligence. Check with the BBB. The BBB will provide an unbiased report of how many complaints have been filed against the company in the previous three years. There are two things that you want to consider here. First, if there are more than a dozen complaints over the previous three year period, then this company has serious issues and you should be concerned. Also, if the BBB has no file at all on the business, just walk away from the business. Anyone who is hiding from the BBB should be looked upon with suspicion.

4: Ask for pricing when talking to one of their reps. If they hem and haw about what they charge, or say that it depends on how much they have to remove from your report, they are hiding something from you. A good rule of thumb, if the rep is unwilling to answer any question of yours up front and with honesty, you are not dealing with a legitimate company. This does not mean that if the rep states that they will answer the question in a moment, that they are hiding something. It just means that they are getting there and just need to lay a little groundwork first. Remember, reps are all salespersons. They are there to sell you their service. This is good, believe it or not. This encourages competition in the business and keeps costs down. (Which reminds me: DON'T PAY MORE THAN $1000 PER PERSON FOR THE SERVICE.)

5: Ask if the company is licensed, bonded and insurred. Ask for proof. If they will not show you their business license (which can only be obtained AFTER they have purchased their bond and insurance) this should raise alarm bells.

6: Ask for examples of successes the company has had. A legitimate company will have copies of investigation results (with personal information blacked out of course) that will show you how successful they can be.

7: How long are they going to work for you? Yes, that's right, remember that these companies work FOR you. If they are just going to maintain a business relationship with you for the length of time it takes to repair your credit, beware. What often happens in these cases is that after the company has cleared negative information from your credit report they sever their relationship with you and a couple of months later the information returns to your credit report. Now what are you going to do? Your options are to leave the negative information and suffer for 7-10 years or hire someone, again, to remove the information, again. A reputable company will stay with you for the FULL 18 months (I told you this number would come up again). This allows them to continuously monitor your credit reports and remove any negative that may re-insert itself after the initial sanitizing.

8: What other services do they offer? If they are a legitimate company, they will have rescources that will help you to re-establish yourself in the financial world. Things like the ability to help obtain a debit card even if you can't open a checking or savings account. (Yes, believe it or not, it can be done!) Can you call their credit advisors any time for advice? Is legal representation available if you have to go to court against the credit reporting agencies? ASK! If the company is letgitimate, they will have a team of lawyers that will handle these kinds of legal matters for the duration of your contract.

9: Does their contract advise you of your rights? If not, why? Because they don't know the laws! And if they don't know the laws that are designed to protect you, how can you expect them to know the complexities of the Fair Credit Reporting Act which has 340 different laws?

10: Is there a money back guarantee? In this business refunds are usually prorated. In other words, if you have 50 negative things on your reports and they can only have 30 removed, you are refunded 40% of your money since they were able to get 60% of the information removed. If there is no money back offer, run away! A company that has faith in their services will offer to refund the money if they can't do the work.

I hope this information helps people out there who are confused about credit restoration programs. In a future article I will discuss who should and should not use credit restoration.

If you have any questions regarding credit issues or concerns you may email me at [e-mail]

Answer 2

You don't need anyone to do this for you. I've gotten so much stuff on my own report fixed, it's crazy!! I've gone up 100 points in the last year from just fixes.

If you haven't gotten your free reports through the only government-official site (www.annualcreditreport.com) , go there and order all three bureaus reports. This is absolutely free-- not a trial, but FREE.

Then, print out all three reports and figure out what's incorrect. Transunion and Experian do disputes online. So does equifax, if you can find the site (they JUST started doing this online-- previously it was snail mail only).

Dispute all inaccuries, and all bad stuff (even correct stuff, as they can often get deleted if you get lucky) and wait thirty days. They will email or snail mail you the results. That's all it takes to get it done.

Someimtes it doens't work the first time-- sometimes the companies verify incorrect info-- so you'll need to follow through if anything doesn't get deleted.


This is all that the supposed 'companies' do for you. So dont pay for the service.

Answer 3

Pandora, trust me. You do not need any company to do this for you. You are fully capable of doing it yourself. The problem is you don't know the law, and don't know what to do.

You have already done the first part by getting your credit report. Now carefully examine it for any errors. Get a highlighter and mark everything!

Read over the first two links below. The discuss the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair and Accurate Reporting Act. You MUST follow these procedures exactly.

What you will be doing is sending out letters and maybe make a phone call or two. Keep accurate logs of who you talk to. Keep copies of all letters, and send them by certified mail.

The next links cover the dispute process and have some sample letters templates. There is also a flowchart giving you a step by step process of what you need to do.

Don't get discouraged! Actually, look at this like you are playing the lottery. If the creditor and credit bureau do not follow procedures, and you can prove you did, you can easily file a small claims suit for $1000 and sue them.

After all, it's their fault that your credit report is messed up and destroying your credit! Make them pay for their mistake!

If you need more advice or help, contact me. I am not a lawyer or credit counselor. I just help debtors get their credit fixed.

Answer 4

Any service promising you this will be a scam. 100% scam. They will charge you an arm and a leg and do absolutely nothing for you. Some will just dispute items. Which as you know, come back verified anyway if they are yours. During the dispute period, it does not affect your score, but still shows up on reports, so you think it fixed your credit, but lenders look at reports (they are not dummies). If you have items that are not yours - ask here for help. Easy to fix. Know that if you owe a collection agency money, and the debt is valid, there is nothing you can do but pay off the debt.

Answer 5

Basically, it is credit repair, not to be rude. You can always dispute the findings to all the beauros yourself, by calling or filling out documentation and sending it in. If you need an affordable company to help protect and restore your credit try the site below. Watch the online presentation.

Answer 6

you can do it yourself. there is an address for each of the reports. make a copy of your proof that it is incorrect send it along with the copy of the credit report and your social sec. number, date of birth, address, and full name. they have to correct it w/in 90 days. don't even try to make calls it won't work. if you need proof that those accounts are not yours, contact the company that is reporting the error and have them send you something showing it's really paid or not yours

Answer 7

When I saw no one answered I thought I would let you know about the source box site. It has a section on credit scores that might be able to help you.

Answer 8

There are three major credit monitoring agencies in the U.S. It may not be easy, but in the case of mistakes or fraud you would contact them.

It is NOT credit repair and it is free :)

Equifax: www.equifax.com
Transunion: www.transuion.com
Experian: www.experian.com

It MAY be fixing it with one will fix it for all three. Good luck!

Answer 9

go to http://www.creditmend.net and read the information...it tells you how to do it yourself....seriously

I created the site....I raised my score alot just by disputing errors and getting them fixed, without paying a dime! Trust me this isnt a gimmick, it is just the info you need to do it.