Bad Credit Agency

Has anyone out there ever used credit repair services? What are the benefits?

Public Comments

1. If you find a expert, or someone that knows what there doing, everything. I sale a do it your self kit and 9 out of 10 people come back in 90 days and want me to do the work for them. Edit_________________________________ Unlike my friend below, I do not agree that restoring you credit is just disputing items with the CRA, you can learn how to build new credit and how your credit score is determined. The information you receive can be priceless. I for example have been in the industry for over 8years and still don't know it all. Edit_________________________ I don't disagree with everything they are saying. However, if something is important to me I seek expert advice, yes you can do it your self. I would also advise if you do decide to do it your self don't just research online, most information you find on other websites and not accurate. You can find books at your local library that have correct information.
2. There are no benefits. They charge you fees for things you can easily do for yourself. They don't have any special forms or letters or magic tricks to improve your credit. Get a copy of your credit report. Dispute any errors with the credit bureau. Work out settlements for any derogatories -- start with the newest and work back to the oldest. Ask for delete for payment. The older the debt the more likely they will settle for smaller amounts. Lump sum gets the best deals. Payment plans have to be short term. Get any settlement agreement in writing and don't give them direct access to your bank account. Paying off old debt won't increase your credit score (unless you get it deleted). However, creditors look at your whole report not just your score. Paid old debt looks better than unpaid. You really need at least 24 months of consistent,on time payment history to improve your score.
3. What the second answerer is trying to say is that you can do this yourself. Take control of your own credit. http://www.fastcreditcardoffer.com/article/credit-counseling.aspx
4. I have borrower's use credit repair companies all the time with varied success. I have seen 600 fico's move over 700 within a few months. It all depends on whats driving the score down. In my opinion, I wouldn't recommend doing yourself. Can you do it yourself? Yes, however its a pain the rear. So if you have time and energy, go for it. If not, there are companies that charge you monthly and give you monthly reports on the goings on. However, don't trust them blindly. Make sure they consult you on exactly what the plan is and hold them accountable. That's what I do. Hope this helped
5. Credit repair companies charge large fees, which, if put toward debt repayment would improve your situation. The three main tactics that they use are: (1) sending letters to initiate disputes about errors on your report. You can do this for free. (2) sending letters to initiate disputes about things that are derogatory, but are not errors. Some creditors will not verify the debt and this gets deleted. Good. Now the bad news. You can get tagged as initiating frivolous disputes, impairing your ability to fight real errors in the future. You can end up unable to borrow because you won't have a credit score. A lender who requests a score will get a message back "Unable to process - too many lines in dispute". Try and borrow with no score. (3) They have you route your money for bill payment through them. No creditor will negotiate if you are current, so the creditors stop paying on your good bills so they go into default and then negotiates a settlement at less than face value. This saves you a few dollars now, but makes you look like a chronic deadbeat to all lenders in the future. Benefits? They are familiar with the paperwork that lenders send out. I guess that might help, but it's pretty expensive advice when there are counseling services that will walk you through the process for free.
6. I used a company and they worked great i used them after reading this review http://www.adviceontime.com/Lexington.htm
7. It is true, you can do your own credit repair. I have yet to locate a credit repair service that ck's out. I have been doing credit repair for ten years and it all started after filing chapter seven. I've found some good information here too... http://debt.123thebest.info/credit_card.html All the best to you.