Credit Repair Services

[Anonymous]

Can anybody provide advice in reference to credit repair services?  A co-worker is getting ready to use United Credit Adjusters.  Their claim is that they will legally clean up your credit and raise your scores for a flat fee of $2000.  Is this legit or should I advise him to be leary?  I have another friend who utilized one of these services approximately 3-4 years ago and swears that it worked.

Omar

[Anonymous]

If you can subscribe to MyFico.com you can repair your own credit.  It just takes a little effort on your behalf.  Why pay for someone to type a letter to dispute your discrepencies.  I also don't like giving my personal info to anyone I don't have to.  Think about how personal your credit is and how much information you have to give to a complete stranger.  And IF your INFO was to fall into the wrong hands...  I am not implying that these companies are bad, I am just saying to be cautious.  I heard  of a Mortgage loan officer who was using his clients personal information for his own personal gain.  I am sure there is some one on this thread that can tell you a little about Identity theft!  I have a friend who is using a company and has seen his score go up about 30 points.  I gave him a little of Suze's advise about going to his parents to get a couple of credit cards that they have had for a really long time and add him to the accounts andI think  his credit score should pop soon(spike,go up,).  He is already receiving credit card offers again.  He is just waiting for the end of the month when they report the established accounts on his credit file.  Oh yea I forgot to mention he is 45 years old and his parents in their 70's.  So your never to old to ask for some help!  The agency he is using only charges about $400.00 so the 2k you are thinking about spending seems a little high to me.  But I am not the one with the credit issues.  Its your money and credit so do with it what you like.  Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Omar trust me he can do it him self with a little time and patients with out that high cost. In a year and a half we went from a 430 to 613 (still got a ways to go yet) just by doing it our self and not braking any laws. Alot of those repair companies dont tell you that the negative items that are on there accurately they remove do come back. There is no quick fix just time and hard work. You just need to pull all 3 reports ( I would get one from each not a 3 in one) and see if it is all accurate if not dispute them and make sure there are no duplicate items on there, Make sure any accounts you have now are paid on time and keep your ballances down under that 30% mark on cards. Just keep pluging away and it will work. I have done alot of research and helped a few of my fellow employees as well for free. Please be careful giving out your information.  GOOD LUCK

[Anonymous]

Omar,

You can definitely do it yourself, I did. I went from a 573 to a 645 in just 3 and a half months. Here it is a year later I am at a 680. It was a little time consuming because of the letters I had to write. The most I spend was the $3 per letter to send them certified to the collection agencies.

[Anonymous]

In a year and a half, I went from 480s to low 600s. I haven't made a ton of progress score-wise in the last year, but I'm finally getting approved for prime cards.

[Anonymous]

I AM A FORMER SUPERVISOR AT UNITED CREDIT ADJUSTERS AND IF I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING IT IS TO STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY. THE COMPANY HAS OVER 250 COMPLAINTS WITH THE BBB AND THEY HAVE ONLY BEEN IN BUSINESS SINCE 2005. THEY HAVE FILED BANKRUPTCY AND CHANGED THEIR NAME TO UNITED CREDIT ADJUSTERS, AND AS IT STANDS NOW, THEY ARE ON THEIR WAY BACK OUT OF BUSINESS AND ON TO ANOTHER NAME.

THE SERVICE THAT THEY PROVIDE-- YOU CAN DO YOURSELF... I CAN ACTUALLY EXPLAIN IT TO YOU IN MORE DETAIL.

THE $2000  THAT YOUR CO-WORKER IS GOING TO PAY FOR THE CONTRACT IS ABSOLUTELY A WASTE.

THERE ARE COMPANIES THAT DO CREDIT REPAIR AND ARE ETHICAL IN PRACTICE, BUT THIS COMPANY IS NOT. THEY PROMISE TO GET EVERYTHING THAT IS NEGATIVE REMOVED FROM YOUR CREDIT HISTORY, WHICH IS ACTUALLY ILLEGAL. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO GUARANTEE A PERSON THAT YOU CAN HAVE NEGATIVE INFORMATION REMOVED FROM THEIR CREDIT HISTORY IN EXCHANGE FOR A FEE. IF THE INFORMATION (CHARGE OFFS, COLLECTIONS, LATE FEES, REPOSSESIONS) IS TRUE, THAN IT CAN NOT BE REMOVED. FORTUNATELY FOR THIS COMPANY, THE CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES (EQUIFAX, EXPERIAN, TRANS UNION) ARE FLOODED WITH HUNDREDS OF DISPUTES EVERYDAY. BECAUSE I WORKED AT THIS COMPANY I KNOW THAT THERE STRATEGY IS TO BOMBARD THE AGENCIES WITH FRIVALOUS DISPUTES WITH THE HOPES THAT WHOMEVER IS ACTUALLY INVESTIGATING THEIR DISPUTE AT THE AGENCY WILL JUST DO WHAT IS BEING ASKED AS FAR AS REMOVING THE INFORMATION INSTEAD OF VERIFYING THE INFORMATION. THIS IS WHY THEY ONLY HAVE 1 YEAR CONTRACTS. THEY FIGURE THAT IN A YEAR, AFTER ALL OF THE DISPUTES THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO AT LEAST GET SOME OF THE INFORMATION REMOVED.

IT IS ILLEGAL TO PROMISE A PERSON THAT YOU CAN GET NEGATIVE INFO REMOVED AND CHARGE CHARGE THEM. THE LAW SAYS THAT YOU CAN ONLY CHARGE A CUSTOMER ONCE YOU ACTUALLY HAVE SUCCEDED AT GETTING SOMETHING REMOVED. BUT THIS COMPANY CHARGES OUTRAGEOUS FEES UPFRONT AND USUSALLY THE CUSTOMER ENDS UP PAYING THE BALANCE IN MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS.

THERE IS A LOT MORE THAT I CAN SAY ABOUT THIS COMPANY AND THEIR PRACTICES, BUT UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND THE MECHANICS OF CREDIT AND CREDIT REPAIR YOU MIGHT NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING. SO I WILL SAY THIS... YOU CAN REPAIR YOUR OWN CREDIT, AND I CAN TEL YOU EXACTLY HOW FOR FREE.

BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY AND ANY OTHERS LIKE IT.

SAHRANFRANKLIN@HOTMAIL.COM 

[Anonymous]

I am looking into repairing my credit as well, and someone told me I could do it myself instead of paying a credit repair agency. I would like to know how this works and how to get started? Please HELP! I am trying to raise my score from 515 to 620 the lowest asap. Thank you

[Shogun]

Hello and welcome to the forums.   You should check out our rebuilding thread, here you will find the information you're looking for. 

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/bd-p/rebuildingcredit