Credit Repair - Red Oak,TX

I have heard from others that those type of companies can screw you up worse then you might be screwed up now.

Credit repair companies are mostly a scam. No one can remove authentic credit reporting (for lask of a better word). Go to the webiste for your free credit report: www.annualcreditreport.com to request a free credit report. I would request from one agency at a time eevery 3 or 4 months so you can monitor it over a year's time. If you see any incorrect info reported, you have the right to dispute it. I believe the reporting agency must remove the info within a week and the credit card or grantor must respond within 30 days. You can clean up your own credit. You also have a right to a credit report after something is removed or determined to be correct reporting. Also as mentioned by a previous poster, if you need to rebuild your credit, get a credit card and make small charges that you can pay off every month, or no more than a $100 balance. Both of these will help build up your credit.

I was a mortgage broker for 15 years & I highly recommend you get Dave Ramsey's book...he has very detailed info on how to repair your credit & he has all 3 credit reporting agencies phone numbers & addresses & he has specific forms already written out so all you have to do is copy a bunch & fill out their names on the forms & send them to each company you need to deal with.

Elizabeth R. gives good advice so do it yourself & save your money from using a company. First you order your credit report, there are 3 different agencies & you can order a free one from each, once a year. Order directly thru the credit report agencies not thru anyone else. Go thru the reports with a fine tooth comb, they are all different as weird as that sounds, so check them good. All the creditors or collection agencies will have their phone numbers listed so you can call them easily. Get a notebook & put the creditors name & phone number at the top (use a separate piece of paper for each creditor) so that you can keep track of the date & person you spoke with & all info that was discussed.

Don't be discouraged.

I used to work for a credit repair company that also took over making people's payments and paying their bills, etc. Although it was not a 'scam'- all the clients I ever dealt with knew exactly what they were getting- there was NOTHING that we did that these people could not have done for themselves, if they had just been ORGANIZED AND MOTIVATED to do so.

YOU can go over your bills twice a month and make sure they are all paid on time and calculate each month how much extra you can afford to pay off your medical expenses more quickly.

YOU can contact the insurance company and do the tedious legwork and spend the time on the phone trying to negotiate a lower monthly payment, extension, etc. whatever you need.

YOU can take the time to really track your spending and budget accordingly and stick to it.

You can do all these things that a credit repair service will do- the question is WILL YOU? Seriously, most of the clients I worked with were nice people who were just in over their heads and at a certain point got so overwhelmed with debt that they just sort of gave up. They just couldn't keep track of it all- in some cases, even to pay monthly bills- and so that is what we did for them.

Also, because my boss had worked with so many clients at that point, he had contacts with a lot of banks, insurance agencies, etc. and just knew the ropes of negotiating lower payments, who to talk to, what was reasonable to ask for, etc. So in that way, it was just much easier for the credit repair company to do those things- but the clients could have, it just would have probably taken more time.

The other thing that the credit repair service did was to check people's credit reports for outdated or incorrect items. You would not believe how WRONG most credit reports are- unless you specifically request an incorrect or outdated item to be removed from your report, it can sit there, damaging your credit for years and years.

But again, once you get your credit report ( and not all 3 companies versions will be exactly the same) there is now a system legally in place for you to request that they investigate and get back to you about anything on your report. After you contest it, they have a month to check it out and either prove that it belongs there, or to remove it.

Interestingly, the company who originally PUTS the item on your report has NO obligation legally to correct it, even if it turns out to be a mistake! Many people don't know this and you just have to really stay on top of it.

it sounds to me like you are in a good place and are fairly organized. You can do this yourself- just keep track of your budget, get a copy of your credit report and contest things that you think don't belong there and STAY ON TOP OF IT!

I was a finance major in college and a bargin hunter in real life. I've had a number of these "credit repair agencies" call me wanting to "fix" my 790 credit score. (STAY AWAY FROM THE "CREDIT REPAIR" COMPANIES!!!!)

To fix your credit, pay your bills on time. Not two days late or two weeks late or 30+ days late, ON TIME. Paying late will cause your credit score to go down or stay down. Apply for a credit card from American Express. (I know it sounds stupid, but read on.) American Express (AmEx) has probably the toughest credit standards around. When they turn you down, they have to tell you why. Included in the "why" will be your credit report and any credit companies that say you owe them money along with how much and if you are late. You get it free.

There are three major credit reporting agencies. Each one rates you and has different criteria. (I've never had any two of the agencies rate me the same.) Take the credit report and find out who says you owe them money. You may or may not owe them what they say. You will find out if your Ex added charges to your credit or worse, still adding charges. If there are any that you disagree with the charges, ask for proof. Cancel your participation in any credit your Ex may be adding charges to, by writing to the company and telling them he became your Ex on what date and after that he is responsible for his charges and certainly as of the date of your letter.

Keep your currently used credit cards and bills current. (current = pay on time or a week ahead of time.) Write or call your past due debts and tell them you are trying to pay off their cards, but you want them to stop the interest and penalities. If you negotiate hard they will probably reduce your debt to the original charges and waive the interest and penalities. BUT, if you can get the debt reduced to the origional amount, DON'T be late. Write to the companies that you negotiate with and thank them for working with you. Send a copy to each of the reporting agencies (This is one reason for the thank you letter.) and ask that the letters be put in your credit file. This will improve your credit score IF they see you are paying on time and paying off your old debt. When your old, deliquent or incollections debt is paid off request a letter from them saying your debt is paid off. Send them a thank you letter and send a copy of your thank you letter and the paid off letter to the credit reporting agencies and ask that it be added to your credit history file.

First, Keep your current bills current.
2nd, pay any old bills you have that are in collections to the origional company you got the credit from. They may object at first, but they will take the money. As part of your negotiations with them should include a "paid" letter when you have finished paying them. Pay the smallest bill first. (So you can show you are working to fix your credit and pay your bills.)
3rd. Write letters to dispute any bills that are not yours.
4th Cancel any credit cards you want to and do need. Initially it will hurt your credit, but in 6 months it won't make any difference and you'll be ahead of the curve.

BTW, I was moving to a new city. GMAC didn't want to lend me any money for a new home because I had a write-off on my credit report, but wouldn't tell me who or what it was. I went to a festival where American Express had a booth where they were giving away a free gym bag if you applied for their credit card. I applied because I wanted to find out who had a charge off against me and if AmEx turned me down I could get that info free. (At that time there was a $25 charge for that info.) AmEx turned me (760 credit score) down. I got the credit report for free. I found Sears had a charge off on my credit report. I found out they charged me twice for the same two pair of slacks my wife bought, once on their charge card and once on Mastercard. They refused to take it off. I wrote a letter to AmEx thanking them for turning me down. I wrote a letter to Sears telling them they charged me twice and I refused to pay for the second charge. I wrote a letter to each credit agency and told them why there was a charge off on my record. I also explained that I had worked in the Sears credit collections department and what I was required to do. I sent a copy of the letter to AmEx, Sears and each reporting agency to all of the companies mentioned. AmEx sent me a credit card by return mail. Sears refused to take it off my credit. GMAC loaned me the money to buy the home I wanted. My credit score climbed from 760 to 810 over 6 months. I've never shopped at Sears since then. And that been over 25 years now. (Consumers revenge!) Sears has lost hundreds in dollars in business.

Good luck to you and yours.

Hi,

Go to your library... I picked up a DVD there that said something about budgeting. Got it home and it told all about what to do to keep your credit up or how to fix it. I would try that first. It also talked about points and how to get your free credit reports. It was pretty neat.

I tried this www.annualcreditreport.com online and did what it said to do and it kicked me out and I never got the report. I would suggest doing it by mail.

We got the name of a lady in the VA area from one of the mortgage brokers we were working with. Our scores were low, but all of our stuff had been paid off. We paid her $200, and she wrote letters to the credit agencies. She emailed them to us and we had to simply sign and mail the letters with copies of our drivers licenses. Within one month of working with her, our scores jumped over 100 points. I know it seems shady, but my parents used her as well. She simply knows the credit law and used that to our advantage. She does not promise ANY results, but she is willing to help. If you want her info let me know!

DON'T DO IT! I've had serious discussions with several people about this. It's worse than filing for bankruptcy. The BEST thing you can do is negotiate with the creditors YOURSELF. It shows that you are WILLING to pay your debt, not being forced into it because of collection notices. I believe it was reported on MSNBC, perhaps CNN, awhile back--where it was suggested you pay the things that you can't let go of--house & car. Come up with payment plans for utilities if needed. The other things can be negotiated. Good luck!

Why spend unnecessary $ to use a "credit repair company"? You can rebuild your credit on your own within a couple of years by getting a credit card, charging a small amount each month and paying it off on time every month. Do you have a car loan? Are you renting an apartment that reports to the credit reporting agencies? All those things will help rebuild your credit.

most of them are absolute rip-offs. there may be some that aren't, but i haven't heard of one single real-life instance from anyone i know (and my community is large) for whom it's been helpful.
sorry to be so negative.
but these places are preying on good people like you who want to do the right thing.
talk to a good mortgage broker and get their advice. they don't have a pony in the race, and it's in their best interest to get you solvent enough to buy. and if their advice is helpful, use them for your next mortgage.
khairete
S.