Can questionable, bad credit be deleted?

Can credit repair companies be trusted?

How much does bad credit cost?

Does paying off past-due accounts neutralize their negative status?

Will deleted items just reappear on the credit report?

Are items such as bankruptcies and foreclosures impossible to remove?

Should consumers try credit repair on their own?

Does bankruptcy wipe the slate clean for a second chance?

Do creditors bother to read the 100-word statement?

Can changing one's SSN or EIN tax number help credit matters?

Does enough good credit offset any bad credit?

Does the CCCS help consumers restore credit?

Do negative items have to remain listed for 7 years?

What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)?

Can credit repair companies be trusted?

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 assist in having thousands of questionable credit listings deleted every day.

Unfortunately, it is risky to trust anyone to help you restore 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. Some 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 is certainly easier with substantial background knowledge - knowledge that takes credit repair attorneys years to learn.

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.

Not surprisingly, some 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.

Some time ago, a couple in the Northwestern United States who were using the services of a legitimate credit repair law firm, 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 questionable credit listings, including a bankruptcy, had long since been deleted.

The simple truth is that you do not have to endure inaccurate credit for seven to ten years so long as you feel comfortable challenging the accuracy or verifiability of your questionable credit listings.

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 restored their credit. Despite the newspaper articles, TV reports, and other credit bureau propaganda to the contrary, the simple truth remains: you can fix your unfair credit reports.