My credit score is so bad, and I want to fix it, should I trust those web sites that promises credit repairs?

Public Comments

1. I would not trust them. You don't want too many people having access to your personal information, socical security number, address, phone number, etc.
2. No. Most of those websites are scams. They take your money and do nothing for you. The reality is that noone can fix your bad credit except you. The few websites that do help with this still have you do the work, they just provide you with the info. Below is some info on how you can fix it yourself. First off, request your credit report (you can do it for free on the link below). Once you go through your report, highlight those accounts that are bad. Do any of those not belong to you? Contact the credit report company and ask them to remove it from your credit as it does not belong to you. Those that belong to you should be isolated into two categories: Those you can pay off, and those you can't. Contact those you can pay off and let them know that you will pay them off. Ask them who to send the payment to, and ask that they remove the negative report since you will be paying them off. Tell them you will not pay them unless they agree to remove the negative report. They will. Now comes the hard part. Contact each and everyone of the bad reports that you can't pay off and negotiate with them to see if they would be willing to take a partial payment for the whole sum. Let them know that things have been difficult and that you are considering bankrupcy, but that you would like to settle your debts with them before that happens. As before, ask them to remove the bad report as a condition of paying them. Most companies will take a partial payment over no payment. This takes finesse and persuasion. Always ask for a supervisor when you call as they have the authority to negotiate an account. Lastly, guard your credit. Get a secured credit card through your bank and make a very small purchase each month and pay it off each month. A history of purchases and timely payments will improve your credit over time. There are no quick fixes, so beware those who offer them. Best of luck.
3. i wouldn't trust them.
4. not the bootleged 1s
5. You can fix your own credit. Go online to each credit bureau and get your free reports. Then write them letters about the bad stuff and tell them to take it off. Just keep doing it every month until it goes away. Very cheap and works fine. Just takes some time to do.
6. No do not trust them, their is no such thing as credit repair, per se. The only thing that helps your credit is time and paying your bills on time. You are able to take false things off your credit report and negative things off your credit after seven years.
7. That's a big negative sir. Do not trust them.
8. You can fix it yourself. Get your scores from the credit agencies and start correcting any mistakes they have on them. Remember that applying for more credit is bad for your score and so is going over your credit limit. Give it a try. You can do it.
9. Personally I would not trust a web site with my personal information but there are many companies out there which you can deal with in person and can help you with your situation. Just look in your local phone book under debt consolidators.
10. They will spoil more ! Better open a new account with different Bank,and ask them to provide a credit card.Buy some goods with a nominal amount and pay it regularly-so they will report to credit agency that you are a good paymaster.And ask them later on to repair your credit by getting some over draft or a personal loan and make the repayments at a schedule time.
11. There is one way to fix your credit....fix it yourself. It will take time, but paying on time and getting your credit under control and credit score up are not something that anyone can do for you. The credit score improvers are full of crap.
12. The only real credit repair is to pay your bills and wait, wait, wait. You cannot change what is already on your credit report unless, of course, it is inaccurate and it is always a good idea to get a copy of your credit file & make sure everything makes sense. BUT be VERY careful about 'credit repair.' You may be offered something like a consolidation program where the creditors no longer charge you interest and you pay small amounts over a fairly long period of time, usually several years at least. While it's good not to have to pay the interest, during that time frame you will not be able to obtain ANY credit whatsoever and after you have paid the last penny all that information about everyone you took so long to pay off will stay on your credit file for AT LEAST another 7 years. If there is no other way to go and this is all you can do short of bankruptcy, go ahead. Just be sure to check out all your options first. Bankruptcy can in fact be a more viable option in many circumstances because it's done and overwith faster so you end up with a messed up credit report for a shorter period of time. When you start REBUILDING credit, the most important aspect is to obtain several different kinds of credit. For example, don't just go with a credit card and leave it at that. Get a credit card, an overdraft, and a car loan (even if you can pay cash for the car). You need to prove responsibility with different KINDS of credit. Then, pay on time all the time and with credit cards do not go past 50% of your limit. Using these measures, you can rebuilt credit surprisingly fast. When you check your credit file for accuracy, be sure to get copies from all the credit bureaus..Equifax, Experian, And TransUnion. It is surprising how the information, and even the actual scores, can vary from one to another.
13. NO NO NO! Sometimes they work, but MOST of the time you wind up paying exorbitant amounts of money, for a little to zero affect on your credit. In my opinion just start paying your bills on time, dont max out your card, and always pay more than the minimum on your credit card statement. Credit takes time, effort, and patience to build, Not a one time fee found on some website on the web. Think for a second, if you could pay a one time fee to have perfect credit, than no one would have bad credit! BTW it makes no sense to me, to pay someone money to fix your credit, when you yourself have no money to pay your debts...
14. No. Fix it yourself. Look at your credit report and correct any errors. Pay your bills on time and eventually, the score will go up.
15. http://www.topherreimroc.com/FixMyCredit -YES!!!! Here's a site that can help you fix your credit in a simple, easy, and most importantly free form. Taking 5 minutes to fill out this form could save you hundreds of dollars. It helped me personally get away from my bad credit; I highly recommend it.
16. yes you can trust many of them, go to experian (very good site)
17. Bad credit is one of the worst problems to have... however there exists a solution. I will hereby talk from my personal experience. I did debt consolidation a couple of years ago, however If I had to do it again I would pay to some minor details, if someone wants to get out of debt today it is pretty easy with a debt consolidation plan, however it may get a bit tricky at times, I suggest you get as much information as possible online on this first, a good place to start in my humble opinion is astraight to the point ebook with question and answer I found : http://umgarticles.atspace.com/debt-consolidation.htm if it helps kindly remember me in your voting!.. cheers!
18. Try this to improve your credit score: First know that the bureau must verify any debt you dispute. If they can not verify it, it must be deleted. They have 30 days to do this. With years in the credit business, I recommend disputing them all at the same time, as you will likely need to go through several rounds of letters to get what you want done. If something is blatently wrong with your credit report, call the bureau after they write back and refuse to remove it. Go up the food chain until a manager agrees to remove or amend the incorrect info on the spot. Don't buy into their speach about re-disputing it - but make sure you have provided the information necessary by mail already to correct the error. It will not help you to insist on something being removed if you have not provided verificaiton on why. When you mail in the dispute letter, mail in as much information as possible with it. If your verification is a bankruptcy, send in all the pages to your petition and tab the important pages for them to review. Also mail in a copy of an electric bill and a copy of your ID to avoid any delays. See the FTC web's site for your specific rights with collectors and debt reporting: http://www.ftc.gov/ If your problem is directly with the creditors, write to them ONE time. If they do not remove incorrect information, write to your state's attorney general's office and the FTC. This will get you the results you seek if you are in the right. If this is a collection agency problem, write to the same people plus the ACA at www.acainternational.org. Collection agencies are generally slime, so know your rights before you call them. See your rights here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/index.html If you have legit items that are bad, dispute them also. If they can not be verified, they must be deleted. It is not your responsibility to prove they are inaccurate, it is the credit bureaus who must demonstrate they are. Hope this helps!
19. Go to annualcreditrepot.com and get a free copy of your credit report. Dispute anything that is not remotely right. You could possible fix it yourself.