is those credit repair companies really good, do they help you clean your credit? or waste of time and money?

or should I go to reular counselors?

Public Comments

1. A Waste.
2. Consolidating your credit can look negative on your credit report so I would defiantly look into the facts before going forward. I would suggest moving all your credit cards to one with no APR and pay of as much as possible.
3. They are a waste. You are the only one who can repair your credit. Look at all the reports, see if there are any errors and write to the company to fix the error. An example, we had two accounts with the same company and the co mis-posted both payments to one account (ignoring statements and account #s on checks). We called them and they re-posted but we found out later they had reported the payment as late. We wrote a letter to the CC company and the credit agency and that mark was removed. From now on make your payments one day early, if you have more than one card stop using all but one and pay off the other balances asap. There are plenty of free sites that will help you make a budget and financial plan.
4. From what I have seen, they are a waste of money, and could damage your credit more. Please read the links below. Many of the things that credit repair companies do, you can easily do yourself. Before you even start, you need to read up on the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Fair Debt Collections Act. Info is in the links below.
5. Do you have copies of your credit reports and know what is in them? If not go to www.annualcreditreport.com where you can get all 3 for free once a year and it won't hurt your credit score. Review your files for accuracy. You have the right to dispute any item that you believe is inaccurat or unverifiable. The investigation will take about 30 days and you will get back the results: 1) the item will be deleted. 2) the item will be updated(could be more negative) 3) the item will be verified as currently reported. The FTC is cracking down on Credit Repair companies(see my link below) and I would be very careful about who you choose to help you. If you choose not to try and "clean" up your credit yourself then I would look at a company like lexington law. They make sure they are in compliance with the law and make wild claims. Good Luck
6. a waste of time and money. You could take the 30$ a month you'd spend on that and use it toward the debt. You can call and set up you own payment plans...then pay them in order...once one is paid off then roll that amount onto the next and so on... It's hard but nice once they are gone! then vow not to let those companies own you again!