I am confused by some of what I've read here on this board but some of it I understand. I work long hours and I don't think I'll have the time to constantly read this board and deal with all the bs from the Collectors and the credit bureaus. I bought the credit repair kit in office depot yesterday. I see a lot of ads evrywhere for companies i can pay to clean up my credit but i don't have any money to waste. But if a company was ssure to be effective, I would definitely want to use them. What should I do?
I don't think anyone can tell you what to do. Even if you use a repair firm, you have to stay on top of what they are doing - they make mistakes, just like anyone else, some more than others. They all cost money, and sometimes people get into disputes over whether or not they have actually earned the money they are being paid. Some people have had good results, and are happy. Some have had good results up to a point, and then had to take over and do it themselves. Some have had bad results from the start, and had to do it themselves. Do-it-yourselfers swear by their methods. So the argument often goes on and on here. No one knows a precise answer. I'm sure people will respond with their experiences if you wait while, because there are a lot of folks with strong feelings one way or the other. As for number of "views," there are going-on 2,000 people registered at this site. Many of them never post, they just lurk (which is fine). There are untold numbers of people who are not registered at all, and just read here. It's early on a Sunday, and many regulars do not even read or post on the weekends; they do it from work, or in the evening, during the week. So be patient and you will get some ffedback. Then it will be clear as mud, LOLOL.
My suggestion is to do a search at the botton of the page for credit repair, or for credit repair companies such as Lexington, Junum, Creditwrench. Many members here have used 1 or more of these firms. There are numerous postings of the good and bad. For me, I used both Junum and lexington. I had so-so success with Junum,but then for some reason they disputed positive accts. and 4 were deleted. I then cancelled. I used Lexington for a short time and I highly recommend them, if, you hire someone. I ended up doing most of it myself and believe that is the way to go.
Do It Yourself! SC, Like breeze said, it's going to take some of your time whether you do it yourself or pay someone to do it. I've been a do-it-yourselfer from the start. It doesn't take a lot of time to dispute. The time comes in when tradelines get verified. If they get deleted and stay deleted, you're done. You could spend an hour or two getting your 3 reports and couple more to send out three dispute letters. I don't know how many derogs you have, but odds are some will be deleted. All for the cost of about 4 hours. Then you have 30 days before you have to do it again. Since you get a new credit report after each dispute that part goes away. Now just edit your letters and change accounts. Once you've disputed all the derogs once, start over with the ones that are verified. You may be suprised by the results. Just my 2 cents
Re: Do It Yourself! I agree with Pat. I too canceled Junum and was fortunate to be able to do so before they got started and without incident. I can't say enough about how little regard I have for Lexington but I'll spare this thread the explanation. If you are really wanting some details and/or dirt on Lexington and others click on this link http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?threadid=18036 and read that entire thread or simply watch the newspapers for forthcoming FTC and Utah state actions against Lexington Law Firm.
Re: Do It Yourself! I'll be happy to share my experiences/results with all the users here. I just recently hired Junum. Its only been a couple of days, so I cant give you any input as to they're effectiveness. I signed up for the "flat rate" plan so I dont have to worry about any extra charges. The only reason I am taking this step is because I've done all my disputing and seem to have hit a road block at this point - I'm hoping they can continue where I've left off. -Sal
Re: Do It Yourself! I would have signed up with Junum too except for the many things I heard about them on this board and elsewhere on the internet. They are know for "double disputing" and deleting positive tradelines in their overzealousness. In addition, they have had many other recent problems that you can find out about by doing a search on this board under "Junum". I suspect that if you did a google or dogpile search under "Junum" you might find some interesting tidbits as well. They are a publicly traded company and they are not crooks. I cancelled Junum two days after I signed up and they credited my credit card with no problem.
Re: Do It Yourself! I used Junum with good results. I also have done things on my own after Junum. Now with online dispute capabilities at all 3 CRA's it is no contest. It is way 2 easy to do and Junum has a new revenue model which makes free disputing more attractive. -Peace, Dave
Re: Do It Yourself! besides, reading this board and a couple of others, i spend about 2hrs every two weeks updatng my credit binder. that is checking my 'green card' dates and noting any new things on credit reports as they are received. I also use this time to do dispute letter ( i like the mail). It is working for me. It is not too complicated if you have a system. i have a ton of negs and my scores when i started ranged from high 400's to low 500's. I have had success and have only been doing this since october 2001.
Re: Do It Yourself! uniondiva, if i may ask, has there been any change in your scores? Also, do you have anything posted that has an update since October when you started - I know that it hasnt been that long but if you do i would love to read them. I dont have scores from Exp or Equ but my sorry TU is 411 (how discouraging) but Im not stopping till I cant walk through my front door without stepping on tons and tons of great prime offers. Good Luck To All.
Re: Do It Yourself! yes, check out my recent post "omg, exp just blew my mind" where i talkl about my exp score moving to 605..... yes, my sorry scores have jumped. my tu score had jumped at leadt 40 pts and my exp has jumped 70 pts. my tu score started in the 400's too..... i still haven't posted my exact scores because i have too much pride (sigh) but yes, my scores are improving each and every month. I am trying to be patient but persistent in rebuilding and repairing my credit.
Re: Do It Yourself! Uniondiva, CONGRATULATIONS!! when I hear good news like your's it makes me want to keep at it. Now If only I can do as well as you........ -Sal
Re: Do It Yourself! Americans do tend to seek the easy way out. The easy way would seem to be to hire a credit repair firm to do it for you. If you do that you still must keep up with your mail and keep good records just as if you were doing it yourself. I still think the easy way is to protect yourself with your own two hands: write your own letters to the CRAs and CAs, make CAs validate all claims, fight!
