Credit repair firms are advertising that they can fix all credit probelms and make the debtor look  pure as Snow White. Oh if that were only true, but it isn't. It is wrong to make a blanket statement about all credit repair firms, but the basis on which credit repair firms portary their work is flawed. A law firm practicng credit repair may have more influence than a firm that has no lawyers actively employed. But even when a law firm is involved the National Consumer Law Center advises that lawyers should not send the disputes but consumers should send their own disputes.

Credit repair firms are not helpful in my opinion, but if a consumer wishes to explore the methods that the firm claims leads to success the cointact should begin with the following questions:

       1.  What can your firm do for me that I cannot do for myself?

        2. What is your proven success record?

        3. Will the credit reporting agencys work directly with you or do I have to do the leg work at   your              direction?

 These questions will help the consumer understand what a credit repair firm does and does not do, and will help in deciding whether to engage a firm's services.

There are many web sites that can help the consumer do their own credit repair and very helpful books have been written on the subject. One I recommend is The Insiders Guide To Credit Repair written by K. E. Varner. This book is a complete guide to credit problems and specifically deals with credit repair.

 The consumer thinking about engaging a credit repair firm should read the Federal Law that governs the credit repair practice. Title IV of the Consumer Protection Act is readable by non-lawyers and is explicit rather than ambiguous.

 There are many instances where consumers have repaired their credit file without any help. Certainly they have had to study the subject and do a little research but it is worth the effort. Web sites such as www.creditinfocenter.com is a valuable resource for credit repair tecnniques.

 There are two credit repair firms that have received good reviews that may be worth passing along  although I have no personal experience with them and I have not interviewed either. The firms are; The Lexington Law Firm and SCI Credit Solutions and both have web sites. As with engaging the services of any person or company the consumer must fully understand the costs involved and the answers to the questions above.

 Some authors and alleged experts in credit suggest that the consumer can make any bad derogatory credit report items disappear. Some authors border on advising consumers to take steps that seem to me to be crossing the line.

 No one cam make an accurate derogatory item go away. If a debt was not paid and discharged the credit report will carry the story for seven years after discharge. Some consumers have been successful in convincing the furnisher of the derogatory information to pull it from the report, but this is a long shot..

 No consumer should allow inaccurate information to remain on their credit report, and even though the process of correcting inaccurate information is usually an easy one, there is always the possibility that a little more work may be required.

 A word of caution, one best selling author is suggesting that the a consumer can claim identity theft. I strongly advise you to not do this unless, of course, you truly believe you have been victimized and have filed a report with a law enforcement agency. There are no magic phrases to use, there are no hidden or undisclosed techniques to use as some claim. I have researched the subject of credit repair for years to enable me to assist as a volunteer for families who are distressed and disabled economically by bad credit.