Credit repairing companies thrive because of consumers’ dependency on others to repair their credit. These firms are sometimes thought of as a magic wand that can remove all dark spots of negative credit out of a person’s report. However, this is far from the truth. The only person who can do that is you. You can choose credit report companies to identify and correct any errors found in reporting by the three credit rating agencies, but these can´t help you eliminate the errors.

Before selecting a credit repairing company, you must take care that:
• You do not provide any upfront fees before receiving any services. According to the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies do not possess the right to bill you unless they deliver the promised services.

• You are not sold out by wrong information. Credit repairing companies will tell you that they can delete some of the negative items from your credit score by throwing many disputes at credit rating agencies. However, be assured with high speed technology, these agencies can easily verify credit information and there are rare chances that the score will be upgraded.

• You should not believe credit repair companies who claim to eliminate bankruptcy and other negative records from your account. Always remember that bankruptcy record stays on your file for 10 years and other negative information for at least seven years.

• You do not buy the idea of having a new credit identity. In this case, the credit reporting company will instruct you to apply for a new Employer Identification Number, which resembles a Social Security Number. Credit repair agencies tell you to take credit based on this number. This is illegal and you must avoid getting into any such scams.
Remember that credit score is a reflection of your credit history. No one knows it better and has the power to change except you. In the long term, you are better off spending the money on paying off your credit card debts rather than on finding fixes that are temporary at best.

Source: Money Matters