You may have heard that bad credit report repair is impossible or illegal. Bad credit report repair is possible and if you contact a law firm which specializes in credit report repair, then it can all be done legally. If you contact a company that is not a law firm, then they may be doing something ineffective or illegal. The only way to be confident that the credit repair information you are getting is legal, accurate and effective is to contact an attorney. Not all attorneys specialize in bad credit report repair. Those who do generally charge a fee for initial consultation and a monthly fee, one company offers to refund overpayment if they are not able to remove a substantial amount of negative credit report information.

Some companies charge for credit repair information, giving you what amounts to helpful hints; where to get your credit report; how to write a letter and other so called credit repair information that you can find on your own for free. These and companies that advertise that they can accomplish bad credit report repair in less than thirty days should be avoided.

Whether it is referred to as problematic, less than perfect or just bad credit, anyone with a credit score below 680 can benefit from bad credit report repair. Why? Because lenders charge higher interest rates to people with what they call sub-prime credit scores. How much can that amount to? A $20,000 car that is financed for a period of five years at an interest rate of 14% for someone who has sub-prime credit costs them an extra $4722 in interest. At 20% for someone with bad credit, that same car costs an extra $8593. If bad credit report repair is effective and costs around $1000 (could be less, could be more), then a person with less than perfect credit would still save almost $4000 and the person with bad credit would save about $7500. Bad credit report repair is a worthwhile investment.

None of this can be accomplished if you are currently behind on payments to your lenders, whether credit cards or loans. You may need debt management or credit counseling, but you will not need credit repair information until you can put these issues behind you. Credit counseling, while helpful when you are in over your head, is not the same as bad credit report repair. Even if you have had a bankruptcy, bad credit report repair may be helpful.

It is sometimes possible to achieve some results on your own, but it may be time consuming, frustrating and ineffective. You will also be unaware of everything that you can accomplish unless you contact a lawyer that specializes in bad credit report repair. The credit repair information available from credit bureaus and government agencies only mention some possibilities; how to report discrepancies or inaccuracies. Sometimes, items are not removed in a timely manner, even though the credit bureau says this is not true. If you cannot afford to hire a legal firm, you can begin bad credit report repair by writing a letter which disputes information listed on your credit report to the appropriate credit bureau. They have thirty days to respond.

You should try to keep all emotion out of these letters and put your request in very simple terms. You may have to write a follow-up letter, if the credit bureau does not respond in a timely manner. This letter should also be unemotional and simply state that you have waited a reasonable amount of time (30-45 days) and you would like the inaccurate information removed immediately and a new copy of your report sent to your home address. When you see a company selling something called a credit repair kit, check out the contents before you buy. The previous credit repair information (concerning letter content, etc) is what they are usually selling.

If you are able to achieve results, you are one step closer to bad credit report repair. If the credit bureau does not respond to the follow-up letter, your only real option is to contact an attorney. For more information about bad credit report repair, visit the Credit Repair Blog.