Know this first
What federal law already gives you, for free
A credit repair company that hides this page is telling you something about itself. Here is everything the FCRA, CROA, and FDCPA entitle you to at no cost, plus the complete step-by-step for doing it yourself.
$0
To get your reports, weekly, from all three bureaus
30
Days a bureau has to investigate your dispute
3
Business days to cancel any credit repair contract
Ten rights
Every one of these costs you nothing
Each card is tagged with the federal statute it comes from, so you can look it up rather than take our word for it.
Free reports, every week
You can get your report from each of the three nationwide bureaus every week at AnnualCreditReport.com at no cost. It is the only federally authorized source. You do not need us, or anyone, to get them.
The right to dispute, free of charge
You may dispute anything you believe is inaccurate or incomplete directly with each bureau and with the company that furnished the information. It costs nothing and you can do it yourself.
A 30-day investigation deadline
A bureau generally has 30 days to investigate your dispute, extended to 45 if you supply additional documents during the window. If it cannot verify the information, it must delete or correct it.
Notice when your report is used against you
If a lender, insurer, landlord, or employer takes adverse action based on your report, they must tell you and identify the bureau. You are then entitled to a free copy of that report.
Freezes and fraud alerts, at no cost
You can freeze and unfreeze your credit for free at all three bureaus, and place a one-year fraud alert or a seven-year extended alert if you are an identity theft victim.
No fees before services are performed
A credit repair organization may not charge or receive payment until it has fully performed the services it promised. Any company asking for money up front is breaking federal law.
Three business days to cancel, penalty-free
You may cancel any credit repair contract in writing within three business days of signing, for any reason, at no cost and with no penalty. We include the cancellation form with every agreement.
A written contract and a written disclosure
Before you sign anything, you are entitled to a written contract stating the services, the total cost, and how long results may take, plus a separate statement of your federal rights. If a company skips either one, that is your answer.
The right to make a collector prove it
Within 30 days of a collector's first contact, you can demand validation of the debt in writing. Until they validate it, collection activity must stop. Unvalidated debt reported to the bureaus is challengeable.
The right to sue, and to recover fees
If a bureau or furnisher willfully or negligently violates the FCRA, you may be entitled to damages and attorney fees. We are not a law firm, and when a file looks like litigation we say so and point you to a consumer attorney.
Do it yourself
The whole process, free, in six steps
This is the same sequence we follow. If your situation is two errors and you have the paperwork, you do not need us, and we would rather you know that.
Get all three reports free
Go to AnnualCreditReport.com, the only website authorized by federal law. You are entitled to one report from each of the three nationwide bureaus every week at no cost. Get all three, because they hold different data.
Read them and mark what is wrong
Look for accounts that are not yours, balances and limits that do not match your records, dates of first delinquency that look too recent, late payments in months you paid, the same debt reported twice, and hard inquiries you never authorized.
Dispute each item specifically
Identify the account, state the single field that is wrong, state what it should say, and attach your documentation. One clear assertion per item works far better than a general complaint about the account.
Send the same dispute to the furnisher
The company reporting the data has its own obligation to investigate. Since the bureau's investigation largely consists of asking that company whether it is right, going to the source in parallel is the step most people skip.
Hold them to the 30-day deadline
The bureau generally has 30 days to investigate, or 45 if you add documents during the window. If it cannot verify the information, it must delete or correct it and notify you in writing with a free updated report.
Escalate rather than accept a bare verification
If it comes back verified with no explanation, send new documentation, request the method of verification, dispute with the furnisher directly, and file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Where a violation is clear, a consumer protection attorney can pursue damages and fees under the FCRA.
The obvious question
So why would anyone pay for this?
Because there is a large gap between having a right and exercising it well, and the process is built in a way that quietly rewards giving up.
One error with clean documentation is a letter and a stamp. Twelve items across three reports that disagree with each other, with hand-offs to reconstruct, forbearance paperwork to assemble, dates to trace back to an original delinquency, and automated verifications to escalate round after round, is a different job. Most people stop at the first form-letter denial, which is precisely the outcome the automation produces.
You are paying for analysis, documentation, and stamina. Not for access. The same logic as hiring a CPA to file a return you could technically file yourself.
The honest part
If your free review shows two errors and you have the documents, we will hand you the AnnualCreditReport.com link and the dispute steps and tell you to keep your money. That answer costs us a sale and it is the reason we get referrals. Ask any firm you are considering which of your items they think are not worth challenging. An honest one has an answer.
Where to complain about anyone, including us
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureauconsumerfinance.gov/complaint
- Federal Trade Commissionreportfraud.ftc.gov
- Identity theft reportsidentitytheft.gov
- Your state attorney generalSearch for your state's consumer protection division
Our disclosures
Credit repair disclosures
Credit repair services are provided by a credit repair organization as defined by the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act. We are not a law firm, a credit counseling agency, or a debt settlement company, and we do not provide legal or tax advice.
You have the right to dispute inaccurate information in your credit report yourself, at no cost, by contacting the credit bureaus directly. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus every week at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only source authorized by federal law. Nothing we do is a substitute for a right you already have.
Accurate, current, and verifiable information cannot lawfully be removed from a credit report by anyone. We challenge only information that appears inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable, duplicated, misdated, or past its permitted reporting period. We do not guarantee that any particular item will be removed or corrected, and we do not guarantee any increase in your credit score.
We charge no advance fees. Consistent with the Credit Repair Organizations Act, you are billed only after services have been performed. You will receive a written contract and a written statement of your rights under federal law before any services begin, and you may cancel the contract without penalty or obligation within three business days of signing.
We will never ask you to create a new credit identity, use a credit privacy number, or use an employer identification number in place of your Social Security number. Those practices are illegal.
Answer library
Rights questions, answered directly
Every answer here names the statute or the deadline so you can verify it.
Can I dispute credit report errors myself for free?
Yes. You can dispute anything you believe is inaccurate or incomplete directly with each credit bureau and with the company furnishing the information, at no cost, and you can get your reports free weekly at AnnualCreditReport.com. Nobody can charge you for access to that right. Paying a firm buys analysis, documentation, and follow-through, not access.
Free step-by-step dispute guideHow long does a credit bureau have to investigate a dispute?
Generally 30 days from receiving your dispute, extended to 45 days if you provide additional documentation during the investigation. If the bureau cannot verify the disputed information, it must delete or correct it and notify you in writing, and it must provide a free updated copy of your report if anything changed.
Can I cancel a credit repair contract?
Yes. The Credit Repair Organizations Act gives you three business days after signing to cancel any credit repair contract in writing, for any reason, with no penalty and no obligation. The company is required to disclose that right and provide a cancellation form. A company that does not mention it is already out of compliance.
Your rights in fullWhat is debt validation and when can I request it?
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you can demand written validation of a debt within 30 days of a collector's first communication, and collection activity must stop until they provide it. Debts sold in portfolios often carry thin documentation, so a validation request sometimes produces nothing. A debt that cannot be validated should not be reported to the bureaus as verified.
Is freezing my credit free?
Yes. Placing, lifting, and removing a credit freeze is free at all three nationwide bureaus, and you must do it separately with each one. You can also place a free one-year fraud alert, or a seven-year extended alert if you have an identity theft report. A freeze is stronger than an alert because it blocks access to your report entirely.
What can I do if a credit bureau violates my rights?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides a private right of action, and remedies for willful or negligent violations can include actual damages, statutory damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. You can also file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which forwards it to the company for a response. For litigation, consult a consumer protection attorney.
Do I have to pay anything before you start work?
No. There is no setup fee and no deposit. Consistent with the Credit Repair Organizations Act, you are billed only after services have been performed, so your first invoice arrives after your first round of challenges has been prepared and sent. You also receive a written contract and a written statement of your federal rights before anything begins.
Will you tell me if I do not need to hire you?
Yes, and it happens regularly. If your report has one or two errors and you have the documentation, disputing yourself costs postage and we will say so. If an item is accurate, current, and verifiable, we will point at it and tell you it is going to age off rather than bill you to challenge it. That answer costs us a sale and buys a referral.
Can you help with both student loans and credit repair?
Yes, and that combination is the reason both practices sit under one roof. Federal student loans are frequently the largest item on a household's credit report and among the most commonly misreported, and a default resolved on the loan side often needs a correction on the credit side before it reports properly. Active clients on one side receive a discount on the other.
Are you a law firm or a credit counseling agency?
Neither. We are a student loan consulting firm and a credit repair organization. We do not provide legal advice, tax advice, debt settlement, or debt management plans, and we do not represent clients in court. When a file belongs with a consumer protection attorney or a nonprofit credit counselor, we say so and point you to one.
Are you affiliated with the government?
No. We are a private company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or any government agency. The federal student loan programs we assist with are available directly to you for free at StudentAid.gov.
Will you guarantee a result?
No, and no honest firm in either practice will. On credit, we cannot guarantee that a specific item will be removed or corrected, or that your score will change by any amount, because those outcomes rest with the bureaus and the furnishers. On student loans, eligibility and approval rest solely with the Department of Education and your servicer.
Want a second set of eyes on all three reports?
The review is free and the answer is honest, including if the answer is that you can handle it yourself.