Frequently asked questions

Credit repair is the process of cleaning up inaccuracies on your credit report, removing wrong or inaccurate information, protecting your identity, and becoming more informed on credit issues. When you repair your credit file, your credit score is likely to improve, along with your ability to get better interest rates and save money.

Your credit record influences your qualification for future credit, can affect rates on your current credit lines, and can affect employment and insurance applications. If your credit report is incorrect, correcting it helps improve your chances.

A good credit score helps you get low interest rates on long-term loans, like home loans or car loans. With a low score, lenders may charge high interest rates or impose undesirable repayment plans.

When you buy a home or car, one item on a credit report can stop the purchase. Mortgage, auto, and personal lenders rely on your credit scores to decide if you qualify for a loan and how much interest you pay.

Lenders are not the only ones. A growing number of employers check the credit information of job applicants, and auto insurance companies often use credit scores when setting premiums.

• Names and addresses the credit bureau believes (rightly or wrongly) have been used by you.
• Your positive credit history: the creditor, the type of credit, and, if ongoing, the current status of the account.
• Your negative credit history: past due payment history and collection accounts.
• Public records of bankruptcy, repossession, liens, and judgments.

Seven years, excluding some public records concerning taxes. This is how long it is legally allowed on your report. We often find negative information on credit reports that violates this law.

A formula, or algorithm, that analyzes the information in your credit file and returns a number. Your score indicates your risk to creditors or lenders. The lower the number, the more risky you are considered.

It depends on your goal. The score needed to buy a car is different from the score needed to buy a house or start a business. There are over 25 different scoring models.

FICO scores range from 300 to 850:

• Poor: less than 580
• Fair: 580–669
• Good: 670–739
• Very good: 740–799
• Exceptional: over 800

Aim for at least 660 on your FICO score, and 680 to get the best interest rate.

The minimum credit score for a home loan is 620. To get the best rate, you need 680. This is a FICO mortgage mid score: the middle score of your three credit bureau scores.

The scoring model for mortgage lending is different from the models for auto loans or credit cards, so the scores can be different for the same person.

• Lenders you apply to for credit.
• Lenders who want to send you offers of credit (unless you opt out of these offers).
• You, when you request it.

An employer or prospective employer cannot see your credit score. With your permission, they can see much of your credit history through an employment credit check.

Your credit score measures how, and how long, you have used credit. If you use different kinds of credit and keep all your commitments, your score increases over time. A longer history is better.

Your score goes down with late payments, a lack of credit history, car repossessions, bankruptcy, and liens.

No. People at every income level can have high or low scores. Your credit score measures your ability to keep credit commitments.

Your income and debt determine how much credit you can afford and how much lenders will extend to you. Your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio plays a part in home purchase and mortgage loans.

No. A creditor can charge a late fee for a payment that is even 30 minutes late, but credit bureaus do not consider a payment late until it is 30 days past due. A payment that is three weeks late can cost you a fee without affecting your credit score.

If you have rarely or never been late before, your chances of getting a card issuer to reverse a late fee are good.

Book a call with our team. We review your credit history and put together a customized plan for you, and we guide you through every step: what we are doing and what you need to do.

You do your part while we work directly with the bureaus on your behalf to clean up inaccuracies in your report.

If your credit reports have errors that can be successfully disputed, you could see improvement with the first update in 45 days. Typically, the process takes 6–12 months.

People who are persistent over many months and know the law have the most success. Not all negative items can be removed.

• Initial consultation: an assessment of your credit report to find inaccuracies and areas for improvement. You get the full strategy before we start, then a monthly review.
• Disputes: we file disputes with the 3 credit bureaus and with creditors for incorrect items.
• Negotiations: we work with creditors to remove or modify negative information where possible.
• Credit education: guidance on how to build and maintain good credit.

Two laws control the credit repair process. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs how credit information is reported and disputed. The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) protects consumers from deceptive practices by requiring transparency and setting limits on fees.

• Pull your credit reports. The Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles you to a free credit report from each bureau every 12 months at AnnualCreditReport.com. Get all three (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), because lenders do not always report to all three and rarely say which bureau they will use.
• Go through your reports line by line and make sure all account information is accurate. We do this in our consultation.
• Dispute any errors with the credit bureau in question, or hire a professional like Credit Repair USA.

A good credit repair company explains exactly what it can and cannot do for you, and never guarantees specific results like “a perfect credit score in 30 days.”

Pay bills on time, reduce debts, avoid opening unnecessary accounts, and regularly check your credit reports for accuracy.

Better credit scores can lead to better loan terms, lower interest rates, higher chances of approval, and job approval. Good habits built during credit repair lead to lasting financial health.

There are three major types of student loan relief: cancellation, discharge, and forgiveness.

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness: for full-time government or non-profit employees who made qualified payments for at least 10 years.
• Teacher Loan Forgiveness: educators who taught for five consecutive academic years in low-income schools or educational service agencies may be eligible for up to $17,500 on Direct or FFEL Program loans.
• Closed School Discharge: if your school closed while you attended or soon after.
• Total and Permanent Disability Discharge.
• Discharge due to death of the borrower or student.
• Discharge in bankruptcy: rare, not automatic, and requires further action.
• Borrower Defense to Repayment: if the school failed the student with respect to the loan funds. Federal loans only, case by case.
• False Certification Discharge: if the school falsely certified you for a federal student loan.
• Unpaid Refund Discharge: if you withdrew and the school did not refund the loan servicer.
• Parent borrowers: if a parent took the loan and any of the above conditions apply, the parent and child may be eligible.