Is there such a thing as Do It Yourself Credit Repair?

I need to know about Do It Yourself Credit Repair.

I've been told that there are credit repair companies that can remove all of the bad things from my credit report and raise my scores dramatically...FOR A LARGE FEE!

No company has the ability to remove negative items on you credit report without proof that they are in fact mistakes.

A credit score in the US is a number representing the creditworthiness of a person or the likelihood that this person will pay their debts.

Lenders, like banks and credit card companies, use credit scores to determine if in fact a person should be given a loan and based on the score, what interest rate they will charge.

The most widely used credit score model in the US is FICO or Fair Isaac.

In 2006, the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, introduced VantageScore.

Regardless of which reporting agency is being used, they all use a somewhat similar formula to determine a CREDIT SCORE.

This score is based on:

Payment History (highest weighted percentage)
Credit Utilization (debt-to-credit ratios as well as how much debt is available) This is the 2nd highest weighted percentage.
Current and and Delinquent Balances The total amount you owe relative to your employment/income history plus bad debt will impact your score.
Length of Credit History If you have little or no credit history, it could be a negative to your score until you establish a credit history.
Types of credit used (installment, revolving, consumer finance, mortgage) A variety of types of debt and a good history of management helps.
Recent searches for credit. Credit inquiries that were made yourself (say, to check your credit score), by your employer (to check prior employment history), or by companies initiating prescreened offers of credit or insurance do not have any impact on your credit score.

OK, so what do you do if you see mistakes on your credit report?

You can contest and correct legitimate errors on your credit report by contacting each reporting agency.

You will need one or more of the following: