Scouring the Internet this morning, I found our name and data from our 2004 report on credit bureau errors Mistakes Do Happen in two recent PR news releases from two separate firms claiming NOT to be illegal credit repair doctors -- one from Lexington Law Firm and another from something called NACRA.

We are not connected with either of these firms and would never urge you to give your money (hundreds of dollars!) to a company that claims it can eliminate bad credit, even ones that claim to do "legal" credit repair. You can fix mistakes yourself. You can eliminate identity theft and fraud accounts yourself. But your own bad credit can only go away over time. Keep your current bills timely. Pay down your credit cards so you aren't maxed out. But don't waste your money on credit repair. More from the FTC.

Anytime a firm claims not to be an "illegal" credit doctor, but makes promises to fix bad credit for large amounts of cash, use your head. if your efforts to fix false or inaccurate negative information on your credit report fail, we recommend you talk instead with an attorney who specializes in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as one from the National Association of Consumer Advocates.