Your free credit report shows a late payment you know was real, and maybe one you're sure is wrong. Then an ad, a text or a friend sends you to a company that promises to "clean up" your report for a monthly fee. It sounds like help. Before you pay or sign anything, it helps to know what anyone can legally do about each mark.
No one, including a credit repair company, has the right to remove accurate, current information from your credit report, and you can dispute real errors yourself, for free.
What can a credit repair company legally do for me?
Example: On Monday, March 2, 2026, Elena opens her free credit report. It shows two late payments on her card. One is accurate: she paid late in 2025. The other is wrong: her bank statement shows she paid that month on time. That day, a company offers to remove both and wants its first monthly fee up front.
- The accurate late payment can stay. Before she signs, the company must give her a written statement of her rights. It says neither she nor any such company "has the right to have accurate, current, and verifiable information removed from your credit report." A bureau can report most negative information for seven years.
- The wrong one is an error she can dispute herself, for free, with each bureau that shows it and the card company, using her bank statement as proof. If the item proves wrong or can't be verified, the bureau must correct or remove it.
- The upfront fee breaks the law. The company can't charge until it has fully performed the services it promised. It also owes Elena a written contract she can cancel without penalty before midnight of the third business day after signing. If she signs Monday, that's Thursday, March 5 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday).
So the company can't legally get the accurate mark removed; for the wrong one, it would send the dispute Elena can send herself.
How do I spot a credit repair scam?
The FTC lists these signs of a credit repair scam. Walk away from anyone who:
- insists you pay before they help you
- tells you not to contact the credit bureaus yourself
- tells you to dispute information you know is accurate, or to lie on a credit or loan application
- tells you to file a false identity theft report, which the FTC calls a crime that could bring a fine, prison or both
- doesn't explain your legal rights
- promises a "new credit identity"
CPNs ("credit privacy numbers") are marketed as a way to get one. Federal prosecutors call them "actually stolen Social Security Numbers." If you use a number other than your own to apply for credit, the FTC says, you won't get it, and you could face fines or prison.
11 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Credit covers eight scams in more detail, and myths about carrying a balance, checking your score and closing old cards.
What can I do today?
- If a company wants money before it finishes its work, or offers a new credit identity: don't pay. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Otherwise: get your free report from one bureau at AnnualCreditReport.com; each bureau offers one free every week. Next to each late payment or collection, write "accurate" or "wrong." Only the wrong ones should be disputed, and you can do that yourself, for free.
Which late payment should you dispute?
Your report shows two late payments: one you really paid late, and one you paid on time. Which should you dispute?
- A. Both, through a credit repair company
- B. Only the one you paid on time, yourself, for free ✅
- C. Both, yourself
Why: dispute only what's inaccurate, and you can do it yourself for free; no one has the right to have accurate, current information removed, whoever sends the dispute.
Where do these facts come from?
- FTC — "Fixing Your Credit FAQs" (November 2023), https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/fixing-your-credit-faqs; "Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports" (April 2024), https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/disputing-errors-your-credit-reports; consumer alert "Influencers are pushing this illegal trick to 'fix' your credit report" (January 5, 2026), https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2026/01/influencers-are-pushing-illegal-trick-fix-your-credit-report · Verified 2026-10-17
- United States Code, 2024 edition (govinfo.gov) — Credit Repair Organizations Act, 15 U.S.C. §1679b, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-A-sec1679b.htm; §1679c, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-A-sec1679c.htm; §1679d, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-A-sec1679d.htm; §1679e, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapII-A-sec1679e.htm; Fair Credit Reporting Act §611, 15 U.S.C. §1681i, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title15/html/USCODE-2024-title15-chap41-subchapIII-sec1681i.htm · Verified 2026-10-17
- CFPB — "How long does information stay on my credit report?" (last reviewed September 2, 2026), https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-long-does-information-stay-on-my-credit-report-en-323/; "What is the difference between credit counseling and debt settlement, debt consolidation, or credit repair?" (last reviewed May 15, 2024), https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-the-difference-between-credit-counseling-and-debt-settlement-debt-consolidation-or-credit-repair-en-1449/ · Verified 2026-10-17
- Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General — "Oklahoma Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Use of Credit Profile Numbers" (November 2, 2018). https://oig.ssa.gov/news-releases/2018-11-02-audits-and-investigations-investigations-oct23-oklahoma-cpns/ · Verified 2026-10-17