Credit repair companies are notorious RIPOFFS. I wouldn't use one for anything. You're just wasting money you can be using to save for a down payment or to pay off bills. You can find credit counseling companies who do not ask for money, who can help you. Your local housing authority (HUD), or your local CAP (Community Action) agency can help you locate one.
I had a credit score of 590 and I had five credit cards with a combined balance owed of about $5K. They were all pretty much maxed out. I paid them all off because I am trying to get an equity loan and this is what my loan officer recommended. My MIDDLE credit score, one month later, is 652!! SIXTY points just by paying off my credit cards.
I have a bankruptcy that is three years old.
By the way, Credit Karma is NOT NOT NOT an accurate representation of your credit score. I have my scores from the loan officer who sent me a copy of my credit report. CK has my score at 612 and my middle score now is 652. A much more accurate measure of your credit, within 10 points of less, is Identity Vault. I looked them up and they are one of the top rated credit monitoring services. I paid the $1 trial fee, got my scores because I was too anxious to wait to hear from the loan officer, then canceled the service within a week after I opened it and was not charged another penny because it was during the trial period.
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