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Many of the companies which you will find online will claims to be able to totally eliminate bad entries on your credit report or that they can build a completely new credit report identity within a matter of weeks.  They may even claim to be able to eliminate records of bankruptcies, judgments or liens filed against you.  While these claims sound wonderful, in fact you should avoid companies which make such claims. 

The law only provides for the removal of information which can not be proved to be true.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has repeatedly warned that credit repair work should be done by the individual, and you should not be trying to hire someone to help negative entries go away.  

 The FTC is particularly vocal against professional credit repair agencies which participate in any of the following activities. 

 REQUIRE PAYMENT IN ADVANCE
Certainly, you will want to stay away from any credit repair businesses which demand an upfront fee before they will provide any work for you.  The services of a professional credit repair company come at a price, but that price should be based on results, not on time spent, and definitely not paid in advance.  

NON DISCLOSURE
Do not agree to have dealings with a credit repair organization that doesn't give you a full description of what your rights under the law are.  For example, avoid a repair agency that doesn't want you to contact the credit bureau, because you'll not understand the technical things that the company is doing. It is vital for you to know and understand exactly what is happening on your credit report.  

NEW IDENTITY
These credit repair companies should never be taken at face value.  Using an false identify  in order to acquire credit or loans or to make purchase is illegal and you could be prosecuted  for a crime in federal court.   

The benefits of using a reputable credit repair agency is that you have a professional and knowledgeable counselor who will be able to review your credit file with you and based on the information which you provide, will be able to contact the credit bureaus to force them to review and remove information which cannot be proven.  This process make take some time to accomplish, but federal law provides for a limited time in which the creditor must either back up the entry or it must be removed permanently from the file.  Usually this time period is about 30 days. 

The advantage of using the professional agency is that they take the time-keeping and record keeping duties off you and allow you to on about your day-to-day life.  In addition, the professional agencies know just which types of letters and responses to send in which situations.  That is not to say you couldn't learn how to do the same thing, just that it might take even more of your time to accomplish the task.