Nobody can remove negative information that is accurate from your credit report. No company has a "secret" ability to remove all negative information.

But this doesn't stop their claims. This deceptive quote is from a credit repair company brochure: "Charged-off accounts, collection accounts, judgments, tax liens, repossessions, and even bankruptcies can be removed from your credit records in less than one year (five to seven month average). "

One tactic is to bombard credit reporting agencies with requests to verify information. If a credit reporting agency cannot verify an entry within 30 to 60 days, it will remove the information from the report. But if the information is later verified to be accurate, it will go back in the report.

Before you even consider signing a contract with a company that promises to repair your credit, remember these facts:

You may obtain a copy of your credit report on your own.

You have the right to dispute entries in your credit report.

Beware guaranteed credit offers!

Credit repair and other companies often claim they "guarantee" to get you a credit card, regardless of your credit history. In fact, these companies do not always honor their guarantee. Sometimes, they'll just take your money and run--you will not get any credit, regardless of what they promised.

If they get you a card at all it often will be a "secured" bank credit card, with high up-front "application" fees, that requires you to deposit and keep several hundred dollars in a savings account, or a card that only allows you to buy items in a catalogue from a business that you probably never heard of. (

Credit repair companies often advertise on television, in newspapers and even on matchbooks. Sometimes they require consumers to dial a "900" telephone number to get more information. Calls to 900 numbers can cost $2 or $3 a minute, so listening to a few minutes of information about the cards can be expensive.

Some companies try to get people a credit card by having them apply using financial information of other people with good credit histories. It is a criminal act to apply for credit under someone else's name--do not do business with one of these companies.

Law enforcement agencies have shut down many credit repair outfits, but it is hard to stop a fraudulent credit repair outfit unless people complain about it. Therefore, be careful about responding to credit repair ads and be sure to complain to the appropriate agency if you think a credit repair company took advantage of you.

For more information :  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) publishes information for consumers on the subject of credit and enforces federal laws on credit. For a list of free publications, write to the FTC's Public Reference Department at the address given below. While the FTC does not handle individual cases, it can act when it sees a pattern of possible law violations develop. Complaints about credit reporting agencies and credit repair scams must be in writing. Send them to: FTC Credit Practices Division, 6th St. , N. W. , Washington, DC 20580.