Honest expectations, no hype
Every credit situation is different. Someone with 3 collections from the same medical visit will see different results than someone with a paid charge-off from 6 years ago. I'm going to walk you through what's typical, what's possible, and what factors affect your specific outcome.
No credit repair company can legally guarantee results — that's federal law under CROA. What I can tell you is how the process works and what kinds of improvements we commonly see.
Typical Score Improvements by Timeline
First results start appearing. Unverifiable items and obvious errors are the first to go. Clients typically see initial movement of 20–40 points if items are removed.
By now we've sent disputes to all bureaus, challenged furnishers directly, and sent debt validation letters. This is where the biggest jumps happen — results vary based on individual credit profiles and dispute outcomes.
Stubborn items, re-verifications, and escalation disputes happen here. Combined with credit builder strategies, many clients cross the 700 threshold during this phase.
Types of Items I Successfully Dispute
Collections
Medical collections, credit card collections, utility collections — these are the most commonly disputed items. Many collection agencies can't produce the original documentation when challenged with a debt validation request under the FDCPA.
Late Payments
A single 30-day late payment can drop your score 80+ points. I dispute late payment records that have reporting errors — wrong dates, duplicate entries, or payments that were actually made on time but reported incorrectly.
Charge-Offs
A charge-off means the original creditor gave up trying to collect. These stay on your report for 7 years, but they're often full of Metro 2 reporting errors — wrong balance, wrong date of first delinquency, missing payment history. Every error is a dispute opportunity.
Hard Inquiries
Unauthorized inquiries — hard pulls you didn't consent to — can be removed. Each inquiry can cost 5–10 points and they stack up fast. I identify which inquiries were unauthorized and dispute them directly with the bureaus.
Public Records & Identity Theft Items
Bankruptcies with reporting errors, tax liens that have been paid, civil judgments that shouldn't be on your report, and any accounts opened by identity thieves. Identity theft items especially have a high removal rate because the FCRA requires swift action once fraud is documented.
Why Results Vary — and Why That's Okay
I want to be straight with you: not every item gets removed. Accurate negative information that's properly reported and verifiable will likely stay on your report until it ages off. That's how the law works, and any company telling you otherwise is lying.
What moves the needle is finding the items that shouldn't be there — or that are being reported incorrectly. Factors that affect your results:
- •Number of negative items — More items means more dispute opportunities, but also a longer repair timeline
- •Age of accounts — Older negative items are often harder for furnishers to verify, which works in your favor
- •Type of creditor — Major banks have better record-keeping than small collection agencies. Collections from smaller agencies have higher removal rates
- •Reporting errors — Items with Metro 2 compliance violations, wrong dates, or incorrect balances are the easiest to dispute
- •Your current score — Removing an item from a 520 score has a bigger point impact than removing the same item from a 640
The best way to know what's possible for your specific situation? Get a free analysis. I'll pull your report, identify every disputable item, and give you a realistic picture of what to expect.
Want to See What's Possible for Your Credit?
Your free credit analysis shows exactly which items can be disputed and what kind of improvement is realistic. No commitment, no charge.