With so many new and inexperienced credit repair providers coming onto the scene, many of which are simply turnkey businesses using third party software to power their service, it becomes difficult to determine who you can trust with your credit reports. Here are three tips for spotting a quality credit repair company.

The credit repair industry can be a frightening place. With the number of news articles, TV segments, and opinion pieces cautioning against credit repair scams that get published by well regarded media outlets, it can look like the best option is to avoid credit repair companies entirely - something the news outlets seem to support.

Considering how your credit rating factors in accomplishing so many New Year's resolutions, it makes sense to focus on this one factor before moving to other goals. Then, if you are able to use credit repair to increase your credit score, you will already have a good start on accomplishing New Year's resolutions this year and years to come.

Charge offs can take a serious toll on your credit score, so much so that a single charge off could result in denial of credit. If you are looking to increase your credit score, it is worth looking into the steps you can take in an attempt to remove a charge off from your credit file.

Collections can take a serious toll on your credit score, with higher collection amounts taking a large toll than smaller amounts. If you are looking to increase your credit score, it is certainly worth looking into the things you can do in an attempt to remove collections from your credit reports.

Late payments can take a serious toll on your credit rating, especially if payments are reported to be of 90 days late or more. If you are looking to increase your credit score, it's worth it to look into the things you can do in an attempt to remove late payments from your credit reports.

The Credit Repair Organizations Act has established rules credit repair companies must adhere to that you can use to help select a legitimate credit repair company and avoid being victimized by a credit repair scam.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act was created to protect your right to fair credit reporting, but it is still up to you to work toward that end. When working to fix your credit by disputing questionable items in your credit reports, you are enforcing this right.

You have the ability to add a 100 word statement to your credit file to explain the circumstances behind any negative listings. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that this one-hundred word statement will do anything to help you get a loan and there is zero chance that it will improve your credit score.

There are a few simple things you may be able to do to add points to your credit score which could produce big returns for a small amount of effort. But if your credit needs a larger fix, it's going to take more than a quick credit fix.