Repairing My Credit

[racqueld]

Hello, I am new to the credit repair forums. I have tried for months to clean up my credit on my own, and I am at the point where I would pay someone to just do the work for me. I have been doing some reading on the forums and I am finding that it is easy to do it on my own and possible cheaper.

What I need to know and understand is a few things:
1) How do I go about getting items removed from my credit report whether or not they are mine?
2) If I pay a collection agency for an account because it is charged off, how can I get them to remove the account from my credit report? If they do agree to remove the account, will it help my score?
3) With todays economy are CRA's willing to accept a settlement and still remove the account completely from credit report?
4) What is the best way to clear up my credit and increase my score?

Thank you!

[Trish]

Welcome.
This is the best place to start.
Introduction to Credit Repair