I picked a DIY credit repair over hiring a lawyer and I'm glad I did

Back in March I had two collections on my report from a old medical bill in Austin. Everyone on here kept saying to get a lawyer for the FCRA violations but I decided to try the DIY route first. I spent about 6 hours reading the credit reporting guides and sent out my own dispute letters with return receipts. After 3 months one collection fell off completely and the other one got reduced. It was slow work but I saved myself probably $800 in lawyer fees. Has anyone else here gone the DIY route and seen it work long term?

3 comments

3 Comments

keith2743d ago

Respectfully, I think you might've gotten lucky more than anything. Dispute letters work sometimes but they're basically a crapshoot. Lawyers actually know the law and can make them take you seriously or even get you paid from the FCRA stuff. $800 saved feels good now but one lawsuit check could've covered that ten times over.

logan_wood3d agoProlific Poster

Wait, hold up - $800 saved is nothing to sneeze at? That's literally what a lot of people live on for a month or two. I'm shocked you'd say that like it's pocket change. Most folks can't just drop that kind of money on a lawyer and hope it pays off later. And yeah, I get that some people win big with FCRA lawsuits but that's like telling someone not to take a guaranteed $800 because they MIGHT win the lottery later. That doesn't make sense to me at all.

tessap733d ago

Yeah, I definitely get what you're saying about luck being a factor here. But honestly, even if it was just chance that things worked out, saving $800 in lawyer fees is nothing to sneeze at. I've seen too many stories where people paid a lawyer and the lawyer blew it or dragged things out for months with no real result. So for me, @keith274, I'd rather take a small win and keep my money than gamble on a big payout that might never come. Plus you learned the process yourself, which is way more valuable than just paying someone to fix it.