Everything you're about to ask — answered first.
Straight answers about how Fix My Reports works, what it costs, and what you're actually agreeing to.
What exactly is Fix My Reports?+
A DIY software platform. You connect your own credit monitoring account, the platform analyzes your three-bureau report for items worth disputing, and it drafts the letters — but you decide what to dispute, you sign every letter, and you mail every letter yourself. We never contact a bureau or furnisher on your behalf. That's not a limitation we're apologizing for — it's the whole point. It's what keeps this a piece of software you use, not a credit repair company acting for you.
Is this the same as hiring a credit repair company?+
No, and that distinction matters legally, not just semantically. Credit repair organizations sign and send disputes for you. Fix My Reports gives you the tools to do it yourself — you review each letter, you sign it, you mail it. Because of that, we're not operating as a credit repair organization under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), the way a full-service company would be.
How is this different from other DIY credit tools?+
Most platforms in this space — including us — pull from the same underlying credit bureau data and follow the same basic dispute mechanics required by the FCRA. Where platforms actually differ is in the details: how the letters are drafted, how clearly you're walked through the process, how transparent the pricing is, and whether the platform is trying to look like something it's not. We'd rather be upfront: this is a tool that puts the work in your hands, not a shortcut around it.
Do I need a SmartCredit account?+
Yes — a separate SmartCredit membership (currently $29.95/mo after a 7-day trial) is required to pull your three-bureau report. That's a subscription you hold directly with SmartCredit, billed by them, not by us. We use it to retrieve your report data through their secure API; we never see or store your SmartCredit password.
How much does it cost?+
$1 for a 7-day trial, then $50/month if you don't cancel — separate from your SmartCredit subscription. Month-to-month, no long-term contract, cancel anytime from your billing page.
Can I cancel anytime?+
Yes, with no penalty, from the billing page in your portal. You also have a statutory 3-business-day right to cancel after signing up, per the Credit Repair Organizations Act disclosure you're given at signup. Cancelling Fix My Reports doesn't cancel your separate SmartCredit subscription — that's a different provider, different cancellation.
What can I actually dispute?+
Tradelines, collections, inquiries, and personal information errors (wrong name, address, or employment history) across all three bureaus. Each letter covers up to 5 items per round, and your report refreshes roughly every 45 days so you can see what changed and plan the next round.
Will this guarantee a specific score increase or item removal?+
No, and be skeptical of any platform that claims otherwise. No software — ours or anyone else's — can force a bureau to remove accurate information. What the platform can do is help you identify likely inaccuracies, generate a properly formatted letter, and track what happens when you send it. Results depend on the bureau's and furnisher's response, which is outside any software's control.
Do I have to mail letters myself?+
Yes. You print, sign, and mail each letter — we recommend USPS Certified Mail with Return Receipt so you have proof of delivery and a paper trail if a bureau misses its response deadline. This step matters: under the FCRA, a letter has to come from you to carry full legal weight.
What if a dispute doesn't work?+
Multiple rounds are normal — first-round success rates on any dispute platform are limited by design, since a bureau or furnisher only has to remove something if it's genuinely inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable. If an item doesn't come off after your first letter, the platform helps you plan the next round based on the response you got back.
Why do my scores look different across bureaus or tools?+
Two things are usually going on. First, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion don't always have identical data — a creditor might report to two bureaus but not the third, so the same account can look different across your three reports. Second, there are different scoring models: FICO and VantageScore use different formulas, so a 710 on one and a 680 on the other isn't a drop — it's just two different scales measuring the same file. Think Fahrenheit versus Celsius, not good versus bad.
My score dropped and I don't know why — should I worry?+
Not necessarily. Scores move around for reasons that have nothing to do with your disputes: a normal swing in card utilization, checking your score through a different source than usual, or accounts sitting in dispute status while a bureau investigates. A drop of 40+ points is worth a closer look — usually tied to a new negative mark, a maxed-out card, or an older account aging off your file — but smaller day-to-day movement is normal and not something disputing caused.
I didn't hear back after my first round of letters — what now?+
That's normal, not a sign anything went wrong. Bureaus have 30 days to respond once your letter is received, and it often takes more than one round to resolve an item — the response to round one tells you what to say in round two. Your report refreshes roughly every 45 days specifically so you can see what changed and plan the next round based on real information instead of guessing.
What if an item still won't come off after several rounds?+
The legal standard doesn't change round to round: a bureau or furnisher only has to remove something if it's inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable. If they've verified an item is being reported correctly after a real investigation, that's the process working as intended, not a platform failing you — no software, ours included, can force the removal of something that's actually accurate. At that point, if there's a balance involved, it's worth looking into whether paying or settling it would help under the specific scoring model a lender uses, since some newer models ignore paid collections entirely.
Is my information safe?+
Your account records are isolated per-user with row-level security, uploaded documents (ID, proof of address) live in a private storage bucket scoped to your account, and everything sensitive is encrypted in transit. We don't sell your data, and we only share it with a bureau or furnisher when you personally sign and send a letter naming them.
Still have a question?
Email us at info@fixmyreports.com, or read the fine print in our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.