The 24 most common questions new clients ask — pulled from real conversations with our team. Read through before reaching out. Chances are, the answer is right here.
6 Q's Before you enroll and during your first week. How long it takes, what we're doing, and what's actually required from you.
Most clients see meaningful movement within 60–90 days, with continued improvement over 3–6 months as we work through multiple dispute rounds. The exact timeline depends on how many negative items are on your file, which bureaus are reporting them, and how aggressively the furnishers push back.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, each dispute round has a statutory 30-day response window (§1681i), so the clock runs on a predictable rhythm. We don't guess — we work the legal calendar.
Yes — fully. Your right to dispute inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information on your credit report is protected under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA, 15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.). We operate under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and enforce your statutory rights more aggressively than you can alone.
We don't manufacture disputes or hide accurate information. We identify genuine inaccuracies, reporting violations, and verification failures — then force the bureaus and furnishers to fix or delete them under the law. Everything we do is documented and compliant.
Onboarding is a single step: activate your SmartCredit account. That gives us the full 3-bureau picture we work from. No separate logins at Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion needed.
Here's the hard timeline after setup:
We move fast on purpose. The sooner the first round is out, the sooner the FCRA clock starts running.
Our team audits your full 3-bureau report field-by-field (in the Metro 2 format the bureaus use) and flags every negative item that's inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable, or reported in a way that violates the FCRA.
That includes late payments, collections, charge-offs, public records (bankruptcies, judgments, tax liens), repossessions, and derogatory marks where the reporting is questionable or outdated. We don't touch accurate positive items — those are helping your score and we leave them alone.
No. Our methodology is certified-mail disputes filed directly with each bureau — we don't rely on bureau-facing online accounts, and we don't use online dispute portals (which are routed through the weaker e-OSCAR system).
All you need is your SmartCredit account, which gives us the full 3-bureau picture we work from. One login, complete visibility, cleaner strategy.
Log into your SmartCredit account (the one you activated during onboarding) — it shows all three bureau scores and updates as items change on your report. You can view current scores, dispute status, and a breakdown of what's driving your number.
Our team also pulls fresh reports from SmartCredit at each dispute round to track progress. You'll see the same data we see, in real time.
6 Q's What's happening inside every round. Certified mail, Method of Verification challenges, furnisher escalation — and what to do with anything you receive in the mail.
Online disputes get routed through an automated bureau system called e-OSCAR. It's built for speed, not accuracy — most online disputes get auto-coded, rubber-stamped "verified," and sent back in a few days with zero meaningful review.
Certified-mail disputes force a different path: each letter is date-stamped, signature-tracked, and legally presumed received. Bureaus have 30 days under FCRA §1681i to reinvestigate — and the paper trail makes willful violations provable if they miss the deadline or cut corners. It's slower than online clicks, but the leverage is on another level.
The fastest way: open our mobile app or Client Portal, go to the Documents section, and upload a photo or scan of every envelope you receive from Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, or any collector or creditor.
Upload the day the mail arrives so we can fold it into your next dispute round immediately. Do not email or text scanned mail — always submit through the portal for security and proper case documentation.
Updates follow the dispute cycle:
You can also check your Client Portal anytime for real-time file status and message our team directly through it.
Verification isn't a dead end — it's the starting line for Round 2. Most bureaus "verify" disputes using the automated e-OSCAR system that can't actually produce the documents they claim to have reviewed.
Round 2 is a Method of Verification challenge under FCRA §1681i(a)(6)(B) — we force the bureau to disclose exactly how they verified each item, who they contacted, and what documentation they reviewed. Most can't produce it. That's the next wave of deletions.
If Round 2 doesn't resolve an item, Round 3 goes directly at the furnisher under §623(b) — different legal standard, different leverage. We don't stop until your file is clean or every legal angle is exhausted.
Delivery varies — some clients get letters in week 3, some in week 5. USPS delays and bureau processing times play a role.
If it's been 35+ days with no mail, message us through the portal and our team will verify delivery via the certified-mail tracking numbers on our end (every letter we send is trackable). If a bureau missed the statutory deadline, that's a separate violation we can leverage.
Yes. If new items show up after enrollment — or if you remembered something that wasn't caught during intake — message us through the Client Portal and we'll fold them into your next dispute round.
For items outside the scope of your current package, we offer per-item disputes here: creditrepairevolved.co/ppd. Our team will tell you what makes sense based on your file.
6 Q's What moves your score while we work, what hurts it, and what to do (and not do) with credit cards, loans, and old debts during the process.
No. The act of disputing does not hurt your credit score. In fact, when inaccurate negative items get deleted, scores typically rise.
You may see minor fluctuations during the process as balances update or hard inquiries age — that's normal and temporary. The overall trajectory is up.
What can hurt your score during this period: new hard inquiries, late payments, closing accounts, or maxing out credit cards. That's why we give every client a clear list of do's and don'ts at enrollment.
Not without checking with us first. This is the single biggest self-inflicted mistake clients make.
A single payment on an old debt can restart the statute of limitations, re-age the tradeline, and legally extend how long it reports on your credit. Some old debts are strategically worth paying; many are not — and some should never be touched.
Rule of thumb: if you didn't open it in the last 6 months and it isn't your mortgage, car, or an active credit card — ask us first.
Generally, no — not without consulting us first. Hard inquiries drag scores, new accounts lower your average account age, and active disputes can temporarily cause lenders to freeze their decisioning.
If you're planning a major financing event (mortgage, auto loan, business funding), message us as early as possible so we can align your dispute timeline with your funding timeline. Strategic credit-builder cards for rebuilding are different — we'll tell you when, which, and why.
Highest-impact actions you can take right now:
If approved: use the card for small monthly charges (gas, subscriptions). Keep the balance under 10% of your limit, and pay the statement balance in full before the due date. Better yet — pay it down to near zero before the statement closes. Utilization is reported based on your statement balance, not your current balance. This one move reports you at near-zero utilization every month regardless of how much you actually used the card.
If denied: no problem. We have other rebuilder paths — authorized user tradelines, secured cards, credit-builder loans, and a few lenders with softer approval criteria. Message us through the portal and we'll match the right path to your file.
Our work focuses on removing what's hurting you — but that's only half the story. Once your file is clean, we transition you into a post-repair strategy session covering:
Clean credit is the foundation. What you do with it is where the real wealth gets built — and we'll show you how to use your new file as leverage.
6 Q's Contact channels, business hours, security, and cancellation. Plus what to do when collectors call or send mail during active disputes.
Fastest methods, in order:
Texts and portal messages are typically answered within 1 business day. Scheduled calls get our full, focused attention — that's why we prefer them for strategy conversations.
Our business hours are Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM PST.
Response standards:
Messages sent after hours or on weekends are handled first thing the next business day.
Do not engage with them until you've talked to our team. One wrong admission on a recorded call — "yes, that's my account" or "I'll pay something this week" — can validate a debt and kill your ability to dispute it.
If a collector calls: politely end the call, note the caller's name, company, and phone number, and message us through your Client Portal. We'll script your response and tell you exactly what to say (or not say) if they call back.
Don't respond or make a payment before talking to us. Photograph or scan the letter and upload it to your Client Portal under Documents.
Collector mail often contains time-sensitive rights disclosures (under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) and sometimes hidden admissions of liability in their statements. Our team reviews every letter and tells you if you need to respond, what to say, and what leverage it just handed us.
Yes. Every client file is stored inside our encrypted Client Portal. Sensitive information (SmartCredit login, SSN, DOB) is submitted only through secure portal forms — never via email, text, DM, or unsecured upload. We don't store credentials in plain-text, and access inside our team is role-restricted.
If anyone on our team asks you for sensitive data through email, text, or social media — that's not us. Report it immediately through the portal.
Yes. Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), you can cancel within 3 business days of signing for any reason and receive a full refund.
After that, our engagement is month-to-month — no long-term lock-in, no cancellation penalty. We'd rather earn your business every month than trap you in a contract.
To cancel, send a message through your Client Portal. Our team will process it within 1 business day and send written confirmation.
For current clients — message us through your Client Portal for the fastest answer. For prospective clients or strategy conversations, book a call below.