Unfortunately every profession has it's share of people who give the profession a bad name.  There are immoral teachers, attorneys, real estate agents, investment brokers, etc.  The credit repair industry is no different.  While there are some very good practitioners, we always seem to hear about the bad ones.  If you find yourself in need of professional assistance repairing your credit just be sure to do a little research.  You can start by calling your State Attorney General to see if they have received complaints.  As far as being able to repair your credit on your own, it's certainly possible.  However, this is the area where many people get into trouble.  There is an abundance of people offering books, advice, form letters etc. that you cand send to credit agencies yourself.  Most of these form letters are immediately recognized by credit agencies as such and dismissed.  Unless you have the time and expertise, sometimes it is well worth it to hire a knowledgable and competent professional. 

Hello,

Like The Debt Doctor mentioned there are people who give certain industries bad names. The credit repair or restoration business is no different. I am president of a company who has a credit repair division and here are a couple of pointers in selecting a good Credit Repair company:

They should present you with a written contract along with the "Credit Repair Organizations Act" (http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/croa/croa.shtm). This outlines all guidelines that the FTC governs .
Look for a company who does not collect upfront fees for credit repair services.
Always a  money back guarantee
At this time I dont know of a website to rank credit repair companies or information on them but with due diligence you should be able to find a good one.
The number 1 question we do get is "Can't I do this myself?". Well the answer is yes. You can do it yourself but you could also do your own landscaping, invest your own money, or even change your car's oil. But when it comes down to results a good Credit Repair company will maximize results with way less stress for you.

Like I mentioned before I own and operate a credit repair company called Pinnacle Financial. If I could answer any other questions or provide my service please let me know.

I hope this helps.

Pinnacle Financial