Credit Repair

If errors, inaccurate reporting, or outdated negative items are dragging down your credit score, you may have more options than you think — including the right to sue the creditors and bureaus responsible. At Texas Debt Defense, our credit repair attorneys dispute inaccuracies, remove illegal negative items, and take legal action when creditors violate your federal rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

We are licensed attorneys — not a credit repair company. That distinction matters. We can do things no credit repair company is legally allowed to do, including file lawsuits against creditors who report false information and collect damages on your behalf.

Credit Repair Attorney vs. Credit Repair Company — What’s the Difference?

Thousands of Texans pay monthly fees to credit repair companies and get results they could have gotten for free — or worse, no results at all. Here is what separates an attorney from a credit repair service:

If your credit report has errors that a creditor refuses to correct, only an attorney can take them to federal court and make them pay. Credit repair companies cannot do this — they can only send dispute letters.

What Negative Items Can Be Removed from Your Credit Report?

Not everything on your credit report is permanent or accurate. Under the FCRA, you have the right to dispute and potentially remove:

• Inaccurate account information — wrong balances, incorrect payment status, accounts that are not yours
• Outdated negative items — most negative items must be removed after 7 years (bankruptcies after 10 years)
• Duplicate accounts — the same debt reported multiple times by original creditor and debt buyer
• Accounts after discharge — debts discharged in bankruptcy that still show a balance owed
• Paid collections still showing as unpaid — a common creditor error
• Charge-offs with wrong dates — creditors manipulate the original delinquency date to extend reporting periods
• Identity theft accounts — accounts opened fraudulently in your name
• Medical debt errors — since 2023, paid medical collections under $500 must be removed from reports
• Re-aged debts — illegal practice of resetting the clock on old debts to extend their reporting life

What cannot be removed: accurate, verifiable negative information that is still within its legal reporting window. Any company that promises to remove accurate items is making an illegal promise. We will tell you honestly what is disputable and what is not.

Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The FCRA is the federal law that governs your credit report and gives you enforceable rights against credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) and the creditors who furnish information to them.

Your Key FCRA Rights

• Right to dispute. You can dispute any item on your credit report you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. The bureau has 30 days to investigate.
• Right to accurate reporting. Creditors who furnish information have a legal duty to report accurately. Reporting false information is a federal violation.
• Right to investigation. After you dispute, the bureau must contact the furnisher. If the furnisher cannot verify the item, it must be removed.
• Right to sue. If a bureau or creditor violates the FCRA, you can sue them in federal court for actual damages, up to $1,000 in statutory damages, and attorney fees — paid by the violator.
• Right to a free report. You are entitled to one free credit report per bureau per year at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Texas Law Adds Additional Protection

The Texas Business and Commerce Code mirrors the FCRA and provides additional state-level remedies. The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) can also apply to certain credit reporting abuses, allowing for additional damages including mental anguish and punitive awards for willful violations.

How the Credit Repair Process Works

When you work with Texas Debt Defense on a credit repair matter, here is what happens:

1. Free consultation and report review. We pull your credit reports from all three bureaus and identify every disputable item — inaccuracies, outdated entries, and violations.
2. Strategic dispute letters. We draft attorney dispute letters — not template letters — addressed to the specific bureau and creditor responsible. Attorney letters carry more weight than consumer disputes and are harder to rubber-stamp as “verified.”
3. 30-day investigation window. The bureau has 30 days to investigate. Creditors who cannot verify the information must remove the item. We track every response and follow up aggressively.
4. Escalation when bureaus fail to investigate properly. If a bureau conducts a sham investigation or a creditor continues to report false information after notice, we escalate to a federal lawsuit.
5. FCRA litigation when warranted. We sue creditors and bureaus who violate the FCRA. These cases often settle quickly once a defendant understands they face up to $1,000 per violation in statutory damages plus all our attorney fees.
6. Credit score monitoring and follow-through. We monitor your reports to confirm items are removed and do not reappear — re-insertion without notice is itself an FCRA violation.

When We Sue Creditors and Credit Bureaus

If a dispute results in a creditor or bureau stonewalling, reporting false information after receiving notice, or failing to conduct a reasonable investigation, we take legal action. Under the FCRA, damages available to you include:

• Actual damages — financial harm caused by the inaccurate report (loan denials, higher interest rates, lost employment opportunities)
• Statutory damages — up to $1,000 per violation, even without proving specific financial harm
• Punitive damages — for willful violations, courts can award additional amounts to punish the creditor
• Attorney fees and costs — paid by the creditor or bureau that violated the law

We handle FCRA litigation on contingency in appropriate cases. You pay nothing unless we recover.

Common Credit Report Errors We Fix

After reviewing thousands of Texas credit reports, these are the most common errors we find and dispute:

• Accounts belonging to a family member with a similar name reported on your file (mixed files)
• Debt buyer reporting a collection account while the original creditor still reports the same debt (duplicate)
• Settled accounts showing a balance remaining
• Bankruptcy discharged accounts still showing “open” or “owed”
• Late payments reported inaccurately on accounts that were paid on time
• Student loan servicer reporting multiple 90-day lates during a single period of deferment
• Identity theft accounts from synthetic fraud or data breaches
• Repossession with incorrect deficiency balance amount

Credit Repair Attorneys Serving All of Texas

Texas Debt Defense represents credit repair clients throughout the state from offices in Houston, Austin, and Dallas:

• Houston and Harris County — our primary office, serving the entire Houston metropolitan area including Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland, and Pasadena
• Austin and Travis County — serving Austin, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Georgetown, and San Marcos
• Dallas-Fort Worth — serving Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Arlington, Irving, and Frisco
• San Antonio — Bexar County and surrounding areas
• Statewide — we handle Texas FCRA cases anywhere in the state

About Our Credit Repair Attorneys

This page was written and reviewed by Finis Cowan, Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, LL.M., and a former CPA with over 30 years of experience in debt defense and consumer protection litigation. Mr. Cowan holds an AV Preeminent 5.0 rating from Martindale-Hubbell — the highest peer rating available for legal ability and ethical standards.

Texas Debt Defense handles only debt defense matters — credit repair, collection lawsuits, creditor harassment, and wage garnishment. This focus means every attorney at our firm has deep, current expertise in the exact laws that protect you.

Ready to fix your credit? Call us at 832-501-0966 or use the form below for a free consultation. We will pull your reports, identify every disputable item, and tell you exactly what we can do.

Frequently Asked Questions About Credit Repair in Texas