Fixing a credit report can be a long and tedious task for anybody to do. Of course you never find out about things on there until you are ready to get approved on financing for something. It always happens when you least expect it. Worst of all is that it could be a little bit embarrassing too. When your credit is pulled it is usually done from the top three reporting companies. When you look at it you will be able to contact each bureau and start asking about each account.
The first place you should head to is the credit reporting companies themselves. Equifax is the biggest and most popular. There is a strong chance that if anything is showing it is with them. To be able to work with them you will have to purchase a credit report from them. On the report it will tell you what accounts are putting a negative mark on it. Your discrepancy might only be showing up with Equifax and it might be the only place you go.
The next place to try would be at My Fico. They work with all three credit bureaus. When you decide to go with them you might have to pay a little bit more to do so as they are going to contact all of the accounts outstanding on your report and do the work for you. After obtaining the account numbers they will inform you of who you need to pay to close or cancel out an account. After you pay the bill, My Fico will forward the info to Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union on your behalf.
If you want to not only get your credit report cleaned up but have your accounts in question reduced to a lower balance or zeroed out completely then you should call Lexington Law. This is a law firm who specializes in helping people clean up their credit reports and also negotiate lower balances for their clients. You will probably pay a little more to work for them but in turn you could pay less to your debtors and let them do all the work. When all accounts are settled, they will forward the statements to the credit bureaus for you.
If you plan on cleaning up your credit report then take the time to start with the three companies above. They are all very good at what they do. The further down the list you go the more expensive it might be. With the end goal to clean up your credit it might sound costly now but paying higher rates on other things you want to buy might be costlier with bad credit.