Credit repair services do not reduce your debt. Debt settlement companies do this by negotiating with the creditors to pay a smaller portion than what you owe. This process often contributes to the increase of negative items on your report. Credit repair services would challenge the questionable items on the report to see if they are meeting the requirements outlined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act for them to continuously be reported. If they aren't or cannot be verified within a reasonable amount of time, then by law, they must be removed.