Finding companies with a legitimate way to repair your credit can lead you down a confusing and misinformed rabbit hole. But what if I told you that you don’t have to deal with this problem alone and that hiring a credit repair company could help your score? In this article, I’ll explain legitimate credit repair companies in more detail and address whether it’s worthwhile.
What is a Credit Repair Company?
It is a company that specializes in helping you raise your credit report and score in exchange for a fee. Usually, you pay this fee once a month while the company takes care of all the important things that affect your credit.
How does Credit Repair Work?
Credit repair involves hiring a business to fix bad credit by removing false or negative information from your credit reports.
A credit repair company works to get this information deleted by disputing the mistakes with the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) and financial institutions, like your bank or a debt collector.
What Exactly Do Legitimate Credit Repair Companies Do?
A credit restoration business seeks to restore your credit profile to zero before focusing on improving it.
There are several ways they can accomplish this, but the following ones are the most common:
#1. Correct Mistakes On Your Credit Report
An FTC study found that approximately 25% of credit reports include mistakes. These mistakes could have a detrimental impact on your credit score.
- Former Employer
- Misspelling of a Name
- Incorrect Balance Displaying Due to Old Residence Address
- Incorrect payoff status
- ‘Accounts that are not yours.”
- Wrong dates Bankruptcy that was not yours
- Debts that ought to have matured
Credit repair companies can help you fix these problems, which will help your credit score.
What to Watch Out For Credit Repair Companies
Services for credit repair are sometimes trustworthy or honest. The CFPB found that more than half of the complaints about credit repair businesses mentioned “fraud or scam.”
Thank goodness consumers are protected. Let’s say you decide to deal with a credit repair company. The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) establishes guidelines for how these businesses must conduct business.
Are there Legitimate Credit Repair Companies?
Indeed, there are. We looked at dozens of businesses to create our ranking of the top credit repair companies. But other companies still need to make the cut. Here are a few examples:
#1. Credit Glory
Credit Glory has the same $99 monthly rate and $100 setup fee as our other top picks. The business does not offer a credit monitoring or dispute tracking service, though. It doesn’t provide any additional discounts.
#2. Credit Repair.Com
CreditRepair.com gives you your credit score, a list of bad things on your credit report, and a plan to fix your credit for free during the first evaluation. However, the company’s website is opaque when it comes to pricing and fees.
#3. Service Credit Trinity
Trinity Credit Services has been in the credit repair industry for more than nine years. On their website, the business does not make clear how much setup and servicing fees will cost. Furthermore, they don’t offer any assurances.
#4. Credit Repair Pyramid
Pyramid Credit Repair has been in business for more than ten years. One of the few credit repair businesses with a cheaper plan for couples and round-the-clock customer service, however, the material on its website is scanty regarding its service plans.
#5. AMB Credit Advisors
Although AMB Credit Consultants has been in operation for more than ten years and provides discounts for couples, there are several issues with its services. One is that a free credit consultation is not provided. You must pay $24.99 for a credit monitoring membership before arranging a consultation. Also, the company tells people not to use AnnualCreditReport.com, the only website approved by the government that lets people get free, accurate credit reports from credit agencies.
How much Does Credit Repair Usually Cost?
Most businesses charge a one-time fee for the first examination and a low-end monthly payment of about $80.
These rates might be higher and in line with our research,
38% of those surveyed who used a credit repair service for at least six months spent more than $750.
32% of the polled reported spending more than $750 on credit repair services. 48% claimed to have improved their credit scores by 100 points or more.
This implies that if you want to employ a reputable credit repair business, it won’t be cheap and won’t happen immediately.
To get real results, you need to be prepared to invest at least $100 every month for at least a year.
What is the best site to fix your credit?
The best credit repair companies give you a natural way to fix your credit and maybe even raise your credit scores. The BadCredit.org staff and independent evaluators looked into the credit repair business for a long time.
Our Best Companies for Legitimate Credit Repair
Our highest ratings go to the four companies listed below. They make repairing your credit reports and taking care of any outstanding issues quite simple.
The summaries that follow provide a helpful overview of each business.
#1. Lexington Law
It has always been our top choice. It offers a wide range of services from a team of legal experts, some of whom are licensed lawyers. Since the business was established in 2004, it has the institutional knowledge to correct all types of errors and omissions in your credit reports.
More than 10 million wrong items have been taken off of customers’ credit reports. This is a good track record for the business. It’s not rare for a client to experience a score increase of several hundred points.
#2. Sky Blue Credit Repair
whose history dates back to 1989, is the grandfather of credit repair businesses in our industry. It has been in existence for a while. Because of things like its 90-day unconditional guarantee, which is the best in the business, and guarantees a full refund if you are unhappy with the services you receive.
Unlike some competitors, Sky Blue has a single, all-inclusive service level at a price that’s not too bad (including a discount for couples). A credit repair business says it will do a certain number of challenges every 35 days, look at your credit score, verify your debts, give you advice on settling your debts, and write “stop” letters.
#3. The Credit Pros
is a technology company whose clients are educated on how to avoid future credit problems. The monthly cost of its credit repair services ranges from $69 to $149.
The business promises that nobody will ever overpromise or guarantee a particular result, that your personal information will be safe and secure, and that you’ll always be handled with respect and courtesy.
How do I know if my Credit Repair Company is Legit?
#1. Companies that demand payment
before offering services red flags for legitimate credit repair companies with fraud. Even though the information is accurate and up-to-date, the business may claim it can guarantee a certain improvement in your credit score or remove negative information from your credit report.
#2. Companies that Pressure you
If a company promises to improve your credit or makes you an offer, it can be a red flag if it: pressures you to pay upfront costs. The business demands payment before offering any services. It’s easy to follow the rule, “Don’t pay upfront.” Suppose the company uses telemarketing in a way that makes the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule apply. In that case, it can’t ask for or collect payment from you until it gives you a credit report made more than six months after the results were promised.
#3. Companies that ask you to Pay for Service
The federal Credit Repair Organizations Act says that credit repair businesses can’t ask for or take money before they do what they say they will do. You should know that paying for services is against the law before they are done. Some businesses will design monthly payment schedules to get around this restriction. You should know that paying for services is against the law before they are done.
- Commits to remove wrong information from your credit report. Even if the negative credit information is accurate and up-to-date, the company claims to be able to remove it. This is impossible for anyone to accomplish.
- You are urged to challenge the accuracy of the information in your credit report. No matter how accurate or timely the material is, the organization recommends you question it.
- Refuses to explain your rights to you or avoids doing so. The firm does not define your rights and what you can do for yourself for free. You do not have to pay a credit repair company to dispute inaccuracies in your credit reports; it is a free legal right that The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you some rights. Additionally, if you have just signed up for a credit repair service, you have three business days to cancel your agreement free of charge with any credit repair company.
Is it Worth Going to a Credit Repair Company?
We just talked about how you can fix your credit on your own, but there are some circumstances where you would want to hire a credit repair business.
You might decide to pay a corporation to help you with your troubles if you don’t want to handle identity theft alone.
Remember that credit problems require time and patience to fix, particularly if you are dealing with fake accounts on your report.
What is the Fastest way to Repair Your Credit?
If your credit score isn’t where you’d like it to be, there might be quick fixes. Depending on what’s keeping it in place, you might be able to add up to 100 points very rapidly.
Listed here are a few ways to repair your credit:
#1. Strategically Pay off Credit Card Balances
Your credit usage is the percentage of your credit limits that you are currently using. Use no more than 30% of the available credit on any card; the lower the number, the better. The top scorers employ less than 7%. (By accessing your credit score profile with NerdWallet, you can keep track of your credit use on each card and overall.)
#2. Request Increased Credit Limits
Your overall credit utilization immediately decreases when your credit limit increases while your balance stays the same, which might help you build better credit. If your income has gone up or if you have had a good credit history for more years, you are more likely to get a higher limit.
#3. Become a Registered User
If a friend or member of your family has a credit card account with a high credit limit, request to be added as an authorized user. and a good history of making payments on time. The credit limit on the account can help your utilization because it is added to your credit reports. Authorized user status, also called “credit piggybacking,” lets you benefit from the good payment history of the main user. Your credit might increase without the account holder’s permission to use the card or even giving you the account number.
Conclusion
Making efforts to raise your credit score is a wise move, whether you’re trying to rebuild your credit after making poor financial decisions or are getting ready to apply for a new loan or mortgage and want to ensure you get the best interest rate. We’ll review the elements that determine your credit score.
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