Want To Fix Bad Credit? These Are The Best Credit Repair Companies That Can Help

Are you struggling to access a loan or paying exorbitant interest rates due to a bad credit score? 

A bad credit score could deteriorate your financial health and be your source of constant pain. You could fix your credit problems yourself or employ the services of a good credit repair company.

3 Best Credit Repair Companies [Reviews]

Are you looking for a credit repair company to work with, and you still can’t settle for one yet? There are many credit repair companies in the market and making a choice can be a hard nut to crack.

Not to worry though are, we scoured the market and identified three credit repair companies based on their cost and terms of service and finally settled on three:

Credit Saint – Best Overall 
The Credit People – Best Bonus Features
CreditRepair.com – Best Credit Repair App
#1. Credit Saint – Best Overall & Editor’s Pick

Brand Overview

As the name suggests, the company is a real saint when it comes to credit repair matters.

Credit Saint has more than 15 years of experience in helping clients fix their credit issues.

They start by giving you a free consultation with a credit expert who will pull your credit reports from the three bureaus- TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. The expert will then allow you to go through your accounts for any errors. When you identify the mistakes, the expert will determine the next course of action.

Credit saints work on challenging harmful and inaccurate information such as late payments, repossessions, judgments, identity thefts, charge offs and collections. The company knows that when it comes to credit repair, one size does not fit all.

They offer three packages that are custom-made to suit individual needs.

Clean Slate

A clean slate is a competitive package that offers you unlimited challenges to the three credit bureaus. It also provides you credit score analysis and acts as a mediator between you, the credit bureaus, and the creditors.

If you subscribe to this package, the company will stop collectors from harassing you by sending them to cease and desist letters on your behalf and track your credit score. The package also offers inquiry targets and Experian monitoring.

You will pay an initial fee of 195 dollars and a monthly fee of 119.99 dollars and have unlimited challenges to incorrect items per dispute cycle.

Credit Remodel

The credit remodels package offers you unlimited challenges to the three credit bureaus, credit score analysis, inquiry targets, Experian monitoring, ten challenges to incorrect items per dispute cycle, and credit score tracking. You’ll pay an initial work fee of 99.0 dollars and a monthly fee of 99.9 dollars.

Credit Polish

The credit polish package offers you an opportunity to challenge the three credit bureaus, credit score analysis, and tracks your score. You pay an initial fee of 99 dollars and a subsequent monthly payment of 79.99 dollars for this package. With this package, the company offers you five challenges to wrong items appearing on your credit report per dispute cycle.

Apart from attractive packages, you have unlimited access to your online account where you can monitor your progress and 90-day money-back guarantees if you are not satisfied with your progress.

Once they fix your credit issues, they do not leave it at that; they continue supplying you with educational resources to help you maintain a good credit score.

⇒ Click Here to Visit the Official Website of Credit Saint

#2. The Credit People – Best Guarantee

Brand Overview

The Credit People was founded in 2001 and had been operating for the last 20 years.

They have a team of certified staff trained in the fair credit reporting act (FCRA) and undergo training regularly.

The credit people have an excellent customer care team to respond to your queries on time and are available between 8 am and 5 pm.

The company works to dispute inaccurate and unfair items in your credit report that could lower your credit score and recommend ways of improving your credit score. You get a seven-day trial period by paying an initial fee of 39 dollars.

If you are satisfied with their services within the free trial period, you can choose to subscribe by paying a monthly fee of 89 dollars, including the initial credit report. You have 24-hour access to your online account, and you can cancel your subscription at any time.

If you are not the monthly term type of person, you can opt to subscribe to a flat rate membership by paying a one-off membership fee of 419 dollars for six months which will be cheaper than the monthly subscription. You will also get a 100% money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with their services.

The Credit People are useful for clients with simple credit problems and help remove inaccurate negative information from your credit report or accurate information that credit bureaus or financial institutions cannot verify.

Before you sign up with them, the Credit People lay all the necessary information on the table regarding what they can or can’t do, and they have no hidden charges.

You can contact their customer care through phone calls or email, and they will help you no matter how low your credit score is since they have no minimum credit score level. 

The Credit People work by disputing inaccurate information such as:

Identity errors
Liens
Charge offs
Closed accounts 
Late payments
Identity errors
Judgments
Negative settlements 

The Credit people may not be the best choice for people who need to fix complex credit issues such as bankruptcy, foreclosures, and repossessions. They are flexible, transparent and will give you personalized attention and free access to your credit reports.

⇒ Click Here to Visit the Official Website of The Credit People

#3. CreditRepair.com – Best Credit Repair App

Brand Overview

CreditRepair.com was established in 1997 and has helped Americans fix their credit problems for 24 years. They work by removing and disputing errors or additions to your credit report that could be lowering your credit score.

CreditRepair.com starts by offering you a free consultation to evaluate your credit score and give recommendations on how to improve it. They then help to fix your credit score in three steps.

First, they pull your credit reports from the three bureaus; second, they give you a chance to go through the reports to identify any errors; and lastly, they determine the suitable course of action.

CreditRepair.com offers three types of packages, each with a different initial fee rate and monthly fee rate.

Direct Package

It is the basic package with an initial fee of 14.95 dollars and a monthly fee of 69.95 dollars. A direct package is suitable for people who want to fix a few credit issues. 

The package offers 25000 dollars’ worth of identity theft protection, a full month of credit monitoring, and three credit bureaus’ interventions.

Standard Package

The standard package is the mid-level package with an initial fee of 14.95 dollars and a monthly fee of 99.95 dollars. The package offers full month credit monitoring,25000 dollars’ worth of identity theft protection, and six interventions to the three credit bureaus.

Advanced Package

A premium package has an initial fee of 4.95 dollars and a monthly fee of 119.95 dollars. The package comes with advantages such as 1 million dollars’ worth of identity theft protection, full-time credit monitoring from the credit bureaus, and eight interventions to the credit bureaus.

CreditRepair.com challenges inaccurate negative entries in your credit report or accurate entries that cannot be verified. 

They are suitable for:

Outdated additions
Collections
Judgments
Late Payments
Charge offs
Foreclosures
Bankruptcy
Repossessions

Before you can sign up, you should know that they do not offer a money-back guarantee or hidden charges. You will get various benefits such as free access to your credit report summary and 24-hour free access to your online account.

CreditRepair.com does not offer credit counseling or debt consolidation. Instead, they offer you free access to their library, which has tones of articles on credit improvement, debt solutions, loans, and savings,

You can access your credit reports anytime using their mobile app, which is compatible with Android and IOS systems.

CreditRepair.com will keep you updated on your credit progress by allowing you access to the credit score tracker. If you do not want to miss any activity on your credit report, you can create email or SMS alerts.

⇒ Click Here to Visit the Official Website of CreditRepair.com

How Do Credit Repair Services Work?

Credit repair services work by fixing lousy credit reports for a fee. They work on your behalf to challenge inaccurate and negative information from your credit report that could be lowering your credit score. They also look out for accurate entries that cannot be verified and dispute them.

What Do Credit Repair Companies Do?

Credit repair companies act as your representative to credit bureaus or financial institutions responsible for your credit report’s negative information. The companies challenge the institutions accountable to delete or modify the information so that it will have a positive impact on your credit report.

A good credit repair company will get credit reports from the three credit bureaus, review the information and allow you to check the report to identify errors. 

They will also teach you how a credit score is determined and help you understand your credit report. The company then points out areas where they could help and offer advice on maintaining a good credit score.

Credit repair companies specifically identify and challenges issues like:

Payment history
Outdated negative items
Double entries
Late payments
Judgments
Bankruptcies
Foreclosures
Liens
Accounts that you no longer own
Misspellings or errors due to similar names
Invalid or unverifiable debts

Credit repair companies may request credit bureaus or financial institutions to validate information or send letters to the credit bureaus to dispute negative items and send cease and desist letters to your creditors on your behalf.

Credit repair companies use different ways of communicating with the bureaus or financial institutions. Some prefer sending emails or letters, while some prefer to continually send letters to the bureaus to address disputes. If the argument is not settled within 30 days as specified by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the account is deleted automatically.

Credit repair companies charge you to fix your credit report, and they do so differently.

The companies use different approaches to charge you for the services, and the costs also vary from one company to the other. 

Some credit repair companies will charge you every month with an initial fee, while some will charge you once they successfully influence the deletion of items from your credit report.

These companies also offer different packages, allowing you to choose a package that suits your needs. 

Why Should You Work With A Credit Repair Company?

While you can fix credit report issues on your own, the process could be frustrating and very time-consuming. You may be receiving numerous phone calls or emails from creditors that could be distracting your resting time or quality time spent with your family.

A credit repair company steps in to remove inaccurate information from your credit report that could negatively affect your credit score. A credit repair company will also check your credit report for any unwanted information or any accurate information that could lower your credit score and not be verified.

Most people think that a bad credit score only affects them if they want to access loans, but this is not true. There are many other ways that a bad credit score can affect your life, giving you more reasons to work with a credit repair company.

Below are some of the reasons why you should work with a credit repair company to fix a bad credit score:

Start Paying Lower or No Security Deposits

Most phone service providers will check your credit score before they can offer services. A bad credit score may imply a higher risk of defaulting payments. For the company to mitigate the risk, they charge you a deposit as security. If you have a high credit score, you may not need to pay any deposit.

Avoid High Insurance Rates

Insurance service providers check your credit score first before they can decide which type of services you are eligible for and how much in premiums you should pay. 

If your credit score is low, it means that you are a high-risk client, and therefore, they will charge you higher in premiums compared to clients with a high credit score.

Get A Credit Card

A low credit score may make it difficult for you to access a credit card which means you’ll pay cash for products or services. Some sellers and service providers charge higher for cash-paying clients compared to those using credit cards.

Higher Credit Limit

Your credit score directly affects your credit limit. If you want to grow your credit limit with your providers, you have to fix your credit score, which is where credit repair companies come in.

Peace of Mind

Nothing is more annoying than numerous phone calls, text messages, and emails from debt collectors telling you the same thing. Debt collectors can interfere with your peace of mind and affect your relationship with friends, colleagues, and family. Credit repair companies step in and take this burden off your shoulders.

Access loan Facilities

A bad credit score could be standing between you and your dream house or car. You may not be able to access a mortgage, a business, or an auto loan due to a low credit score. Fixing a low credit score will ensure that you access these loans and pay lower and reasonable interest rates.

Get Employment

Some employers check your credit score before they can hire you. A low credit score could be the reason why you are passing interviews with a low hire rate. You could fix this issue with the help of a credit repair company.

Avoid Looking for Co-signers

With a low credit score, accessing a loan may be difficult, and if you are lucky, you may need to look for someone to cosign for you. With the current economic times, getting one may be as hard as getting a loan in the first place.

Tips for Working with Credit Repair Companies?

There are both genuine and substandard products in every market, but both end up in the hands of unsuspecting customers. There are many credit repair companies, making promises but not all will fulfill half of those promises. 

When you are choosing a credit repair company, look out for:

Companies that demand payment before providing services

The credit repair organization act (CROA) stipulates that no credit repair company should ask for any fee upfront. The company will be violating the act and could be a scam too.

Companies asking for a one-time fee

Credit repair takes time. If a company asks you to pay a one-off fee, they could be trying to scam you off your hard-earned cash. Shun them at your earliest opportunity.

Companies that ask you to make false statements

It is illegal in any state to make false statements regarding your credit information. The company could land you in legal issues and is also in violation of CROA.

Companies that ask you to change identity

Some credit repair companies may ask you to change your identity by using someone else’s social security number to escape the credit bureaus. Doing this is illegal, and you should avoid such companies.

Companies that guarantee to remove information from your credit report

Whether or not an item will be removed from your credit report cannot be guaranteed. A company using this as their selling point may only be trying to lure you to work with them.

Companies that ask you to dispute accurate information

A good credit repair company should only help you dispute inaccurate information in your credit report or accurate report that data furnishers cannot verify. If they ask you otherwise, the more reason you should not work with them.

Companies that withhold essential information

Before you start working with a credit repair company, they are obligated to inform you of your right to sue them if they violate CROA and your right to dispute your credit information without any charges. Look out for companies that fail to provide this information and avoid them.

Companies that promise you a specific credit score

If a company promises you a particular credit score, that is too good to be true.

Many factors influence your credit score, and no company can guarantee a specific credit score.

 

Companies that cite affiliations or special relationships with government or credit bureaus

Credit bureaus operate under the fair credit reporting act. A credit repair company claiming to have a relationship with these bureaus claiming to have a special relationship with these bureaus could be a scam. It could leave you with more problems than solutions.

 

As much as finding a trustworthy credit repair company is not easy, there are still good ones you can find out there. 

 

These are the types of companies you should work with:

Companies with a proven track record

If a credit company has worked for other people, it means it could also work for you. Most credit repair companies have websites where you can get reviews from their previous clients. You could also consider getting referrals from your friends or relatives.

Companies with a good relationship with credit bureaus

A credit repair company in a good position with the credit bureaus is more likely to fix your credit problems than one that is not. A company will not improve your problems if it needs fixing itself.

Companies that are legally accredited

When you are looking to hire a credit repair company’s services, look out for companies that operate within the law. Some credit repair companies may leave you in legal issues instead of fixing your credit score.

Companies that give you a contract

A good credit repair company should provide you a detailed contract with payment terms, contact details, and what they can and can’t do. Only work with credit repair companies that allow you to read and understand the contract first before you can start any business.

Companies that give you a money-back guarantee

When a credit repair company gives you a money-back guarantee, it means that they are confident in their ability to fix your low credit issues. Companies that do not offer a money-back guarantee cannot guarantee you good results, and you may end up wasting your money.

Companies that give prompt results

Most credit companies charge you for their services every month. A company taking too long to give results may be taking advantage of your monthly subscription because you are obligated to pay each month. Work with a company that can give you timely results and saves on cost.

Know What Credit Repair Companies Can and Can’t Do

Many credit repair companies make a lot of promises to entice their customers. The truth is, credit repair services are governed by the credit repair organization act, which stipulates what they can or can’t do.

Before signing up for any credit repair company, it is important to know what they can or can’t do lest you become a victim of scams.

What Credit Repair Companies Can Do

Credit repair companies can pull your credit from the three credit bureaus and have a credit expert go through it in detail to see where they can step in. 

The expert then identifies mistakes in the report, such as errors in payment history, double entries, and expired negative items from the three credit bureaus since different institutions furnish data to various bureaus.

Credit repair companies can dispute inaccurate negative information on your credit reports that could be lowering your credit score on your behalf. They do so by communicating on your behalf to credit bureaus, financial institutions, money lenders, and debt collectors.

A good credit repair company should inform you of your right to dispute inaccurate information on your credit report on your own and your right to sue the company if they violate the credit reporting organization act.

The company should also provide you with a detailed contract stating terms of service, terms of payment, and the duration is taken to get results. In case of any hidden charges, the company should inform you before you sign up with them.

What Credit Repair Companies Cannot Do

According to the credit repair organization act, credit report companies cannot ask you to dispute accurate negative information on your credit report unless the data cannot be verified. They also cannot delete any negative information appearing on your credit report. They can only challenge and leave the decision with credit bureaus.

Some credit repair companies can ask you to change your identity by asking you to change your social security number, but this is illegal according to the law. Credit repair companies should not charge you before they can render services or guarantee to change your credit score.

Credit repair companies should not ask you to provide false information to the credit bureaus to prevent them from associating you with a bad credit score. They should not ask you to open new accounts or pressure you to disclose personal information that may not be necessary while fixing a negative credit score.

FAQs About Credit Card Companies

There are many areas of clarification regarding credit repair. We have attempted to address some of the frequently asked questions as follows:

Q. How long does it take to repair your credit?

There is no timeline as to when credit repair companies can repair your credit report. Some will take a short time and some longer depending on the type of negative information on your credit report, age of the negative news, previous credit rating, and the number of negative remarks on the report.

It will take a shorter time to fix a late payment than to settle a bankruptcy or foreclosure. When a credit repair company sends a dispute letter to the credit bureaus, they have a month to respond to the dispute. If any conflicts are involved, you can expect the process to take longer.

Different types of negative information take other times to fall off the credit report naturally. For example, late payments, charge offs, and foreclosures could take up to 7 years to clear from your credit report. Hard inquiries could take up to 2 years, and bankruptcy could take up to 10 years.

Q. How to Avoid Credit Repair Scams?

Before you can avoid a scam, you should know how to spot one from a distance. You could be thinking that you are working with a legitimate company only to find out when it is too late.

This is how you know that you are dealing with one:

Companies that ask you to pay for services upfront.
A credit repair company that asks you to dispute accurate information from your credit report
A company that asks you to give false information for you to access a credit facility
A company that fails to inform you of your legal rights to dispute credit information on your own.
A company that does not provide a detailed contract before you can start any business dealings
A company that does not offer you a money-back guarantee. Strictly stay away from these companies. 
A company that promises you a particular credit score

You can avoid scams by vetting the credit repair company before you can hire them. Visit the company’s website for real reviews or check online for the best credit repair companies. You could also ask your friends or relatives to recommend companies they have worked with before.

Q. How Do Credit Repair Companies Get Items Removed?

Getting negative items removed from your credit report may not be easy, but it is possible.

Credit repair companies get negative items removed in different ways:

Writing Dispute Letters to The Credit Bureaus

Once a credit repair company identifies inaccurate negative information on your credit report, their next course of action is to dispute the item and get it removed from the report.

The company writes a dispute letter to the debt collectors, financial institutions, or credit bureaus requesting them to delete the item.

In some cases, the companies use the “jamming” strategy to repeatedly send the letters to the bureaus or debt collectors. If they don’t respond within 30 days, the account will be closed.

Writing cease and Desist Letters to debt collectors on your behalf.

Credit repair companies act as mediators between you and debt collectors. The company may write a letter to debt collectors asking them to desist from harassing you for payment as they await the negative items to be removed from your credit report.

Negotiating for Pay for Delete with Creditors

Credit repair companies can contact your creditors on your behalf to negotiate for a pay for delete option. The company asks you to pay the debt, and the creditors agree to delete the negative comment from your credit report once they receive the payment.

Writing Good Will Letters

Once the credit bureaus have deleted a negative item, your credit repair company can write a goodwill letter to your financial institution asking them to update the information on your credit report.

Q. Do Credit Repair Companies Work?

Credit repair companies work and have helped clients worldwide fix their low credit score and access loan facilities. The companies allow you to identify errors that could lower your credit score, dispute errors with the three credit bureaus, and intervene on your behalf to debt collectors who could be harassing you.

Credit repair companies have a team of trained attorneys who understand the laws and could be in a better position to have negative items removed from your credit report. The companies will save you time and energy you could have spent going back and forth with debt collectors. However, you should be careful to choose a credit repair company that has been reviewed and has a proven track record.

Q. What Is Credit Repair?

Credit repair is the process of fixing a low credit score that could be making it difficult for you to access credit facilities such as loans and mortgages or secure a new job. You could attempt to repair the credit score yourself for free or employ a credit repair company’s services at a fee. 

In both scenarios, the process is the same- pulling credit reports from the credit bureaus, evaluating the reports for any errors, and disputing those errors with credit bureaus, financial institutions, or debt collectors.

Credit repair is legal at the federal level. It is done by attempting to remove inaccurate negative information appearing on your credit report or challenging an accurate report that cannot be verified.

In Conclusion – Which Credit Repair Company Should You Prefer?

A bad credit score can negatively affect you financially, making it difficult to access a loan or paying high-interest rates for one. You can fix your credit score or hire a credit repair company. 

Credit repair companies make it easier to improve your credit score because they understand the legal processes involved, thus saving you time.

It would be best if you considered hiring a credit repair company that is credible, transparent, and flexible to suit your needs, as we did and chose Credit Saint as the best credit repair company. We hope this article has helped you make an informed decision on the best credit repair company to fix your credit score.

 

The post Want To Fix Bad Credit? These Are The Best Credit Repair Companies That Can Help appeared first on Men’s Journal.