Best Credit Repair Company Tip 1: Know Where Your Problems Lie

Before you start looking for the best credit repair company, you need to have an idea of how big the problem is. Most people only realize that they have problem credit after being denied a loan or a credit card. If that is the case with you, you’re in luck: you can order a free copy of the credit file that was used to make the decision to deny you credit. Otherwise, you’ll need to order a copy of your credit report from each of the different bureaus.

Once you have copies of your credit report, make a note of any issues you see, including late payments, charge-offs, collection accounts, judgments, bankruptcy or liens. You should be able to see where your biggest problems are by looking at the reasons for denial of your credit if you were denied a loan or credit card. Otherwise, just list out all the negatives you have on your report.

Best Credit Repair Company Tip 2: Prioritize Your Needs

Getting rid of an old charge-off may not have as big an impact as updating a current account to show that you’ve paid on time for the past 6 months. Decide which areas you want to focus on, and if you need additional help in understanding your rights as a consumer. You should also decide what services will be of most benefit to you. Some credit repair companies offer negotiations with creditors, for example.

If you need any extra services to clean up your credit report, make sure that you put them on a list so you don’t forget once you start comparing credit repair companies.

Best Credit Repair Company Tip 3: Watch Out for Scammers

Don’t fall into the “pay now for service later” trap. If you pay anything at all up front it should be for reasonable set-up and administrative fees. Otherwise, avoid any credit repair company that charges you before the work is done. The best credit repair companies will offer a pricing breakdown so you can see where the money you pay gets spent.

Also avoid any “guaranteed” credit repair. There is no way that any credit repair company can offer a 100% guarantee of improved credit, because each consumer’s situation is different. Keep you expectations realistic and you’ll eliminate 80% of the scam artists out there. For the rest, a quick visit to the Better Business Bureau’s website can shed some light on the company’s reputation.

Best Credit Repair Company Tip 4: Confirm Past Results Before You Sign

Once you’ve chosen the best credit repair company for your situation, take the time to find out a bit more before you sign on the dotted line. Ask to speak with past clients, or take a look at feedback the company has received elsewhere. Make sure that this company has experience with similar credit problems such as yours, and that they understand what you need help with.

Most credit repair companies are happy to answer questions, and the best ones often have dedicated agents that can help you before you decide to sign up. Remember, you shouldn’t be paying a lot (if anything) up front for your credit repair.

Best Credit Repair Company Tip 5: Stay Proactive

Handing off your credit repair doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep up with what’s going on. Even if you have the best credit repair company in the world, you need to stay on top of the credit repair efforts and ask any questions you may have as the situation changes.

You especially want to pay attention to any items that the credit repair company was not able to remove – was your documentation inadequate? If so, do you have more information you could use to help prove your case? Staying on top of credit repair is the only way to make sure you get the best credit scores out of your investment.

No matter which credit repair company you ultimately choose, following these five tips will help you to make sure that you get the best credit repair company for your particular situation, so that you get the most improvement in your credit scores.

Choosing the Best Credit Repair Company – Extra Services vs. the Basics

Sometimes, people turn to professional credit repair to help with one particular issue, and sometimes there are several. Different credit repair companies all offer different levels of service. What one person may consider necessary, another may consider to be extra, unneeded “frills”.

The best credit repair company for you will match up with your needs, but you have to know what those are before you choose.

Credit Repair “Basics”

At the very least, the credit repair company should do the following:

• File your disputes with the credit bureaus
• Follow-up on any confirmed items
• Provide you with a list of disputes filed
• Give you copies of any letters or responses from the credit bureaus
• Help you to keep track of which disputes have been filed and what the results were

Most credit repair companies will also:

• Request debt validation from collection agencies
• Follow-up on ignored validation requests
• Act as an intermediary between you and the collections agents

Extra Services You May Need

The additional services offered will vary from agency to agency, but if you need extra services, then the best credit repair company for you may include some or all of the following:

• Credit score tracking
• Credit report alerts
• Identity theft monitoring
• Letter writing for additional credit repair tactics (Goodwill, Pay-for-Deletion, etc.)

There may be other services as well – some credit repair companies offer finance classes, for instance. In order to find the best credit repair company for your situation, make sure you are getting all of the services you need, or as many as possible for what you can afford.

Choosing the Best Credit Repair Company – One Time vs. Long Term

This one may seem simple on the surface but once you start to think about it, there are a number of factors that may contribute to whether you want one-time credit repair assistance or a long-term solution.

You may only have one or two items, but how fast will these items be resolved? If the negative listings on your credit report are complicated, then the best credit repair company for you may be one that offers long term services.

For people who only need help with a particular problem – maybe a bill that is listed as 90 days past due when it is really current  and you can’t work things out with the creditor on your own – a one-time solution may make more sense.

Choosing the Best Credit Repair Company – Legal vs. Professional

Generally speaking, small legal firms offer fewer services than the larger professional companies, so if you want all of those services wrapped up into one package, this choice may already be made for you. However, you may need to reconsider when it comes to choosing the best credit repair company, as small legal firms and professional service firms have some distinct differences.

In particular, you need to decide which is more important: access to someone knowledgeable at (nearly) all times, or one-on-one discussions either in person or over the phone. Also, while a person does not have to have a law degree to assist with credit repair, it may be an issue if you need assistance dealing with a judgment or will need representation in court proceedings.

These are all complicated issues, so it’s important to get it right the first time. You don’t want to spend money on a credit repair service, only to find out that it’s not the best credit repair company for your situation.

Take the time to prioritize what it is you want out of a credit repair company, and then use those criteria to narrow down your choices. Once you have five or less to choose from, start calling them up and get a feel for how well you will work with them, whether a company or a lawyer. Trust your instincts and be ready to take action once you’ve made your decision.

Choosing the best credit repair company is important, but what’s even more important is getting started right away so that you can see real improvements in your credit situation sooner rather than later.

Despite the negative publicity surrounding these types of dishonest companies, there are still thousands of people who have tremendous success with professional credit repair services each year. These legitimate credit repair companies provide a necessary service for anyone who needs help getting their credit back on track.

Finding the Best Credit Repair Company

Once you weed out the obvious scammers (be particularly wary of any small, local companies without any reputation to back them up) it may still seem as though there are far too many credit repair companies to choose from. Fortunately, you can usually narrow the field further just by taking into account:

• Experience – What kinds of credit problems has the company handled in the past? Do they mention your specific issues? Is the company well-established or is it only a few years (or months) old. Decide whether you’d feel most comfortable with a well-established company or a newer company.
• Results – Is the company truly able to deliver on their promise of credit repair? How many satisfied customers are there? If they have testimonials, do they seem authentic?
• Availability – What kind of case load does the company have, and can their agents/professionals keep up? Is the company legally permitted to do business in your area? What kind of turnaround time can you expect?

Don’t just choose the first credit repair company you find that meets your preliminary expectations. To truly find the right credit repair company for you will require deeper research so that you can be sure your credit will have the best chance of improving.

How to Choose the Best Credit Repair Company

Choosing the best credit repair company for your particular situation can be broken down into a 4-step process:

1. Evaluate your situation.
2. Evaluate the credit repair companies.
3. Narrow your choices.
4. Choose the best fit.

The first step in choosing the best credit repair company for you is to honestly evaluate your present credit situation. Are you behind on just a few bills, or are there several? How much debt do you owe? Are there charge-offs on your account? Have you recently filed for bankruptcy? The answers to each of these questions will affect how much any reputable credit repair company is able to help you.

Once you’ve taken inventory of your current credit situation, you’re ready to start shopping for the best credit repair company. Take the time to talk to several companies about your specific situation. Reputable companies will always want to make sure that you are a good fit, so be wary of a credit repair company that tries to force you to make a snap decision.

Most credit repair companies will give you a free consultation, and you should take advantage of that and find out exactly what you’ll be getting before you sign on the dotted line. Make a list of your most-wanted features and services. Do you want help with more than just basic disputes? Do you need credit score monitoring as well? Narrow down your choices based on which credit repair companies offer the services that you value most.

You may find that some credit repair companies will offer most (but not all) of what you are looking for, so it’s important to rank which services matter most to you. This will make it easier to choose objectively.

Making the choice as to the best credit repair company for your needs at this point should be fairly simple – choose the credit repair company that offers the most features at the price that best fits your budget. Never spend more on credit repair than you can reasonably afford. That said, having the peace of mind that comes from reputable credit repair services is well worth the investment.

The Best Credit Repair Company: Taking Action

All the research in the world is no good if you don’t take action. If you’ve followed the plan so far, but you find yourself hesitating, then you must ask yourself what is holding you back. Is it fear of dealing with your creditors? Do you feel completely hopeless that your scores will improve?

No matter what the reasons behind your indecision, the best choice you can make is to move forward, despite uncertainty. Once you make the commitment to clean up your credit score, you have to follow-through if you want to see results. The best credit repair company is only going to work if you give the company a chance to actually perform the service. So don’t wait – start cleaning up your credit and get the financial rewards that you deserve.

The FTC regularly warns about credit repair scams, and even provides a list of warning signs to help the average consumer make an educated choice. However, it’s important for those same consumers to realize that reputable credit repair companies like Lexington Law are not a part of the problem.

To help debunk the myth that all credit repair companies are scams, we will go line by line down the warning signs the FTC has on its site, and compare their warnings with the best practices and procedures performed by Lexington Law.

Understanding the difference will help you to understand why not all credit repair companies are the same, and will show that these scam practices do not occur in reputable credit repair agencies such as Lexington Law.

How Lexington Law Stacks Up

The FTC points out six major signs that indicate a company is “up to no good”:

• Asks for payment up front
• Doesn’t tell you your rights
• Recommends that you do not directly contact credit bureaus
• Tells you they can get rid of accurate & current negative information
• Suggests that you use an EIN to get a new credit identity
• Recommends disputing all negative information, even if accurate

Taking these items one by one, Lexington Law proves that not all credit repair agencies are scams.

1. Lexington Law does not ask for any payment up front, and in fact only bills after the work you’ve agreed to has been completed.
2. Lexington Law is very up front about your rights and what you can do to improve your credit. They don’t try to make it seem that you can’t go to the credit bureaus yourself, and they describe their services fully so that you can make an informed decision.
3. Lexington Law contacts the credit bureaus directly on your behalf as part of the services they perform for you, but nowhere do they suggest that you cannot contact them.
4. Lexington Law does not make any assertions that they can get rid of accurate and current negative information – they are all about disputing inaccurate information and helping you to improve your credit scores legally.
5. Lexington Law does not try to get you to build a new credit identity – they work to clean up your current identity and deliver real results you can see in terms of deleted items on you report.
6. Lexington Law specifically states that they do NOT recommend that any consumer (client or not) attempt to dispute items they know are accurate and timely.

Another important fact:

The credit bureaus are only required to investigate your dispute if they believe it is not “frivolous”. This means that the credit bureau is free to ignore any of your disputes that you file on your own, as they alone decide what constitutes a frivolous dispute. By hiring a reputable credit agency like Lexington Law, it makes it much more difficult for the credit bureaus to ignore your valid disputes on inaccurate information.

Lexington Law & Results

On the date of this writing, there are over 200 testimonials on the Lexington Law website from former and current clients that are getting positive results on their credit scores. In addition to that, Lexington Law also claims to have removed 1,297,226 items from credit reports in 2010 across all three credit bureaus.

While no credit repair company can guarantee results, Lexington Law has an impressive track record for helping consumers professionally and in a timely manner. In addition they offer a free credit consultation – something that the scammers just won’t do.

Who Should Choose Lexington Law

So if Lexington Law is a legitimate credit repair company, the question remains: is it the right choice for you? Fortunately, there are some easy questions you can ask to help you decide.

Do you…

If you answered yes to even one of these questions, you could likely benefit from having a professional credit repair agency like Lexington Law help you get your credit score back on track.

The most important thing to remember is that you do have options. Bad credit is not something that you have to live with – there are things that you can do that will improve your scores and help you to have the kind of financial freedom you deserve.

Quality credit repair companies like Lexington Law provide a valuable service for consumers and can help them to get better results than going it alone. Don’t wait around for your credit to improve — the best thing you can do is to take the first step and start fixing your credit now, whether you do it on your own, or rely on a reputable credit repair agency like Lexington Law.

Protecting Your Credit by Knowing Your Credit Rights

Credit repair like many other legal services is surrounded by laws, and luckily most of these laws are designed with consumer’s best interests at heart. There are hundreds of laws and years worth of documents to read through, so the real question is: where should a consumer begin if they hope to educate themselves? One answer is to start where many of the laws themselves originate, the Federal Trade Commission. By visiting the FTC’s website (ftc.gov), you can gain a solid knowledge when it comes to shopping for a credit repair agency or firm. Topics such as no guarantees or money before services rendered are touched upon and given to us as consumers so we can slowly begin to pick out legitimate credit repair companies from fraudulent ones.

Use the BBB to Review Credit Repair Companies

What about fellow consumers and their experiences? There are many websites that boast user reviews and claim to be unbiased, but one of the simplest and most informing websites is BBB.org. The Better Business Bureau is a format for consumers like us to file complaints and let others know what experiences we did or in many cases did not receive. Any complaint filed on bbb.org is labeled so you can see where your fellow consumer experienced problems and you are even able to see whether the credit repair company they were dealing with was able to reach a solution, or help them with their issue. Know your report before seeking credit repair help.

Check Your Credit Report Before Choosing a Credit Repair Company

It may seem strange, but many people go looking for credit repair before even knowing exactly what is going on with their credit report. This isn’t to say that a credit report is an easy document to decipher, but you wouldn’t want to go to a dentist if you have a broken leg, and going to a credit repair organization before having any level of understanding towards what is damaging your credit is setting yourself up to be misinformed and potentially taken advantage of.

Many websites that now offer credit reports will also include breakdowns on everything from derogatory items, to scores, credit ratios, and even debts owed. While a simple analysis may not give you all the information that you need, it may very well give you enough information to determine what you need from a credit repair organization. Are you looking at getting late payments or collections removed? Do you have inquiries that are dragging your score down? Perhaps you may not even need credit repair at all. Are you looking to pay off debts? Needing to rebuild credit? Having a basic understanding of your credit situation will allow a credit repair organization to explain how they can help with that particular situation, or perhaps recommend you in the direction of another service that is better equipped to handle your particular problem.

Pick the Credit Repair Company that is Right for Your Credit Situation

Because no two credit situations are likely ever entirely the same, it makes little sense that a simple carbon copy document is going to do you much good. While many places online may offer you free letters that promise amazing results, it’s important to remember that what may worked for one person may have no real impact for you. Finding an organization that will format and develop letters for your situation can make the potential difference between 5 months of disputing the same item, and possible deletion after initial investigations.

Do Credit Repair Companies Make a Difference?

This question is really up to you and what makes you feel comfortable. However, I would recommend that you remember that many of the tools used to clear up your credit is based around actual laws, and because of this, a knowledge of the law can be very advantageous. While many credit repair companies may make bold claims of knowing the law, remember that credit repair law firms have credit lawyers that are barred and have gone to school to study these laws. Yes you may end up spending money on your credit, but as your’ grand parents told you. “It’s better to do something right, than it is to do something twice.”

What Credit Repair Company is Best for You?

While your own comfort level and research will determine this answer for you, one credit repair law firm in many ways stands out when compared to others. Lexington Law Firm has been in business for over nineteen years and has firms throughout thirteen states. By following state and federal laws Lexington Law Firm puts you in a great position to take advantage of the many credit repair laws that exist, and a rating of A+ on the BBB website shows that they are committed to customer service.

For individuals with already shaky credit, it may mean that the application is denied outright. This is because many lenders would rather avoid any potential risk associated with disputed listings, and won’t take the effort to perform what is known as manual underwriting in order to get a more accurate picture of your situation. To make matters worse, the dispute does not have to be related to the removal of an item on your credit report – if you have an ongoing dispute over the amount of a bill, or fraudulent charges, you may also be rejected by the automatic underwriting system.

So what can you do to minimize the chances that your application will be denied, while still taking advantage of your legal right to a fair and accurate credit report? If you plan on disputing an item, and you already have decent credit, it may be in your best interests to hold off on the dispute until after your mortgage has been approved.

If you have an ongoing dispute, be up front about it with potential lenders – most will be able to tell you right away if they’ll be able to process your loan application while the dispute is in effect. And lastly, if you do dispute an item and the company agrees to make the adjustment, follow up to be sure that your creditor removes the disputed item notation from your credit report. Even if the account is no longer in dispute status in their system, a dispute notation on the credit report could cause your loan application to be rejected by the banks.

If you are currently using the services of a credit repair company, make certain that they are following up with your accounts to ensure that any successful disputes are taken care of, and that the notations are removed from your credit report in a timely fashion. By being vigilant, you can enjoy both increased scores and increased financial opportunity.

Protecting Your Identity

Because credit repair companies must handle sensitive information in order to help you improve your credit scores, it pays to find out exactly how they secure your information, and what type of policies they have in place to protect your identity. Stay away from credit repair companies that don’t have a clearly visible privacy policy, and/or don’t have any method of contact other than email. Ideally, you want to be able to contact the company via telephone and an actual physical address – not just a P.O. Box. By establishing a physical presence that is easily located, a reputable credit repair company is one that will be around for the long-term.

Online Precautions

You should be able to get answers about the methods used to secure your data, about encryption on the company’s website (if they have one) and who has access to your data, and when. You should also be able to revoke access to this data at any time, if you choose to end your business relationship with the company. Check the security certificates of the website – they should be current, and they should match the name of the website and the credit repair company. Be wary of any company that has an invalid or expired security certificate – without a valid certificate, your information is not safe.

Company Policies

Different credit repair companies will have different policies when it comes to how your information is handled. You should find out who will have access to that information before you sign up for service. While the credit repair company may take appropriate security steps, third-party vendors with access to your information may not, and this can cause troubles with identity theft down the line, if unauthorized people are able to view your information.

The Final Choice

When deciding on which credit repair company to use, always factor in the security of your personal information. Credit repair can benefit you in many ways, including improved credit scores, lower interest rates and better rates on insurance to name a few. Always make sure that your final choice for credit repair is one that protects these benefits by protecting your identity as well.

We have put together a list of trusted credit repair companies here.

• Guaranteed Score – any credit repair company that guarantees you a particular credit score is almost always a scam. There is no way to know for certain how high your credit score will be, even if the credit repair is successful. Creditors advertising a 700 or better in 30 days are just out to take advantage of desperate consumers.
• Minimal Contact Information – be wary of a credit repair company that operates solely from a website. If there is no phone number, and no physical address, it is very difficult to be certain of a company’s legitimacy.
• Just Opened – don’t trust your credit repair needs to a company that just opened. Scam artists often start fake companies only to fold months later, after taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from unwary consumers.
• High Pressure Sales – reputable credit repair agencies don’t need to resort to high pressure sales tactics to convince you to hire them. If the company’s experience, history, and level of service aren’t enough to impress you with their ability to help, don’t let a flashy sales presentation convince you otherwise.

Credit repair companies provide a valuable service to consumers looking to get a fresh financial start, but it’s important to be certain you’re working with a professional. Check references, the Better Business Bureau, and even online complaint boards before you make a decision, and be prepared to shop around in order to avoid being taken in by scam artists. By doing the research before you commit, you’ll have a better chance of avoiding scam artists and actually getting the credit repair services you need.

Though you may be tempted to try to repair your credit on your own, there are some definite pitfalls to this route. Aside from the fact that most people lack the expertise to really repair their own credit effectively, there are some common pitfalls that the ‘do-it-yourself’ types often fall into when it comes to credit repair. If you decide you want to try it on your own, keep these caveats in mind:

1. Don’t Dispute Everything at Once.

Consumer reporting companies are required to respond to and investigate any dispute that is not deemed “frivolous”. There are no hard and fast rules for what constitutes a frivolous dispute, but having all of your negative credit entries in dispute at once will almost certainly cause some companies to ignore your request. This means that negative items may be even more difficult to remove – as multiple disputes over the same item can also be considered frivolous.

2. Provide Proof When You Have It.

If you have receipts that show you paid on the first of the month, but the creditors are showing the payment on the 19th, you should use this to your advantage. Make copies of the receipts and enclose them with your dispute. Is your name correct on those derogatory items? How about your address? Any legitimate reason to dispute a negative item should come along with some proof as to why the dispute is being made.

3. Keep Your Tone Professional.

Consumer reporting companies respond best to communications that are courteous, professional, and direct. Don’t’ write long-winded letters of dispute, and don’t try to obscure the facts. Make your request, present your evidence, and summarize your position on the issue. Poorly worded disputes may also be seen as frivolous, so pay careful attention to both spelling and grammar. Additionally, you may wish to use a template – but be aware that if all of your disputes read like form letters, you may not see much progress. Still, for those who want to handle the dispute from start to finish, there are form letters available online that serve as a good base to start with.

Credit repair isn’t as simple as it seems to be in the surface. The expert credit repair representatives that do a good job and operate above board provide a valuable service to those individuals who either cannot, or will not attempt to handle credit disputes themselves. This is why it is especially important to find a reputable agency to repair your credit – expertise always gets results. However, if you are one of the do-it-yourself types, following the above guidelines will help ensure that your credit repair attempts aren’t derailed from the start.

A typical credit repair service usually charges a few hundred dollars and takes about 6 months to repair your credit. It usually depends on how bad your credit is. Some clients can be finished within a month or two and will pay considerably less. Others can take over a year and cost more than a thousand dollars. Most credit repair companies have a one-time set up fee and then low monthly payments. It is in violation of the Credit Repair Organizations Act to charge the full amount before they provide any services.

Unfortunately, the credit repair industry has received a bad reputation because of the publicity given to credit repair scams. While fraudulent credit repair firms tend to be shut down quickly, it is still in your best interest to learn how to identify the differences between a legitimate credit repair service and a credit repair scam.

Some warning signs to look out for:

• The company wants you to pay for credit repair services before they provide any services.
• They don’t tell you your legal rights and what you can do for yourself for free.
• They suggest that you try to invent a “new” credit identity and a new credit report by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security number. This is highly illegal. If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you may be subject to prosecution.

You should also research a credit repair company at the BBB (Better Business Bureau). The BBB keeps notes on complaints made against companies. If the BBB report for a credit repair company lists multiple unresolved complaints or an overall low rating, you should be wary of the company.

Check out the Top Credit Repair Companies online.