Identifying the Top Credit Repair Company
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Lexington Law
Providing credit repair services since 1991, Lexington Law has helped over 500,000 clients legally take on their credit. Last year alone, Lexington Law helped clients remove over 600,000 negative items from their credit reports. By Lexington Law
Published on 01/28/2010
With so many new and inexperienced credit repair organizations coming onto the scene, many of which are turnkey businesses using third party software to power their service, it becomes a challenge to know which services can be trusted with your credit reports. Here are some tips for identifying a reputable credit repair company.
Finding the Top Credit Repair Service
The credit repair industry has become a crowded place. Recent economic turmoil has led to increased lending restrictions that have made having a high credit score far more important than in previous years. Finding themselves no longer being considered good candidates for loans because their credit score isn't as good as it now needs to be, thousands are turning to credit repair services for help. Hoping to capitalize on the trend, new credit repair companies are being created all the time claiming to be experts at fixing credit reports.
With so many inexperienced credit repair organizations coming onto the scene, many of which are simply turnkey businesses using a third party software solution as the backbone of their product, it becomes difficult to figure out who you can trust with your credit. To help separate the best credit repair companies from the amateurs trying to make a quick buck, here are three suggestions for spotting a quality credit repair provider:
1) Look for experience - Setting up a credit repair company is surprisingly simple. All a person needs is a web site and a little money in the bank to purchase a credit repair software package. Remaining in the business and producing results for customers is harder. The best credit repair companies usually have an established history of providing credit repair services which is not only indicative of a stable business, but it is also a sign that the company operates within the confines of the law since most shady companies don't last very long.
2) Look for an offline presence - The Internet is perfect for commerce, but the process of repairing your credit is more effective when performed offline. Trustworthy credit repair companies usually have a physical place of operations you can use as a guide to how solid the company is. Google Maps or some other satellite imagery service is a great tool for researching the company's headquarters. Grab the company's address, load a map and see if the company occupies their own building, operates in an office complex, rents out a location in a strip mall, or has the mailing address of a personal residence.
3) Look at pricing and payment options - Signed into law in 1996, the Credit Repair Organizations Act sets guidelines credit repair companies must adhere to. One of these is to not require payment for services until after the agreed upon services have been performed. This restriction was put in place to protect consumers from scammers who would charge large upfront fees and then never provide the expected services.
Naturally, you should steer clear of credit repair companies who require an upfront payment (yes, there are still many in operation despite this regulation).
Along with finding out how much and when you will be expected to pay for credit repair services, note the payment options. Most reputable online companies will, at a minimum, give you the option to pay via credit card on their website or over the phone.
Be wary of companies who require checks or money orders as a form of payment because you do not have the same level of protection in case you need to recover your money if something goes wrong. Also watch out for companies who use a third party payment system on their website such as Paypal since this can be indicative of a fly by night clinic. Finally when providing payment information online, make sure the webpage is secured. If not, your personal information could be intercepted. Before keying in your credit card on a webpage, make sure the location of the page begins with "https" and your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.) displays a padlock or similar icon indicating the connection is encrypted.
With so many inexperienced credit repair organizations coming onto the scene, many of which are simply turnkey businesses using a third party software solution as the backbone of their product, it becomes difficult to figure out who you can trust with your credit. To help separate the best credit repair companies from the amateurs trying to make a quick buck, here are three suggestions for spotting a quality credit repair provider:
1) Look for experience - Setting up a credit repair company is surprisingly simple. All a person needs is a web site and a little money in the bank to purchase a credit repair software package. Remaining in the business and producing results for customers is harder. The best credit repair companies usually have an established history of providing credit repair services which is not only indicative of a stable business, but it is also a sign that the company operates within the confines of the law since most shady companies don't last very long.
2) Look for an offline presence - The Internet is perfect for commerce, but the process of repairing your credit is more effective when performed offline. Trustworthy credit repair companies usually have a physical place of operations you can use as a guide to how solid the company is. Google Maps or some other satellite imagery service is a great tool for researching the company's headquarters. Grab the company's address, load a map and see if the company occupies their own building, operates in an office complex, rents out a location in a strip mall, or has the mailing address of a personal residence.
3) Look at pricing and payment options - Signed into law in 1996, the Credit Repair Organizations Act sets guidelines credit repair companies must adhere to. One of these is to not require payment for services until after the agreed upon services have been performed. This restriction was put in place to protect consumers from scammers who would charge large upfront fees and then never provide the expected services.
Naturally, you should steer clear of credit repair companies who require an upfront payment (yes, there are still many in operation despite this regulation).
Along with finding out how much and when you will be expected to pay for credit repair services, note the payment options. Most reputable online companies will, at a minimum, give you the option to pay via credit card on their website or over the phone.
Be wary of companies who require checks or money orders as a form of payment because you do not have the same level of protection in case you need to recover your money if something goes wrong. Also watch out for companies who use a third party payment system on their website such as Paypal since this can be indicative of a fly by night clinic. Finally when providing payment information online, make sure the webpage is secured. If not, your personal information could be intercepted. Before keying in your credit card on a webpage, make sure the location of the page begins with "https" and your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.) displays a padlock or similar icon indicating the connection is encrypted.