The Best Credit Repair Services: 3 Tips for Identifying Them
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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. Visit http://www.lexingtonlaw.com for more information. By Lexington Law
Published on 01/28/2010
With so many inexperienced credit repair organizations coming onto the scene, many of which are turnkey credit repair businesses using third party software as the backbone of their product, it becomes a challenge to figure out which companies can be trusted with your credit reports. Here are three suggestions for identifying a <a href="http://www.lexingtonlaw.com">reputable credit repair provider</a>.
The Top Credit Repair Services: Three Tips for Identifying Them
The credit repair industry has become a crowded place. Recent economic turmoil has prompted increased lending restrictions that have made having a good credit rating far more important than it had been 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 providers are popping up seemingly every day claiming to be experts at fixing credit reports.
With so many inexperienced credit repair companies coming onto the scene, many of which are simply turnkey credit repair businesses using a third party software solution to power their service, it becomes difficult to figure out which companies can be trusted with your credit. To help separate the top credit repair companies from the greenhorns trying to make a quick buck, here are some suggestions for spotting a reputable credit repair provider:
1) Check for experience - Setting up a credit repair service is surprisingly simple. A person only needs a website and a little money in the bank to pay for a software package. Remaining in the business and generating good results for customers is harder. The leading credit repair companies usually have a history of providing credit repair services which is not only indicative of a stable business, but it is also a sign that the company practices within the confines of the law.
2) Look for a "brick and mortar" presence - The Internet is perfect for commerce, but the process of working to repair your credit generally produces better results when performed offline. Trustworthy credit repair providers usually have a physical place of operations you can use as an indication of how solid the company is. Google Maps or some other satellite imagery service is a great tool for checking out the company's headquarters. Get the company's address, pull up a map and see if the company has their own building, operates in an office complex, rents out a space in a strip mall, or has the mailing address of a personal residence.
3) Look at pricing and payment options - Drafted in the mid nineties, the Credit Repair Organizations Act CROA sets guidelines credit repair companies must abide by. One of these is to not require payment for services until after they have been performed. This was created to protect consumers from credit repair scammers who would charge large upfront fees and never fulfill their end of the arrangement.
As a result of this, you should steer clear of credit repair companies who require an upfront payment.
In addition to finding out when and how much you will be expected to pay for credit repair services, make note of the payment options. Most reputable companies will provide at a minimum the option to pay via credit card on their website or over the phone. Additional payment methods may also be accepted.
Be wary of companies who only accept checks or money orders as you do not have the same protections in place to recover your money if something goes wrong. Also watch out for companies who employ third party payment processing on their website such as Paypal since this may be a sign of a fly by night clinic. Finally when submitting payment information online, make sure the webpage is secured. If not, your personal information could be intercepted. Before entering your credit card on a web page, make sure the address of the page begins with "https" and your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.) displays a padlock or similar icon indicating the connection is encrypted.
With so many inexperienced credit repair companies coming onto the scene, many of which are simply turnkey credit repair businesses using a third party software solution to power their service, it becomes difficult to figure out which companies can be trusted with your credit. To help separate the top credit repair companies from the greenhorns trying to make a quick buck, here are some suggestions for spotting a reputable credit repair provider:
1) Check for experience - Setting up a credit repair service is surprisingly simple. A person only needs a website and a little money in the bank to pay for a software package. Remaining in the business and generating good results for customers is harder. The leading credit repair companies usually have a history of providing credit repair services which is not only indicative of a stable business, but it is also a sign that the company practices within the confines of the law.
2) Look for a "brick and mortar" presence - The Internet is perfect for commerce, but the process of working to repair your credit generally produces better results when performed offline. Trustworthy credit repair providers usually have a physical place of operations you can use as an indication of how solid the company is. Google Maps or some other satellite imagery service is a great tool for checking out the company's headquarters. Get the company's address, pull up a map and see if the company has their own building, operates in an office complex, rents out a space in a strip mall, or has the mailing address of a personal residence.
3) Look at pricing and payment options - Drafted in the mid nineties, the Credit Repair Organizations Act CROA sets guidelines credit repair companies must abide by. One of these is to not require payment for services until after they have been performed. This was created to protect consumers from credit repair scammers who would charge large upfront fees and never fulfill their end of the arrangement.
As a result of this, you should steer clear of credit repair companies who require an upfront payment.
In addition to finding out when and how much you will be expected to pay for credit repair services, make note of the payment options. Most reputable companies will provide at a minimum the option to pay via credit card on their website or over the phone. Additional payment methods may also be accepted.
Be wary of companies who only accept checks or money orders as you do not have the same protections in place to recover your money if something goes wrong. Also watch out for companies who employ third party payment processing on their website such as Paypal since this may be a sign of a fly by night clinic. Finally when submitting payment information online, make sure the webpage is secured. If not, your personal information could be intercepted. Before entering your credit card on a web page, make sure the address of the page begins with "https" and your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.) displays a padlock or similar icon indicating the connection is encrypted.