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Errors and negative items on your credit report can wreak havoc on your credit. According to a recent
Credit repair companies help improve your credit score by reviewing your credit reports and contesting negative items on your behalf. They work with creditors and the major credit bureaus to clean up your reports, which can significantly raise your credit score. If you suffer from bad credit, a professional credit repair process can help improve your credit score.
- Most Experienced: Lexington Law
- Best Free Option: Experian Boost
- Best for Identity Theft Protections: CreditRepair.com
- Best Overall: Ovation
- Best Value: Credit Saint
- Best Pricing: Sky Blue Credit
- Best Money-Back Guarantee: The Credit People
While credit repair is something you could do on your own, the time and effort involved in fixing your own credit make the services of credit repair companies attractive. Below is a look at the best credit repair companies we’ve come across, including the pricing and services they offer.
Most Experienced: Lexington Law
Lexington Law is one of the most popular credit repair companies around and for a good reason. They’ve been in the credit repair business for more than 20 years and have helped over 500,000 clients. Lexington Law is a full-service legal firm based in Utah and Arizona, although their services are available in most states.
There are three levels of credit repair help available from Lexington Law. Concord Standard comes with the most essential credit repair services needed, while Concord Premier comes with basic services, along with additional services:
- Credit score analysis
- Inquiry assistance
- Credit report monitoring
- Alerts
PremierPlus is its most comprehensive package and features cease and desist letters to use, FICO score tracking, a host of financial tools, fraud alerts and identity protection services.
Credit repair through Lexington Law also comes with access to its highly-rated mobile app, available on iOS and Android. The app gives customers access to credit reports from all three major credit bureaus, FICO score tracking and more.
Best Free Service: Experian Boost
Experian Boost is not like other credit repair companies. First, it’s an entirely free service. It’s also different because instead of going through your credit reports searching for errors, Experian Boost allows consumers to link bank accounts to add on-time payments from bills, like utility bills or cell phone services. On-time payments are a huge determining factor in your credit score. By allowing you to add more on-time payments, Experian helps you raise your credit score, which it claims to do instantly.
The free service scans your linked bank accounts, looking for eligible payments. You’ll have a chance to verify the ones you want added to your credit file. From there, Experian goes to work to boost your credit score. According to Experian, your account information remains private.
Experian Boost also gives you free access to your credit report and FICO score. Along with its credit score boosting service, you’ll also get Experian’s credit monitoring service and notifications. Experian Boost is also accessible through the Experian mobile app, available on iOS and Android.
Best Loans for Bad Credit
Best for Identity Theft Protection: CreditRepair.com
Unlike many other services on our list, CreditRepair.com doesn’t charge a first work fee. There is an initial $14.99 charge to obtain your credit report. There are three tiers of credit repair service available. The Direct plan is the cheapest option and comes with up to 15 negative item disputes and three creditor disputes per month, quarterly FICO scores, customer support, and credit report change alerts.
CreditRepair.com uses a three-step process to repair credit for customers:
- Review credit file
- Dispute negative records
- Track credit score
There’s not much difference between the Direct and Standard plans, except the addition of quarterly credit score analysis, 24/7 credit monitoring and the ability to challenge hard inquiries.
The Advanced plan steps up customer protection even further, with identity theft protection, including up to $1 million in identity theft insurance. You’ll also receive access to several personal finance tools. If protecting your identity is important to you, the Advanced package may be worth the extra cost.
CreditRepair.com is owned by the same parent company as Lexington Law. Like its sister company, CreditRepair.com customers get access to a mobile app to track credit repair progress.
Best Overall: Ovation Credit Repair Services
Ovation offers the best overall credit repair services on the market. Part of the LendingTree family, Ovation offers customers two options: Essentials and Essentials Plus.
The Essentials plan is exactly what it sounds like. Customers get access to standard credit repair services, including the ability to dispute any negative item or inaccurate item on your credit report. It also comes with a personal case advisor and access to several personal finance tools.
The Essentials Plus plan takes credit repair one step further by adding unlimited:
- Unlimited challenge validation letters
- Unlimited creditor goodwill letters
- Ovation recommendation letter
- Credit monitoring (of TransUnion credit report)
Ovation’s credit repair service also comes with a no-risk refund policy. They are known for their one-on-one customer service and discounts for referrals, couples, military, and seniors. They even offer a $50 credit for switching over to Ovation from another credit repair company. Ovation has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Best Value: Credit Saint
Credit Saint is another credit repair company with tiered packages to fit a wide range of needs and budgets. The packages range in aggressiveness and the amount and types of inaccuracies they check for each month.
For basic services, the Credit Polish package offers customers up to five inaccuracies disputed by Credit Saint a month, including late payments, account charge-offs, collections, and identity thefts. Credit Remodel comes with up to 10 disputes of inaccuracies a month, plus the inclusion of bankruptcies and repossessions.
For top of the line services, Credit Saint offers Clean Slate. With Clean Slate, you get unlimited help each month and correction and removal of all types of inaccuracies.
Credit Saint has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and all packages come with a 90-day money-back guarantee. There’s no extra charge for personalized service since each package gives customers access to a personal advisory team to keep you up to date and on track to improve your credit. You’ll get online account access, too, so you can track progress and see analysis of your credit.
Best Pricing: Sky Blue Credit Repair
Sky Blue Credit Repair offers one of the lowest prices we’ve seen among popular credit repair companies. There’s only one service package available, and it only costs $79. Couples who sign up together save half on the second member.
With Sky Blue, you get up to 15 items (five per bureau) every 35 days. They also supply goodwill and cease and desist letters for all customers. Sky Blue analyzes your reports to find items to dispute and guides you with a plan of action to correct your reports. There are no extra charges for premium services with Sky Blue Credit Repair.
Best Money-Back Guarantee: The Credit People
The Credit People offer many of the same services as other credit repair companies. The difference is that they provide one of the best money-back guarantees in the business. The unbeatable satisfaction guarantee from The Credit People ensures you’re happy with its service. For those who pay month-to-month, you can cancel at any time if you’re not satisfied and you’re not charged for that month’s service. For those who sign up for flat-fee pricing, the money-back guarantee extends to six months.
Services included with a package from The Credit People include unlimited disputes, free credit reports and scores, 24/7 account access, and more. Customer support is available via phone, chat and email. The Credit People also offer a free credit consultation so you can try them out before buying a credit repair package.
Credit Repair Alternatives
Credit repair companies can help you if you have bad credit or errors on your credit reports. If your low credit score isn’t due to errors, though, paying for their help might not be the best solution. Alternatives to credit repair companies exist that can help boost your credit score without paying costly monthly fees. Here’s a look at a couple of credit repair alternatives that might be right for you.
UltraFICO Score
UltraFICO Score is another credit repair alternative that can help boost your credit score. Users connect checking, savings, and other bank accounts to the service. UltraFICO Score looks at your financial behavior through your bank accounts to potentially boost your credit score. The company employs the latest security features to ensure your account information is protected. Some of the indicators used to boost your credit score include:
- Account age (how long they have been open)
- Bank transaction frequency
- Recent bank transactions
- Cash on hand
- Positive account balance history
UltraFICO Score is currently only available through a pilot program with a small group of lenders. Once the program is completed, UltraFICO Score will be available to consumers in a larger capacity.
Secured credit cards
If you have a low credit score, the likelihood of being approved for a new credit card is slim. Another option is to apply for a secured credit card. Unlike a traditional credit card, your card is secured through a cash deposit instead of a credit check. Secured credit cards typically come with lower credit limits. Your credit card activity is reported each month to credit bureaus. As you make smaller purchases and pay off your balance each month, you’ll slowly improve your credit. Some card issuers will review your account activity and possibly upgrade you to an unsecured credit card.
Should You Use Credit Repair Companies?
If you're struggling with poor credit or bad credit, credit repair companies — like those mentioned above — could be your gateway to improved credit. It’s up to you to weigh the cost of using a credit repair service versus doing all of the legwork yourself.
There’s a lot of good that can come from using a credit repair service. That doesn’t mean it’s the right option for everyone. Using a credit repair company might make sense if any of the following apply to you.
Have significant errors on your credit report
If your credit reports are littered with errors spanning several years, you may be in over your head trying to fix them solo. Using a credit repair company makes it a much less daunting task.
Don’t have time to fix the errors yourself
Your time is valuable and fixing your bad credit isn’t an overnight process. If you don’t have the time to devote to fixing your credit alone, you should hire someone to do it for you.
Need extra assistance
You should consider credit repair companies if you’re uncomfortable handling the tasks required to spot and fix errors on your credit reports.
Want access to other credit-related services: Most credit repair companies listed offered other services beyond fixing credit report errors. Your monthly service may also include extra features like identity theft protection, real-time credit monitoring, alerts, and more.
Conversely, you may not need the help of a credit repair service if any of the following apply to you.
- Want to save money: Every service provided by credit repair companies you can do yourself. There is no magic access these companies have that you don’t. They may be more equipped to navigate the process of fixing errors, but it’s also not as complicated as it may seem. Your credit problems may take several months to resolve, which could leave you holding an expensive bill from the credit repair company.
- Your credit reports don’t contain errors: A credit repair company can’t fix issues with your credit that aren’t related to errors. If there are legitimate red flags on your reports, the only thing that may remove them is time, unfortunately.
- You are comfortable doing it yourself: Fixing your credit reports requires time and attention. It also requires communicating with credit bureaus and creditors to fix any errors. The benefit of using a credit repair company is that they handle all of these tasks on your behalf. If you’re a good communicator and have the time, you can navigate these tasks without outside help.
How to Dispute Inaccurate Information on Your Credit Report
After you’ve discovered errors on your credit report, you can dispute the incorrect information. To open a dispute, you need to contact the credit bureau whose report contains the potential errors. Here’s how to dispute credit report errors to the three primary credit bureaus.
Experian
Experian offers three ways to initiate a credit report dispute — by phone, by mail and online. You can contact Experian by phone using the number listed on your Experian credit report. You can also mail in your dispute to the following address:
ExperianP.O. Box 4500Allen, TX 75013
You will need to provide some personal information on Experian’s Dispute Form when you initiate a dispute, including your:
- Full name (including middle initial)
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
- All physical addresses for the last two years
- A copy of a government-issued photo ID
- A copy of a utility bill or a bank or insurance statement
Experian won’t send back any documents, so only send copies of the required information, not originals.
You can file a dispute online at Experian’s Dispute Center. You can also track existing disputes here. Experian sends emails when a dispute is started along with updates throughout the process. Most Experian disputes are processed within 30 days.
TransUnion
You can dispute your TransUnion credit report online or via phone or mail. Your phone request must include the following information:
- TransUnion file identification number (FIN, on your credit report
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Current address
- Company name of the disputed item
- Account number of the disputed item
- Reason for your dispute
- Any corrections to your personal information
Mail-in disputes should be sent to:
TransUnion Consumer SolutionsP.O. Box 2000Chester, PA 19016-2000
Include the following information with your TransUnion dispute request:
- Your full name
- Partial account number of the disputed item (listed on your credit report)
- Current address
- Your TransUnion file number
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Company name of the disputed item
- Account number of the disputed item
- Reason for your dispute
- Any corrections to your personal information
TransUnion disputes can take up to 30 days to process once they are received.
Equifax
You can file a credit report dispute with Equifax online. Similar to the other bureaus, most disputes are resolved within 30 days. The information you need to provide depends on the specific dispute but may include:
- Driver's license
- Birth certificate
- A copy of a utility bill
- A current bank statements with your account info
- Proof from a lender that the account has been corrected
You can also track your Equifax dispute once it’s filed online.
The Bottom Line
The goal of the credit repair process is to fix errors on your credit report, so your credit and credit score improve. You can choose to fix it on your own or use the assistance of credit repair companies like the services listed above. Having good credit unlocks opportunities and access to lending products and lower interest rates. Do yourself a favor and take time to analyze your credit reports for possible errors that could be weighing down your credit score.
Credit Repair FAQs
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Credit repair is the act of disputing inaccurate information on your credit report that could be hurting your credit. Disputes are reported to credit bureaus, and if they deem they are incorrect or can’t verify them, the items are removed from your credit report.
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There’s no set time for credit repair process to take place. It depends on the number and severity of disputes. Often, it can take up to six months or longer to repair your credit.
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Only inaccurate information on your credit report can be repaired, and there’s no guarantee that a credit bureau will agree with your dispute. You can’t dispute other negative items on your credit report if they are correct.
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Yes, you can perform any of the functions that credit repair companies would do to repair your credit. You can contact the credit bureaus directly to file a credit report dispute.
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Yes, credit repair is a legal process to fix errors on your credit report. Each of the credit bureaus offers a way to dispute potential errors on your credit report.
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Typically negative items, like a late payment or repossession, remain on your credit report for at least seven years but can be listed for up to ten years.
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A negative mark is anything listed on your credit report that can lower your credit score. This includes items like late payments, collections, charge-offs, repossessions, bankruptcies, and liens.
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You can get a free copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus annually at annualcreditreport.com. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax are offering free weekly credit reports.
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Kevin Payne
Kevin Payne is a personal finance, credit card, and travel writer. He is the family travel and budget expert behind FamilyMoneyAdventure.com. Kevin lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife and four kids. His work has appeared on several websites, including FinanceBuzz, Credit Karma, Millennial Money, Club Thrifty, Student Loan Planner and Slickdeals.
