Picking Legitimate Credit Repair Companies
If you are in the market for a credit repair company, then you probably already realize that there are legitimate credit repair companies that use legal means to help you restore your credit and illegitimate companies that either use sketchy methods or simply charge you for services they never intend to deliver.
The first sign of a legitimate credit repair company is to look at what they are promising. Credit repair is accomplished by helping you remove inaccurate things from your credit report. These things can include late payments, bankruptcies, collections, charge-offs, and judgments. They can be inaccurate as in they do not belong to you at all, or inaccurate as to their reporting information. Either way, once a suspected error is detected, the federal reporting agencies have 30 days to verify it and if they cannot, they must remove it from your credit report. A legitimate credit repair company promises to help you identify and challenge potential inaccuracies.
How much work will they do? Read their offers to make sure that you know what you are getting. Some companies limit how many disputes they will file for you or how often they will file them. Most people are not going to hit their max amounts, but if you know you have a difficult credit history, you may need to look at another service. You may also want a service that offers safeguards against identity theft or includes credit monitoring.
Another thing to consider is the price. The goal of credit repair is to ultimately place you in a healthier position in terms of financial possibilities. You can get quality credit repair services for a reasonable monthly payment or for a chunk of months, with most companies offering discounts if you purchase multiple months or a subscription.
Finally, you want responsive customer service. If you have questions or concerns, can you get ahold of a person at the company to address them? Check this out before you sign up for their services. If you cannot get ahold of a company when it is trying to earn your business, you are not going to be able to get ahold of them after you are a customer.