Hiring assistance from a quality credit repair company may end up being one of the best things you have ever done for your financial future. A good credit score can improve so many aspects of your life from the home you live in the car you drive to the job you work. But choosing a bad company not only won’t get you any closer to achieving your credit goals, but it could reduce your spending department or deteriorate your credit situation.
Below is a checklist of things to look for when shopping for a credit repair company you can reference to help you separate the trustworthy credit repair service companies from those that are better left alone.
Amount of time In operation
Starting a credit repair business is easy. There are a number of software programs you can purchase that will essentially allow you to create a new company overnight. What these programs don’t provide, however, is expertise.
Your credit score is too important to trust to someone who isn’t an expert at credit repair. As a general rule, you will be better off selecting a company that has been in operation for a few years. Not only will they have more experience, but there is a better chance that they can remain in business for years into the future.
A company’s BBB profile is a good resource for seeing how long a company has been doing business. If a company does not have a BBB profile, they may be too new or unknown.
Clear Fees
The Federal Credit Repair Organizations Act states “no credit repair organization may charge or receive hardly any money or other valuable consideration for the performance of any service that your credit repair organization has agreed to perform for any consumer before such service is fully performed”. This provision was set up to protect consumers from companies that would charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars for services and then either not providing the arranged services or not be able to positively affect the consumer’s credit report, something that is a possibility no matter how good a company is. Be eager of a company worth considering a payment before providing services.
Physical Location
Having a physical location speaks to the company’s stability and plan to provide services on a long-term basis. A company that will not provide a street address or only has a PO Box is more likely to disappear once they have your money. Also, make sure to plug-in their address in a service such as Google Maps so you can see the actual building. It is not uncommon to find that the address is a personal residence which
Payment Options
At the very least, a credit repair company should accept credit cards, preferably by processing them themselves instead of using a third-party service such as PayPal. This allows you to take advantage of your credit card company’s fraud protection services if necessary. A company that only will take cash, checks, or money orders is probably one that you want to avoid.
Breadth of Services
When credit repair companies first started, their services consisted solely of generating credit institution differences. This method can be effective in cleaning up a credit report, but it tends to be slower, doesn’t work in all cases, and only addresses the 35% of a individuals credit score that is because of derogatory listings.
Today, the most successful companies provide additional services such as goodwill letters, direct creditor differences, debt approval, and credit score coaching. Make sure you find a company that promises the services necessary to help you achieve your credit goals.
Substitute for Choose Which Items to Argument
There are two reasons why this is important. First, the Credit Repair Organizations Act forbids companies from making claims that are false or deceptive which “upon the exercise of reasonable care, should be known by the credit repair organization” such as disputing a poor item you know is accurate. Second, periodically disputing a poor item is a bad idea such as when it is an adult item or represents a legitimate debt that isn’t paid. Disputing these items can actually cause a lower credit score.
Too Good To be True Promises
Legally create a new credit report, guaranteed seven-hundred credit score, permanently remove all negative information form a credit report; these are all promises that are too good to be true for a reason. It is not only impossible for a company to make sure that they will be able to positively affect your credit score, it is illegal. The same will also apply to creating and trying to get approved for credit using a new credit report.