How to Choose a Credit Repair Service

Before you make a decision to invest in anything, whether its a car, stocks, life insurance, or whatever, it's a good idea to make a list of the criteria that's most important to you.  Then you can compare and contrast how each provider meets your criteria.

If you're not sure what criteria is most important or what options are available, just pretend you can have whatever you want.  When it comes to credit repair, ask yourself...

• How fast do I want my credit fixed?

• How much should it cost?

• Can I see results before I pay?

• What's included with the service?

Let's address each of these one at a time.

How fast do I want my credit fixed?

I don't know anyone who wants their credit fixed slowly.  In most cases, you find out your credit score is damaged after you've applied for a loan, job, or credit card.  If you still want to apply for that job or loan, then you'll need instant results.

Most credit repair services charge a small monthly fee.  In order for them to make a profit, they have to keep you as a client for as long as possible.  That means you won't see significant results for years.

You'd be better off with a credit repair service that will give you a written guarantee of significant results within a 6 month timeframe or your money back.

How much should it cost?

Credit repair services charge anywhere from $200.00 to $5,000.00.  The service they deliver varies equally.  Let me explain.

Services that mail template disputes to the credit bureaus generally charge about $200.  In my opinion, you'd be better off mailing the letters yourself.  There is a statistical possibility that some of your inaccurate items will drop off, however, there is a strong possibility those items will reappear in the following months.  Why? Because the original creditor still has those negative items in their records. 

More expensive credit repair services will attack your negative items at the source.  The probability of those items returning drops exponentially.

Unless you have a real case of identity theft or some other criminal activity on your credit report, you probably don't need a $350 an hour attorney.  The best credit repair services tend to charge $1,000 - $3,000.

Can I see results before I pay?

According to the Credit Repair Organizations Act, a credit repair service cannot charge for credit repair until the service has been performed.  Most services interpret this to mean that they can bill you once they've mailed your first round of disputes.  They will expect you to pay in full at the time you sign up or on a monthly basis as they attempt to remove one item at a time.

At Score More Credit we feel you shouldn't pay for credit repair until you've seen results.  We audit your entire credit report all at one time and bill you only after you've seen results.

What's included with the service?

Services available include disputing negative data with the 3 major credit bureaus including late payments, charge offs, collections, judgments, bankruptcy, foreclosure, repossession, and inquiries.  Some services will also negotiate unpaid collections for deletion or settlement.  Finally, some will also help you build a great credit report.

Know what you're getting for your investment.

Summary

When it comes to credit repair you can have it all.  Just be clear on what it is you want and be realistic about your expectations.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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