Credit Repair Services

Question:

What do you think about credit repair services? Are they worth it?

Answer:

The question really comes down to, “What is the value of your time?”

Several law firms, including Lexington Law Firm, offer credit repair services to consumers who are attempting to rebuild or simply improve their credit ratings. These services primarily try to help improve consumers’ credit scores by disputing derogatory items on their credit reports, frequently disputing even accurate credit listings, in an attempt to have derogatory information removed.

Frequently, having an inaccurate item removed from a credit report is a relatively straightforward process, as a single dispute can result in the item being erased. However, if a creditor fights your dispute, having an account removed from your credit report can be a much more difficult and time consuming process, as it can involve repeated disputes. In some cases, even the best efforts of an experienced credit repair firm may not result in the removal of a derogatory credit listing from your report, especially if the creditor can show that the information it is reporting is accurate.

You could dispute the inaccurate items on your credit report without the assistance of a credit repair firm. However, like most professional services, you pay these firms to do the work for you and to provide professional advice based on their experience in working with other consumers in similar situations. I like to compare this service to people going to a tax preparer to have their tax returns completed; they could do it themselves, but prefer to hire a professional to save them time and to point out ways that they can save more money on their taxes.

You certainly can dispute items on your credit report without professional assistance, but many consumers prefer to hire a professional to help them through the debt dispute process. Generally speaking, the fees charged by these law firms for credit repair assistance are reasonable. One of the more well-known firms, Lexington Law, charges $99 as an initial fee plus $39 per month, which is not much considering the amount of time their services could save you, especially if you have many accounts on your credit report that need to be disputed.

Do it yourself
If you decide that you would like to dispute the inaccurate information on your credit report without the assistance of a professional credit repair firm, there are several steps you will need to follow.

First, you should obtain a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You can request free copies of your reports by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com.

Once you receive copies of your reports, you should carefully review them to make sure that all listings, especially the listings appearing in the derogatory category, belong to you and are being reported accurately. Credit reports are notoriously inaccurate, with consumers frequently finding listings of derogatory accounts that never belonged to them or that were paid off years ago.

If you find any inaccurate listings, you should dispute them with the appropriate credit bureau. The Federal Trade Commission provides a comprehensive guide to disputing items on your credit report. Once you have disputed a listing, the credit bureau will investigate your dispute to determine if the account in question should or should not be appearing on your credit report. Once the bureau has concluded its investigation, it should send you a written copy of its decision along with another copy of your credit report if any changes have been made as a result of your dispute.

Rip-off or not?
Generally speaking, I do not think that the law firms that offer credit repair services are a rip off. Rather, I think that they can be quite helpful, depending on your needs and how much you are willing to pay for the time savings and experience these services provide.

To learn more about credit and credit reporting, I encourage you to visit the Bills.com Credit Resources page.

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