Credit repair companies claim to help clean up your reports by disputing errors with credit bureaus and information furnishers (creditors and debt collectors). You can do this yourself for free using the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s online resources, but for optimal results the best credit repair services may offer educational materials on how to build up good credit and dispute inaccurate items on your report as well as monitoring services, score tracking tools and personalized advice on improving it further.
Before signing with any credit repair service, always check their Better Business Bureau rating, reviews, and complaint history before signing on with them. Also review their terms of service, fees structure, guarantees offered and guarantees offered on services offered. In some instances, companies will require you to sign a contract which gives them limited power of attorney on your behalf; read it thoroughly and don’t agree to pay fees until you fully comprehend their credit repair process, how long it will take and the results it can bring about.
A reliable credit repair company will carefully examine each of your three credit reports from each bureau to identify any discrepancies or mistakes that need correcting, then contact both credit bureaus and any company providing inaccurate data to request that it be removed from your report. They have 30 days to investigate any disputes raised against an item on your report by reaching out to those providing it and verify its accuracy – should that information prove false, it will be removed from your record by them.
Reputable credit repair companies will go beyond disputing inaccurate items on your report to help you create an action plan and learn to avoid future financial missteps, including maintaining a good credit score, making timely payments, and keeping debt utilization ratio low.
Many credit repair companies also provide other products and services, such as identity theft protection, debt management assistance and loan application support. All these extra services can add up in terms of costs; before choosing your credit repair provider it is wise to compare costs across packages as well as amenities like credit monitoring tools to find one with services that meet your budget needs.
