Credit repair services that deliver can offer comprehensive analysis of your reports to identify any discrepancies that are harming your score, working with credit bureaus and creditors to dispute those items and have them removed from your report – helping raise your credit score and set you on a path toward financial security. However, be wary: scams abound, as can legitimate companies not always live up to their promises; to safeguard yourself when searching for credit repair near me here are some points you should keep in mind:
Though not required by law, reputable credit repair agencies typically offer written contracts which detail their services, when you can expect positive changes to your scores, guarantees available and their total cost for their services.
Credit repair services typically charge an upfront fee to cover the costs of pulling your credit and devising a personalized strategy plan to address it. While fees vary between companies, an average range is from $15-200; additional monthly charges may also apply, so always read carefully the fine print to make sure there aren’t any surprises or hidden costs lurking underneath!
Take advantage of any credit repair agency offering free consultations. During this time, a credit repair specialist will assess your personal finance and debt history to see if their services would be suitable for you, explain the process involved, pull your three major credit bureau reports to identify any discrepancies, as well as pull them for review to detect errors or inaccuracies that might exist on them.
Some credit repair services suggest opening new accounts as a way of improving your score, in addition to paying them their fees. Although this might work for certain individuals, opening too many can have the opposite effect and reduce your score; credit repair companies should only recommend doing this if your finances permit.
Before selecting a credit repair company, be sure to read their customer reviews before making your choice. These reviews can often be found online via websites, social media pages and other channels – you could even visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s complaint database to see how many complaints each credit repair service has received.
If you are unhappy with a credit repair service, do not be shy to ask for your money back. Most reputable firms offer at least a 90-day money back guarantee and some even refund your last month of service; The Credit People allows subscribers to cancel at any time and provides both refunds – last and previous month’s. They also provide extra perks like Transunion credit report monitoring as well as unlimited debt validation letters which allow collectors to verify whether debt reported is accurate.
