Three Tips For Locating The Best Credit Repair Company
The credit repair industry has become a crowded place. The credit crisis has prompted more stringent lending restrictions that have made having a good credit rating much more important than in years. Finding themselves no longer being considered good candidates for loans because their credit score isn’t as good as it now needs to be, thousands are turning to credit repair services for help. Eager to cash in on the trend, new credit repair services are being created seemingly every day claiming to be experts at repairing credit reports.
With so many new and inexperienced credit repair companies entering the market, many of which are turnkey credit repair businesses using a third party software solution as the backbone of their product, it becomes difficult to know who you can trust with your credit. To help separate the best credit repair companies from the greenhorns trying to make a quick buck, here are three tips for spotting a quality credit repair service:
1) Look for experience – Setting up a credit repair service is remarkably simple. All a person needs is a website and a few hundred dollars to purchase a credit repair business software package. Remaining in the business and producing good results is more difficult. The best credit repair services typically have a history of helping people which not only indicates a stable business, but it is also a sign that the company operates within the confines of the law since most underhanded companies have a short lifespan.
2) Look for a “brick and mortar” presence – The Internet is perfect for commerce, but the process of working to clean up your credit reports is more effective when performed offline. Established credit repair providers usually have a physical place of operations you can use as a guide to how solid the company is. Bing Maps or some other satellite imagery service is a great tool for researching the company’s headquarters. Get the company’s address, load a map and see if the company occupies their own building, is headquartered in an office complex, rents out a space in a strip mall, or has the mailing address of a personal residence.
3) Look at pricing and payment options – Signed into law in 1996, the Credit Repair Organizations Act establishes rules that credit repair companies must adhere to. One of these is to only accept payment for services after the agreed upon services have been performed. This restriction was put in place to help protect consumers from scammers who would charge large upfront fees and then never provide the expected credit repair services.
As a result of this, you should steer clear of credit repair companies who require an upfront payment.
Along with finding out when and how much you will be expected to pay, make note of the payment options. Most reputable companies will provide at a minimum the option to pay via credit card on their website or over the phone. Additional payment methods may also be accepted.
Be wary of companies who require checks or money orders as a form of payment because you do not have the same level of protection in case you need to recover your money if something goes wrong. Also watch out for companies who use a third party payment system on their website such as Paypal since this can be indicative of a fly by night service. Finally when submitting payment information online, make sure the webpage is secured. Before entering your credit card or Social Security number on a webpage, make sure the location of the page begins with “https” and your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.) displays a padlock or similar icon indicating the connection is secure.
Many people who begin searching for the top credit repair service end up selecting Lexington Law to help them with their credit. Lexington Law has established itself as a leader in the credit repair industry as is evidenced by the over 1 million negative items clients saw removed from their credit reports in 2009.
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