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(Ad) If you need to improve your credit score, there’s a good chance you will want to hire the best credit repair companies to do it for you. Repairing your credit by yourself will require a lot of time and patience, and likely will result in no small amount of frustration. It’s not surprising that many people make the wiser decision to pay for the help of a credit repair company.
Choosing the best credit repair service, however, can seem almost as daunting as doing it yourself. There are so many options, and it can be difficult to tell legitimate credit repair companies from scammers. Even among reputable credit repair companies, how can you tell which ones are effective?
We have reviewed the best credit repair services of 2021 to help you find the right company for your needs. We’ve analyzed their credit repair processes, reputations, credit repair reviews, guarantees, and prices.
If you’re ready to fix your credit without spending countless hours and the endless frustration of doing it yourself, here are the eight best credit repair companies of 2021.
The Best Credit Repair Companies of 2021
#1 Credit Saint: Best Overall
Our pick for the overall best credit repair company is Credit Saint. Since 2007, Credit Saint has maintained a continuous A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, which is unusual among credit repair agencies. Credit Saint assigns each customer a personal advisory team of credit pros who monitor your case and call periodically to provide updates and answer questions.
Credit Saint has three service packages to choose from: Credit Polish, Credit Remodel, and Clean Slate. The plans range from $79.99 to $119.99 per month, with initial setup fees between $99 and $195. All the packages come with a 90-day money-back guarantee, and the initial consultation is free.
If you have only a few negative items on your credit report, you could choose the Credit Polish plan, the most basic package. Credit Saint will dispute up to 5 inaccuracies per month, including late payments, charge-offs, collections, and transactions related to identity theft. You get online access to Credit Saint’s resources, as well as phone support.
Moving up to the Credit Remodel package adds 5 more disputes per month, plus the ability to challenge bankruptcies and repossessions. You also get escalated information requests. This package has the same $99 set-up fee as the base plan, and costs $99.99 per month.
For the most extensive credit repair, the Clean Slate package is the most comprehensive among Credit Saint’s offerings. You get everything in the Credit Remodel package, plus unlimited disputes and the ability to dispute judgments.
- A+ rating at the Better Business Bureau since 2007
- Free consultation to go over your credit report
- 90-day money back guarantee
- Private online dashboard to monitor progress
- Packages include credit monitoring with Experian
Click Here to Visit the Credit Saint Website for More Info
#2 Lexington Law: Most Reputable Company
Founded in 2004, Lexington Law Firm has offices in Utah and Arizona and attorneys admitted in various states across the country. The firm employs attorneys and paralegals, which is not the case for many credit repair companies. Lexington Law will work with every clientto provide personalized credit counseling and customer service.
Lexington Law offers three service plans and a free initial credit report consultation to help you choose which credit repair options are best for your situation. At $89.85 per month, the Concord Standard plan includes bureau and creditor challenges, meaning Lexington Law will communicate with the three major credit bureaus on your behalf to enforce the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The next level up is the Concord Premier plan, which costs $109.95 a month. This credit clean up service adds continuous credit monitoring, a monthly credit score analysis, questionable inquiry challenges, and more.
Lexington Law’s most complete plan—and their most popular service level—is the Premier Plus package. It includes FICO® Score tracking and analysis, identity monitoring, identity theft insurance, and a financial management tool.
The most advanced feature included in the Premier Plus plan is unusual among credit repair companies: legal assistance in dealing with third-party debt collectors and auctioneers. All this will cost you $129.95 per month.
- Experienced credit repair law firm with over 500,000 active clients
- 56 million removals since 2004
- Free credit report consultation
- Flexible credit repair packages for any budget
- PremierPlus plan comes with identity theft protection
Click Here to Visit the Lexington Law Website for More Info
#3 CreditRepair.com: Best for Free Credit Score Analysis
Of the best credit repair companies we reviewed, CreditRepair.com offers a simple yet effective model. After paying the first work fee of $14.99, the basic rate for all their services is $99.95 per month.
Like most credit repair companies, the credit advisors at CreditRepair.com start by pulling your credit report from each of the three main credit reporting bureaus. They check your credit reports for questionable negative items that may be unfair, invalid, or inaccurate.
They will challenge these negative items with the credit bureaus or other credit companies on your behalf. Then they will follow up to ensure that your credit reports actually change after the disputes are resolved.
The types of items that CreditRepair.com can help you address include collections, judgments, late payments, charge-offs, bankruptcies, foreclosures, repossessions, and any items older than seven years.
Customers also get access to a variety of tools, including an online dashboard to track their credit repair progress. Members also receive text and email alerts, a credit score tracker and analysis tool, and mobile apps for both Android and iOS devices.
- Free credit score analysis and summary
- Personalized credit repair plan to improve your score
- 1.8 million removals since 2012
- 3 different credit repair service levels to choose from
- Mobile credit repair app for iPhone and Android to monitor progress
Click Here to Visit the CreditRepair.com Website for More Info
#4 Sky Blue Credit: Best Value
Sky Blue Credit has a simple pricing model consisting of a $79 first work fee and $79 per month, or $119 a month for couples. Like Credit Saint, Sky Blue Credit offers a 90-day money-back guarantee and a free initial consultation. Sky Blue has been in business since 1989.
When you sign up, Sky Blue Credit will get your free credit reports from the major credit bureaus. After a thorough review, they will identify potential data errors and prioritize the items that have the most impact. Then Sky Blue will start sending dispute letters to the credit bureaus, up to 15 per 35-day cycle.
The credit repair services available from Sky Blue Credit also include goodwill letters, cease and desist letters, debt settlement, and debt validation. They also offer balanced advice on how to improve your credit score, tailored specifically to your needs.
Sky Blue Credit repair says the process usually takes about six months, and you can pause or cancel the service without penalty at any time. That bit of extra flexibility is important, especially for those whose financial situation constantly changes.
- Simple pricing structure with flat-rate credit repair packages
- Low monthly fee of just $79 per month
- No charge for the first 6 days
- 15 credit disputes per 35-day billing cycle
- Cease-and-desist letters to stop debt collector harassment
- A+ Better Business Bureau rating
Click Here to Visit the Sky Blue Credit Website for More Info
#5 The Credit Pros: Fast Credit Repair Service
If you’re on the market for a reliable, affordable credit repair company, The Credit Pros may be your best option. This company has been in business since 2009, and since it began, its credit professionals have helped thousands of customers improve their credit scores and remove questionable items from their reports.
Jason M. Kaplan, an attorney and expert in the credit repair field, started The Credit Pros to help consumers boost their credit scores and avoid credit mistakes in the future. The company has grown steadily since its 2009 beginnings, and the Better Business Bureau has awarded The Credit Pros an A+ BBB rating for its trustworthy, effective services.
The Credit Pros utilizes a tried-and-true credit repair process to boost its customers’ scores by several points. Like many credit repair companies, this firm focuses primarily on identifying inaccurate items on your credit report that may be lowering your score. Once it pinpoints inaccuracies, the company will guide you through the repair process to remove these items.
After you complete a free consultation with the company, The Credit Pros will provide the following services to boost your score:
- A personal action plan from a certified FICO credit repair professional
- Credit dispute letters
- Goodwill letters
- Debt validation letters to creditors
- Cease and desist letters
- Credit monitoring to help identify identity theft or other fraudulent activity
- A user-friendly customer portal
Several of this company’s features brought it to our attention.
First, The Credit Pros offers a convenient mobile app that allows you to check your credit repair progress on the go. We appreciate that the app is user friendly, free to download, and provides instant notifications about your credit activity.
We also like the company’s 90-day money-back guarantee. This guarantee allows you to try The Credit Pros’ services with confidence, knowing that the company will refund your money if it cannot dispute your negative items.
Also, you will have access to The Credit Pros legal network, so that you can talk to credit attorneys and engage their services if legal action becomes necessary. This is a distinct advantage of The Credit Pros.
Altogether, The Credit Pros is a reputable credit repair company that offers a range of valuable services to repair your credit report.
- Credit monitoring included with every package
- Identity theft protection and insurance included
- Unlimited dispute letters for one low monthly fee
- One-on-one action plan with personal case advisor
- Monthly fees starting at just $19 per month
Click Here to Visit the Credit Pros Website for More Info
#6 The Credit People: Best Guarantee
Some credit repair companies offer a money-back guarantee, often with restrictions. The Credit People have one of the best: a 60-day money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied for any reason.
Another thing that sets The Credit People apart is their pricing: you can pay monthly, or a six-month flat fee. With the monthly option you pay a $19 setup fee and, after a 7-day trial period, you then pay $79 per month. During the trial period, you can get an idea of the state of your credit history and decide if you really need the help of a credit repair service.
With the 6-month flat-rate option, there is no set-up fee or monthly charge—you just make a one-time payment of $419. Since this works out to only $70 a month and the process usually takes 6 months, The Credit People offer one of the most affordable packages on the market.
Most of the top credit repair companies assign each customer a personal advisor. The Credit People do not, so you could end up talking to a different advisor each time you contact them. If this is a problem, you might want to choose a different credit repair company.
- Legitimate credit repair company founded in 2001
- Unbeatable satisfaction guarantee
- Free credit reports and scores
- Just $19 today and then $79 monthly fee, cancel anytime
Click Here to Visit The Credit People Website For More Info
#7 Pyramid Credit Repair: Best Customer Service
Since the best credit repair companies improve your credit score mostly through the same processes, Pyramid Credit Repair distinguishes itself from the competition with stellar customer service.
Founded in 2012, Pyramid assigns each customer a Personal Account Manager to help you through the entire credit repair process. They will walk you through requesting your credit scores and a free initial assessment to see if the program is right for you. And while your account manager is your primary point of contact, you also will have the support of an entire team of credit pros.
Pyramid Credit Repair protects their customers’ privacy—they will not share your credit data without your explicit consent. Their website is one of the better ones, meeting accessibility guidelines that many sites do not.
Pricing is simple: $99 a month for singles or $198 per month for couples. You can cancel without penalty at any time.
While Pyramid Credit Repair is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, they do have an excellent Trustpilot score and consistently positive customer reviews. They offer a conditional 90-day money-back guarantee.
#8 Ovation Credit Services: Experienced Credit Fixers
Founded by Lending Tree, Ovation Credit Services offers two credit repair packages. Both plans start with an $89 first work fee on signup and include a free consultation, a case advisor, and personalized credit dispute options.
The Essentials credit repair package costs $79 per month, and includes 24/7 access to your case, with live updates from the Ovation Credit Services pros, as well as access to the online dispute service.
Stepping up to the Essentials Plus plan adds unlimited challenge validation and unlimited creditor goodwill letters. You also get a personalized creditor recommendation letter and TransUnion Credit Monitoring. This plan will set you back $109 per month.
Both plans allow customers to add Fast Track and Identity Optimization packages to their services for an additional fee.
Ovation Credit Services has an A+ accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, a standout score among credit repair companies. They also boast what may be the best website in the industry, with a modern interface and a smooth user experience that puts all their services at your fingertips.
Things to Consider When Choosing The Best Credit Repair Services
Free Consultation
All the best credit repair companies we reviewed offer a free credit consultation. This is essential to get a good sense of how they can help you before paying for their services. The credit expert will help you choose which of their credit repair services will benefit you most—or you could find that you don’t really need the assistance of a credit repair company at all, in which case you could save some money.
First Work Fee (Setup Fee)
Under the United States Credit Repair Organizations Act, a credit repair company cannot charge for services in advance. Most of them, however, do charge a setup or “first work” fee—a one-time fee to open your account. These work fees range from as little as $6.99 to almost $200.
BBB Rating
Fixing something as important as your credit score is serious, and you want to know you can trust the credit repair company you hire. Their reputation must be verifiable. A rating of A+ from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is the gold standard. Legitimate credit repair companies don’t need to have the top BBB rating to be reputable, however, as long as they have a good record of dealing with problems.
Money Back Guarantee
Most of the credit repair companies we reviewed offer some sort of guarantee. Be sure to read the fine print, however, as not all guarantees are created equal.
Some credit help companies have no strings attached: you can cancel for any reason and get your money back. Others offer money back only if the credit repair company fails to remove negative items from your credit report. A 90-day money-back guarantee if your credit score hasn’t improved is a good option.
Number of Negative Items Disputed Per Billing Cycle
Good credit repair companies do most of their work by disputing inaccurate or unverifiable items found on your credit report. The most basic plans allow five disputed items per cycle. If you don’t have a lot of items to challenge, that could be enough for your needs.
If you require more extensive credit repair, you’ll want to step up to a plan that offers more disputes per cycle, as this will help speed the process of improving your credit score. The most comprehensive packages offer unlimited disputes.
Price Per Month
All the best credit repair companies we reviewed offer monthly plans. Prices vary widely, based on the level of service, how many people are covered, and, of course, the credit repair company itself.
The lowest monthly rate we found was $79, available from several of our picks as their base price. The highest monthly price was $198 per month for the couples plan from Pyramid Credit Repair.
The absolute lowest monthly cost available from our list of credit repair companies is the 6-month flat-rate plan from The Credit People. At $419, it works out to just under $70 per month, though it’s payable in a lump sum.
Years of Experience
While there’s no reason a recently formed company can’t deliver great results, experience is reassuring. The longer a company has been repairing credit, the more they will know about the ins and outs of the process, and the more likely they are to be able to handle any complications that come up.
How Do Credit Repair Companies Work?
While each credit repair company has its own process, they all use the same basic methods to repair your credit. The general strategy is to identify and remove errors, inaccurate data, or other problems with your credit reports. By cleaning up your credit reports, the best credit repair companies can improve your credit score significantly.
First, the credit repair company will get (or help you get) your credit reports from the three main credit bureaus. They’ll review your credit report for any data that could negatively impact your credit score, such as discrepancies, inaccuracies, or other errors. Some credit repair companies include this analysis in the free consultation.
At this point, a reputable credit repair service will admit they aren’t able to help you. If you have a series of legitimate charge-offs, for instance, there’s not much a credit repair company can do to improve your credit score. In this case, your credit repair options are limited to improving your credit habits and rebuilding your credit over time.
Once the credit repair company identifies the items to dispute, they will send dispute letters to the creditors and credit bureaus on your behalf, challenging the negative items so the data will be removed from your credit reports.
Depending on your situation, credit repair agencies may also send data validation requests, or cease and desist letters to debt collectors.
In the age of the internet, a good credit repair company will offer at least some tools for customers on their website, like a dashboard or communication options. Be sure to visit the site often to stay up to date on the progress of your case.
What Items Can Be Removed from Your Credit Report?
Quite a few types of errors and negative items can be removed from your credit report to improve your credit score:
- Duplicate accounts
- Accounts that belong to someone else (e.g., someone with a similar name or an account that belongs to an ex-spouse)
- Hard inquiries that shouldn’t be there
- Misspellings
- Incorrect dates for accounts
- Outdated items that should have dropped off
- Inaccuracies that could signal identity theft
- Open accounts that should be closed or closed accounts that should be open
- Public records that shouldn’t be listed (such as liens or judgments)
- Missing items that could raise your score
Even if the negative entry in itself is accurate, any error within the entry can be grounds for removal. When you dispute an item, you are asking the credit bureau to verify the entry. If they can’t verify it, they must remove it.
How Do Credit Repair Companies Fix Your Credit?
Cleaning up your credit report is the most important thing credit repair services can do to fix your credit. Any inaccuracies, errors, or discrepancies between credit reports from different bureaus can negatively impact your credit score. According to credit repair reviews, there are several ways a credit repair service goes about this.
After they have identified items to dispute, the credit repair company will send dispute letters to the credit bureaus (and the creditor, if appropriate) to ask them to verify the data. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, they must investigate any disputed data within 30 days. If they can’t verify it, the law requires them to remove the item from your report.
Any overdue debts on your credit report (especially if they have gone to a collection agency) can really drag down your credit score. Collection agencies are required to verify the debt is actually yours. A credit repair company can help validate debts by dealing with the collection agency on your behalf.
Even if the debt is valid, the creditor or collection agency may be willing to accept partial payment if the debt is old enough. Your credit repair company can handle this negotiation, and may be able to convince the creditor or collection agency to agree to remove any negative information from your credit report. They also can send cease and desist letters to get the debt collector to stop contacting you.
If you’ve generally stayed on top of your bills but got behind on one by accident, you may be able to persuade the creditor to remove the item by simply admitting your mistake and asking for forgiveness. An aggressive credit repair service can help by sending these “goodwill letters” on your behalf.
It is sometimes possible to improve your credit by applying for more credit, since the ratio of available credit to what you’ve used determines part of your score. If your credit repair company recommends this, be sure to exercise restraint; if you actually use the new credit, you’ll be right back where you started.
It’s important to remember that even the best credit repair company can’t fix a legitimately bad credit rating. If you have a bankruptcy or a history of late payments on your credit reports, they won’t be able to remove those. They can only ensure your credit reports are accurate and fair.
Signs of a Credit Repair Scam
While there are plenty of reputable credit repair services, there are also plenty of people looking to scam those who are trying to fix their credit. Here are a few ways to distinguish between a legitimate agency and a scam.
Even the best credit repair company can’t guarantee your score will increase by a certain amount. This is illegal, and any legitimate company will tell you that they can’t guarantee specific results—only that they will perform the services they have promised.
If a credit fixing company says they can remove all negative information from your credit history, even data that is accurate and current, it’s a scam. Likewise, advising you to lie by disputing accurate information raises a red flat immediately.
Another serious warning sign is if they tell you to get a new social security number or tax ID number as a way of starting over with a clean slate. This is a form of fraud and a sure sign that the company is not legitimate.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outlines some warning signs for credit repair scams here.
How Much Do Credit Repair Services Cost?
When you factor in the monthly fee over time, the potential credit repair cost might seem high. But the next time you apply for a loan or credit card, a clean credit report and the improved credit score that goes with it can save you thousands of dollars in interest. It can also make the difference to being approved for a lease or job application.
Almost all credit repair companies charge a first work fee (setup fee) to create your account and get started. This fee can be as low as $6.99 or as high as $200 (or more), depending on the company and the plan you choose.
Likewise, there is a range of monthly fees from different companies. Several of the companies we reviewed offer a base plan at $79 per month, which should be adequate for many customers. Prices go up as you add features or the number of people using the plan. The highest monthly rate we found for a single person was $129.99, and for couples it was $198. Many plans come in around $99 per month.
How Long Does It Take to Repair Your Credit Score?
Because of the 30-day window that creditors and the credit bureaus have to address any disputes, you shouldn’t expect to see any changes to your score until at least a month has passed. If you have only a few minor items to fix, you might make all the repairs within 90 days. At the least, you should see some improvement in that timeframe.
If your credit history is a mess or you were the victim of identity theft, it could take considerably longer. Much depends on the complexity of your case, but most experts agree that six months is a reasonable amount of time to expect the process to take.
A legitimately poor credit rating, whether due to late payments, charge-offs, or bankruptcy, will take much longer to repair. In this case the only way to fix your credit is to change your habits and rebuild your score by diligently making payments on time and avoiding using too much of your available credit.
Hiring a Credit Repair Agency vs. Doing It Yourself
By law, a credit repair company can’t do anything you couldn’t do yourself. But while you could send all the letters and make all the calls, there is much to be said for hiring someone to do the legwork for you.
Dealing with creditors and credit bureaus requires patience, diligence, and a lot of work. Your time is worth money, and in the long run you may well save money by hiring a company to do the heavy lifting.
Another factor to consider is the expertise offered by credit repair companies. They do this all day, every day—it’s their job. They know the best way to handle all the different situations that may come up, and they have the time to follow up on every letter and phone call.
If you want to save some money but aren’t ready to undertake the process on your own, credit repair software might seem like a good middle ground. A software package will provide the tools you need to repair your credit yourself: templates for letters, contact information for credit bureaus, and any number of tips.
What software can’t deliver, however, is the time and effort required to do all the work. Unless your credit situation is very simple or you have a lot of free time over the next six months, you’re probably better off hiring a company to repair your credit for you.
Final Thoughts – Are Credit Repair Companies Worth It?
By now, you should have a good idea of the pros and cons of affordable credit repair companies. If your credit score is high and your history is clean, you probably don’t need credit repair. But if you’re one of the estimated 5% of people with errors on their credit report, then you probably want to do what you can to fix those errors and raise your score.
Certainly, you can improve your credit on your own—if you have the time and tenacity to undertake the process. But even if you only have a couple of items to address, it can make sense to engage the services of a credit repair company. The experience and expertise they bring to the table can make the difference between a tiresome and frustrating process and one that is successful and stress-free.