Once they confirm your identity and pull your credit, they’ll review your report line by line. They’ll note the issues you’ve flagged and advise you of any other potential inaccuracies they find, including erroneous personal information, typos, duplicate accounts, misreported late payments, and more. Upgrade offers online credit and banking services, including personal loans from $1,000 to $50,000. The lender imposes a low credit score requirement— 580 —and applying with a co-borrower can reduce your rate, making it a good option if you have fair credit.

Negative items can remain on your credit reports for seven to 10 years, and it will take longer to recover from more serious credit events, such as bankruptcy, debt settlement, foreclosure and loan default. If you find an error on any of your credit reports, dispute the error right away. You may need to provide documentation indicating what information is incorrect (such as confirmation that you paid your bills on time if they were reported as late).

Most clients see positive results with our credit repair services within days. Improved scores allow you to save money with better rates and lower payments. Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com are two of the country’s largest credit repair companies—companies that promise to fix or to improve people’s credit. The Credit People’s Credit Report Repair service is relatively affordable compared to other programs in the space. Even the most basic package (the standard package) includes unlimited challenges to all three credit bureaus. Upgrading to the premium package includes escalated disputes and monthly credit score reports and score refreshes.

These are not just bad ideas, they’re also scams — and they’ll hurt your credit if you buy into the scam. If a company promises to create a new credit identity or hide your bad credit history or bankruptcy, that’s also a scam. These companies often use stolen Social Security numbers, or they get people to apply for Employer Identifications Numbers (EINs) from the IRS under false pretenses.

How To Repair Your Credit In 11 Steps

When we enforce the law, we or a court may order the company or person to take action to correct the harm caused to consumers. This can include requiring the company or person to compensate its victims through redress payments. With CreditWise, you can access your credit score and credit report anytime. Plus, you can use CreditWise alongside AnnualCreditReport.com to view your credit reports to help make sure you’re on the right track.

If you take the steps we have recommended above, raising your credit score by 100 – 110 points fast is a real possibility. However, a credit repair agency can help you with any part of the process you don’t understand or care to deal with. It’s important to be aware that credit repair agencies can’t do anything for you that you can’t do yourself. It just means that you can fix your credit on your own if you’re willing to do the required research and complete all the work yourself.

The CFPB emphasized its commitment to aiding defrauded consumers, despite industry opposition and political calls for the agency’s dismantling. I am only in the beginning stages but, so far, everything in my “plan” to financial stability seems to be going smoothly. This program will help me pay off the debt faster and free up some money to start putting toward my retirement fund. Learn about the status of FTC online services and website information updates during the lapse in funding. Joe Pye is Debt.com’s managing editor and a PFE-certified debt management professional.

His work is regularly featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc.com and Entrepreneur. To help in your search, we compared more than 20 of the best credit repair agencies. However, you should make sure you’re choosing a firm that offers unlimited disputes and an array of other credit interventions that can turn your situation around. By keeping an eye on your score, you can know if the steps you’re currently taking with your credit are helping your score or making it worse.

The distributed funds have gone to consumers harmed in cases involving a wide range of illegal practices, like student loan and mortgage relief scams, predatory lending, and illegal debt collection. The fund enables the CFPB to provide financial relief in cases where direct compensation from the violating company is not possible. “There can be a lot of red tape involved with disputing a credit report on your own, and these companies know exactly what the credit bureaus want to see in a request for investigation,” Dvorkin said. When you hire a credit repair company, it agrees to handle the dispute for you. There are several factors to consider when choosing a credit repair service. They include the experience and reputation of the company and how long it’s been in business.

Rise Again Credit Solutions owner Cecilia Campos is a former credit repair specialist for a Houston-based law office. She volunteers as a team lead for the non-profit organization Elijah Rising. Credit Fix Now is a Los Angeles-based agency offering free credit repair services.

The Verdict: Are Credit Services Worth The Money?

There are also potential risks for the main account owner if the authorized user accumulates more debt than they can pay. If you spot any incorrect information on your credit report, you can dispute it by writing a letter to the appropriate credit reporting agency. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has an example credit disputing letter you can look at if you’re unsure how to do this.

The first, most basic step is to download a copy of your credit report. At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every tax article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of tax products. We considered numerous factors in our evaluations of credit repair companies.

However, the actual time may vary depending on your account settings and whether you need to contact customer service. Most cancellations are processed immediately, but some may take up to 24 hours to take effect. Physical dispute letters are still the preferred method for sending the most effective disputes.

Most companies take years to accomplish what we can in just a few short months. Certain negative items, including bankruptcies and judgments, are difficult, if not impossible, to remove. Last but by no means least is the Advanced Credit Repair Package at $119.95 per month with an initial first work fee of the same amount.

Credit Pros is going to be more expensive than CreditRepair.com, and both companies offer comparable services. CreditRepair.com has a first work fee as well, but since their monthly fee is cheaper, they will still be less expensive than Credit Pros. We scored Houston credit repair companies on more than 25 variables across five categories, and analyzed the results to give you a hand-picked list of the best. If you’re ready to take the first step, consider working with a trusted credit repair company that can guide you toward a stronger financial future in 2025 and beyond.

The credit repair sector has faced numerous controversies and scams, making it essential to be aware of certain red flags that may indicate dubious practices by a company or agent. This transparent pricing model provides a complete set of tools for those looking to improve their credit status. In creditrepair to allow the USPS enough time to deliver the recently reissued checks before requesting another reissue, we are asking that consumers wait until October 1, 2025, before requesting additional reissues. This link takes you to an external website or app, which may have different privacy and security policies than U.S.