5 Key Qualities of Legit Credit Repair Companies

This is the #1 thing to look out for when searching for a reliable credit repair company. Scam companies will try to get you to sign up without providing any real information. Here are a few things to look out for when it comes to credit repair transparency:

• Upfront pricing: Make sure you know the price before you sign up. Most legit companies will have the pricing right on their website for you to see.
• Full contract: Credit repair companies are required by law to provide a full and transparent contract to all clients before they sign up. This must include the price, a full detailed list of the work that will be done, and any stipulations that should be disclosed.
• Work to be done: A company should go over with you exactly how it plans to help fix your credit score. It should go over the process and answer any questions you have about the work. If it isn’t upfront about the process, that’s a red flag.

Best company for transparency: I’ve found that Credit Saint is the best about being upfront about everything from pricing to the work that they plan to do. All the information is on its website, so you don’t even need to talk to anyone to know what you are getting. Here’s a full review of Credit Saint to help you learn more.

Companies who provide legitimate services are not afraid to have the Better Business Bureau or others review or audit their credit repair programs. Most legit credit repair companies should have some kind of third party information, testimonials, or reviews located outside of their own site that can validate their credibility. Here is how the top credit repair companies stack up when it comes to ratings:

Sky Blue Credit Repair: The company has an A+ from the Better Business Bureau, as well as many positive online reviews, many of which praise its customer service.

Credit Saint: Credit Saint also has an A+ from the Better Business Bureau. It’s online reviews mostly praise its transparency and good customer service.

CreditRepair.com: The Better Business Bureau also rates CreditRepair.com at an A+, although online reviews for the service can be mixed, with some customers upset about the price and lack of options.

The Credit People: Even with an A- from the Better Business Bureaus, The Credit People is still highly-rated and online reviews praise its trial period and guarantee.

Any real business will want its customers to be satisfied, to help maintain its reputation and bring in repeat clients. If the company has some kind of guarantee in writing, it means that they are confident that their services will work, or at least that they will do their best to make sure customers are satisfied. Here are the companies that offer a money-back guarantee:

Sky Blue Credit Repair: Sky Blue offers one of the best money-back guarantees. If you are not satisfied with the service in any way within the first 90 days, the company will refund your money.

Credit Saint: This guarantee is a little different. Credit Saint will give you your money back if it fails to remove any items from your credit reports within the first 90 days.

The Credit People: The Credit People has a longer guarantee, but it is a little bit fuzzy what exactly would trigger giving you your money back. The company says that if you aren’t satisfied within the first six months, it’ll refund your money. Check out our The Credit People review to find out more about its guarantee.

Pyramid Credit Repair: Pyramid, like Sky Blue, says it will refund your money if you are not satisfied within the first 90 days of service. Read our Pyramid Credit Repair review to get the details on its guarantee.

Any trustworthy credit repair operation will not use high-pressure tactics to try to get all of your personal information right away. If it feels like they are trying to force information out of you from the outset or using high-pressure sales tactics, this is a good sign they may be a scam and your information could possibly be resold or stolen.

Best company for no pressure: Sky Blue Credit Repair has been known to direct clients to other credit repair services or even tell prospective clients that the company will not be able to help them, which is a refreshing thought since credit repair can be a very sales-driven industry. Check out our Sky Blue Credit review to find out more about its customer service and what else the company offers.

Real credit repair takes time and involves settling existing debts. There are no quick fixes when it comes to credit repair. Here are a few red flags to look for when it comes to timing:

• Time guarantee: Credit repair services contest negative marks on your credit reports, and since the credit bureaus only allow a certain number of disputes each month, it can take a while to dispute all the negative items. If a company guarantees it can raise your score in a short amount of time, it may be a scam.
• Illegal activity: Some unsavory credit repair companies have encouraged their clients to lie on documents or use a new credit ID. This is marketed as a quick fix, but it may be a stolen or recycled EIN or Social Security number. This is technically illegal and can result in prosecution for the business or even criminal charges against you.
• Taking too long: While credit repair does take time, if you have gone a long while without seeing results, it might be time to reassess using your credit repair service. Credit repair companies charge by the month, so the longer it takes to repair your credit, the more money they make. It usually takes about six months to see improvement, so if you haven’t seen anything after six months, re-evaluate your relationship with your credit repair service.

Good, legitimate credit repair companies won’t force you to do something you’re uncomfortable with or anything illegal. They work hard to deliver on their guarantees and they put great value on providing service to you, their customer. Never settle for a company that won’t put you and your needs first.