Things to Consider When Hiring A Credit Repair Company
TweetDon't Be Fooled By Numbers - Some credit repair companies boast of serving hundreds of thousands of clients. That might be promising if the majority were satisfied clients. Many of these clients sign-up only to cancel within a few weeks due to inadequate and unsatisfactory service. Still, they are counted as part of the vast client base.
Claims of How Long the Credit Repair Process Will Take - It is natural to be eager and seek out the fastest possible route when it comes to fixing your credit. Be careful not to jeopardize your future best interests and legal standing by choosing the quickest method; often it is an illegal or temporary fix. For instance, there are some companies that claim they can fix your credit in 24 hours; DO NOT FALL FOR IT! This illegal practice establishes a brand new credit file by using an EIN (Employer Identification Number) instead of an SSN (Social Security Number), if caught, you could be indicted for fraud.
There are some companies who promise a clean report within days. They use the loophole in the FCRA that states while any item on your credit report is under investigation it can't be listed. With the negative items deleted, your credit score improves drastically. However, this is a very temporary fix and unless the negative items were challenged properly and systematically, they will soon reappear. This practice is becoming more uncommon as lenders and creditors have caught on; still, be wary.
Then there are others who lure you in by claiming that their average client "turn-around" is 3 months. They mislead you to believe that the average client is only with them 3 months because that's how long the process takes. In reality, as an insider of this particular company revealed, the turn-around means that the client cancelled due to poor service and/or little or no improvements being made on their report.
We are here to tell you the truth. It takes time to get negative items added to your report and it will take time to get them off. In most cases it takes 6-12 months to get a credit report in top notch condition, sometimes shorter and sometimes a bit longer. We employ the most efficient, successful, and legal means possible to create authentic change on your report. Please be patient with the process, you will be grateful you did.
Companies That Charge For Services Before Any Work is Completed - Be careful of companies that require a lump-sum or partial payment up-front for services. In the credit repair industry, it is illegal to charge for services that have not yet been completed. Here at Legacy, we only charge a service fee for the previous month's work. This is not to be confused with our set-up fee which is the only thing we do charge up-front; which is perfectly legal.
Be Careful of "Guarantees" - Some companies guarantee the removal of all bad credit and that they can get anything deleted. No one can guarantee these results. Legitimate companies would make no such claims. Some companies may also offer a "full money-back" guarantee. Read the fine print. Legacy has a warranty that states: once you have been a client of ours for a minimum of 12 months and we cannot demonstrate any progress with your case, we will refund all or part of your money. See Warranty and Refund Policy for complete details.
A few other questions to ask yourself:
- Is the company overly anxious for my business and are they constantly promoting themselves?
- Does the company give little or no explanation of my rights?
- Does the company address fees more than my questions?
- Is their contract difficult to understand?
