Are you trying to repair your credit fast and you’re wondering what is the best credit repair company do it for you? Choosing the right credit repair services or credit repair company is very important. Your credit score will be determined by the credit repair service you use. Finding an honest credit repair company is often a hard task so we did all the work for you!
But how do you know which are the very best credit repair companies?
There are so many credit repair companies to choose from: Credit Saint, Sky Blue Credit Repair, The Credit Pros, Pyramid Credit Repair, Credit Saint, Lexington Law, CreditRepair.com…etc.
Searching for the best credit repair service could take you a staggering amount of time comparing prices and customer reviews.
We know as we’ve done the hard work for you. After reviewing dozens of credit repair companies here are the results.
Whichever company you’re going to choose, keep in mind the five most important factors of legitimate credit repair companies:
- Reputation: the company should be well established with a history of delivering consistent improvements in their clients’ credit scores and should be in good standing with the governing regulatory bodies.
- Speed: the quicker, the better. The agency should show noticeable improvements in the clients’ credit rating in a reasonable period of time.
- Accreditations: the company should be licensed, registered, and comply with The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) which stipulates that a for-profit company cannot charge fees before performing credit repair work for a consumer.
- Customer support: they should help guide you through the credit repair process and address any credit-related questions along the way and respond in a timely manner.
- Pricing: the cheaper, the better, but the performance and results, must not suffer. It’s also important to ensure the company’s pricing is transparent. Pricing should be fair and upfront. Some credit repair services engage in deceptive practices to “hide” their rates by using convoluted pricing structures and are unclear about exactly what work they will be undertaking.
What is a credit repair company?
A credit repair company is an organization that offers to improve your credit in exchange for a fee.
The companies often promise to “handle all the heavy lifting” of working with the credit reporting agencies, says McClary.
Credit repair services are different from credit counseling agencies, which are typically a free resource from nonprofit financial education organizations that review your finances, debt and credit reports with the goal of teaching you to improve and manage your financial situation.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the credit repair industry is fraught with scams. To help avoid scammers, it’s important to research any credit repair organization before agreeing to work with it.
What are credit repair services?
Credit repair services are helpful to improve your credit in exchange for a fee.
14 Best Credit Repair Companies of 2021 with Reviews
1. Credit Saint
Credit Saint has been in business since 2004 and maintains an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. It offers a free consultation and a 90-day money back guarantee.
You can choose from three different packages: credit polish, credit remodel, and clean slate. Each package charges an initial signup fee and a regular monthly fee.
The credit polish package costs $99 to enroll and then $79.99 per month thereafter. With this package, Credit Saint will challenge late payments, identity thefts, charge offs, and collections, but it won’t challenge bankruptcies, repossessions or judgments.
The credit remodel package has a $99 enrollment fee and a monthly fee of $99.99. In addition to everything you receive in the credit polish package, you also get any bankruptcies or repossessions challenged.
The clean slate package is the most expensive at $195 to enroll and then $119.99 per month. This package gets you the full menu of Credit Saint services.
With all packages, you receive an online account that lets you monitor Credit Saint’s progress. Each customer also gets assigned a personal advisory team that will call you from time to time to answer any questions.
2. Sky Blue Credit
Sky Blue Credit has an industry-leading 90-day money-back guarantee, straightforward and transparent pricing, and fast customer service.
In business since 1989, Sky Blue Credit offers flat-fee pricing of $79 per month. When you sign up, Sky Blue Credit will charge an initial sign-up fee of $79 six days after you enroll.
During the first six days following your enrollment, Sky Blue Credit will help you obtain your free credit reports from all three major credit bureaus. From there, Sky Blue will conduct a thorough review of all items listed on your reports.
Once Sky Blue has identified areas of concern, it will start sending dispute letters to the credit bureaus. According to the company website, it disputes 15 items every 35 days.
Sky Blue will continue repeating this process for as long as you wish at the all-inclusive $79 monthly rate. If you wish to temporarily pause the service, you can do so without paying a penalty.
In addition to preparing and sending dispute letters, Sky Blue’s services also include debt settlement, debt validation, goodwill letters, and cease and desist letters.
If you wish to cancel, you can do so free of charge by notifying Sky Blue Credit by email, phone, or in the message center through your account.
3. The Credit People
Founded in 2001, The Credit People offers an all-inclusive service and two options to pay: monthly or a six-month flat fee.
If you choose to pay monthly, you’ll pay $19 to sign up and then $79 per month. You can cancel at any time without incurring additional charges.
With the six-month flat rate payment option, you pay a one-time fee of $419. There is no sign-up fee and no additional monthly fee.
When you sign up, you’ll receive a personal online account, which you can access from your computer or mobile device. The Credit People also offers notifications so you know right away when anything changes in your account.
While The Credit People doesn’t guarantee any specific results, its website states an estimated credit score increase ranging between 53 and 187 points.
The Credit People also says it has helped customers remove over 1.4 million negative credit items from their reports.
4. Lexington Law
Founded in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1991, Lexington Law is a real law firm that now serves customers in all 50 states. You can check out the firm profiles on the Lexington site to see which lawyers work in the firm’s various offices.
Lexington Law offers three tiers of services: Concord Standard, Concord Premier, and PremierPlus.
The Concord Standard service is Lexington’s most basic credit repair package and its most affordable at $89.95 per month. With this package, Lexington will contact the credit bureaus and your creditors to try to get negative items removed.
The intermediate service level is the Concord Premier package, which costs $109.95 per month. In addition to the services you receive with the basic package, you also receive additional services like TransUnion alerts and score analysis.
The PremierPlus plan gives you Lexington’s full menu of services for $129.95 per month. With this package, you receive all the services included in the basic and intermediate plans, plus extras like identity theft protection, credit score monitoring, and personal finance tools designed to help you manage your money more efficiently.
5. Ovation Credit
Founded by Lending Tree, a familiar name in online lending, Ovation Credit Services offers both credit repair and credit monitoring.
Ovation’s credit repair services are available in two packages: Essentials and Essentials Plus. Both plans start with an $89 “first work” fee due when you sign up for credit repair services.
The Essentials plan is $79 per month, which gets you a personal case advisor to help you identify items on your credit report you believe to be inaccurate. Once you have a list of everything you would like to dispute, Ovation will send dispute letters to your creditors on your behalf.
The Essentials Plus plan is $109 per month. For this price, you get everything offered in the Essentials plan, plus unlimited dispute letters and unlimited goodwill letters. This allows you to continue disputing inaccuracies that might pop up down the road.
In addition, the Essentials Plus plan comes with a personalized recommendation letter Ovation says you can use in “future dealings with potential lenders.” With this plan, you also receive TransUnion credit monitoring, so you can keep an eye on your credit report in real time.
Ovation also offers a straightforward cancellation policy. If, at any time, you’re unhappy with Ovation’s services, you can cancel without paying a fee for that month.
While Ovation has an online portal for clients to access their account, the site doesn’t offer an option to sign up for credit repair services online. To purchase a package, you must give Ovation a call at 866-639-3426.
Ovation also offers a free credit consultation. If you sign up for this complimentary consultation, an Ovation representative will call you to discuss your needs and help you decide if you need credit repair services.
6. AMB Credit Consultants
AMB Credit Consultants which has been in business since 2008, offers credit repair services for individuals and couples.
If you sign up as an individual, you’ll pay a $149 enrollment fee and then $99 per month. Couples pay $198 to enroll and $198 per month thereafter.
While AMB doesn’t offer different tiers of services beyond individuals and couples, its service is fairly all-inclusive. The company’s Credit Empowerment Program comes with unlimited disputes, including new disputes for inaccuracies added to your credit report after you enroll.
AMB will also send cease and desist letters and issue immediate responses when a customer receives a new collection letter. Customers also receive credit counseling and unlimited case reviews upon request.
Like all credit repair services, AMB can’t guarantee specific results. However, the company will refund six months of fees or offer an additional six months of services if it’s unable to remove at least one item within six months of a customer’s initial enrollment.
While AMB allows customers to cancel within three days of signing up for services, the company requires a minimum six-month commitment, with some contracts extending up to nine months depending on the customer’s credit repair needs.
To sign up with AMB, customers must also agree to pay for a tri-merged credit monitoring subscription through IdentityIQ, a third-party credit and identity theft monitoring service. This service costs an additional $29.99 per month.
7. CreditRepair.com
CreditRepair.com has been in business since 1997 and is a well-known name in the credit repair industry. When you sign up, you get access to a customer portal as well as a free app that lets you track the progress of your disputes as new information is posted.
While CreditRepair.com gets plenty of positive customer reviews, it also has its share of negative reviews online. The company and a number of other credit repair agencies were also the subjects of a lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which alleged it violated federal law by charging upfront fees before performing any work.
CreditRepair.com offers three tiers of services, but the company website only reveals the $99.95 a month plan, which it calls its “proven online system.” There is also a one-time $14.99 signup fee, which CreditRepair.com charges to obtain your credit reports from all three bureaus.
Unlike many of its competitors, CreditRepair.com does not offer a money-back guarantee.
8. Credit Assistance Network
Credit Assistance Network is a smaller credit repair agency based in Boca Raton, Florida. In business since 2004, the company has a solid reputation online.
Credit Assistance Network also has a bit of an unusual pricing structure. Instead of charging a monthly fee, it charges an initial $179 enrollment fee and then a charge between $50 and $75 for every negative item it successfully removes from your credit report.
Keep in mind, however, that this charge is assessed per credit bureau. For example, if the same negative item appears on your Equifax and TransUnion reports, Credit Assistance Network will charge you for each removal, which means you could pay between $100 and $150.
While you won’t pay any monthly charges, the removal fees could add up if you have a lot of negative items across multiple reports. If you sign up with a spouse, Credit Assistance Network offers a 20 percent discount on your second enrollment.
9. Credit Versio
Credit Versio offers a different take on credit repair. Instead of disputing negative items on your behalf, Credit Versio uses an AI-powered app to scan your credit reports and direct you to a form you can send to creditors and the credit bureaus yourself.
The company offers three tiers of services. Its most affordable package is the smartcredit® BASIC plan that costs $19.95 a month and gives you access to all three of your credit reports, credit monitoring and alerts, and $1 million in identity theft insurance.
The smartcredit® PREMIUM package is $24.95 a month and gives you everything in the BASIC plan plus unlimited smart credit reports and unlimited action buttons that let you prepare a dispute for a negative item.
The most comprehensive plan is the IdentityIQ package, which costs $29.95 a month and comes with everything in the lower tiers plus a more aggressive level of credit monitoring.
10. Pyramid Credit Repair
In business since 2011, Pyramid Credit Repair offers flat-fee pricing and no long-term contracts so you can cancel at any time without penalties or fees.
Although perhaps not as well known as other credit repair companies, Pyramid Credit Repair is definitely worth checking out, as it boasts excellent online reviews, including an impressive 4.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot.
There are two types of plans: a singles plan that is $99 a month, and a couples plan that is $198 a month. You can also add 24/7 identity theft protection for $29.99 a month.
All plans come with a personal account manager, text and email alerts, and access to a customer dashboard. You can also pause your account at any time, and the company offers a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Pyramid Credit Center also offers discounts to customers in certain professions. Veterans and active duty service members receive 20 percent off per month, and teachers get 15 percent off per month.
11. Credit Firm
Credit Firm offers a pay-as-you-go plan that allows you to cancel without penalty at any time. The company has been in business since 1997 and has a solid online reputation.
One thing that sets Credit Firm apart from most of its competitors is that it offers an “audit” of your credit reports by a licensed attorney. A lawyer will also review all letters and documents the company mails to creditors and credit bureaus on your behalf.
Credit Firm’s pricing structure is simple and straightforward, with just one level of service that costs $49.99 per month. However, the company doesn’t offer add-on services like credit monitoring or alerts.
In addition to an affordable monthly fee, Credit Firm also gives you unlimited disputes. This alone sets it apart from many other credit repair agencies, which often limit the number of challenges and disputes you can receive each month.
12. Credit Glory
Credit Glory has been in business since 2016 and has a mix of positive and negative reviews. To its credit, the company seems to respond to most of the negative reviews, offering explanations and clarification about what might have caused a customer to be disappointed about the service.
There is just one tier of service for credit repair, which costs $99 per month. Credit Glory also charges a one-time setup fee of $199. If you’ve been a victim of identity theft, the company will also dispute a single fraudulent inquiry for $79 or 10 or more inquiries for a flat fee of $799.
Credit Glory offers a 90-day money-back guarantee, as well as a free consultation before you sign up. The company’s website also has an innovative feature that displays all its customer reviews from various sites, including Facebook, Yelp, Google, and the Better Business Bureau.
13. Pinnacle Credit Repair
If you’re after fast results, it’s worth checking out Pinnacle Credit Repair. The company, which bills itself as “the most aggressive credit repair program,” says its program takes between 15 and 30 days, which it claims is much faster than its competitors.
There are two types of plans: a Fast Track plan and the Fast Track Elite plan. The Fast Track level is $199 to sign up and then $99 a month, and the Fast Track Elite is $199 to sign up and then between $1,500 and $2,000.
If you opt for the Fast Track Elite plan, you must pay the total fee up front. In exchange, Pinnacle Credit Repair will work on every negative item on your credit reports.
If you’re unhappy with the results of the Fast Track Elite service, the company offers a 120-day money-back guarantee. However, there is no money-back guarantee for the cheaper Fast Track plan.
According to Pinnacle Credit Repair, 90 percent of its customers see a 100-point increase on their credit reports within a month of signing up for the service.
14. The Credit Pros
The Credit Pros provides you with one-one access to a certified FICO professional who works with you to create an action plan to repair your bad credit.
In addition to the standard features most of these companies offer, the Credit Pros can provide identity theft restoration and write cease and desist letters to your creditors, as well as goodwill letters and debt validation letters to your creditors.
The company appeals to applicants with a 90-second registration process, which you can walk through on its user-friendly site. Their blog is full of resources on improving and maintaining good credit.
You can also access your client portal there, with live updates on your credit and changes to your case.
The Credit Pros’ basic package, CreditSentry Monitoring, costs $19 a month. For the most comprehensive services, consider the MoneyManagement package at $69 a month, the Prosperity Package at $119 a month, or the Success Package at $149 a month.
Each of these packages comes with a unique set of benefits, like budgeting tools, payment reminders, prescription discounts, and store lines of credit.
Do Credit Repair Companies Actually Work?
Credit repair companies can improve your credit score, especially if your damaged credit history feels like too much to tackle alone. But credit repair companies aren’t the only option. You may seek guidance from a non-profit credit counselor through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
How to Verify a Credit Repair Company
Unfortunately, fraud is common in the credit repair industry.
Before signing up with a credit repair company, you should always do your homework.
Start by making a list of established companies. Check ratings with the Better Business Bureau and search for complaints in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau database. After narrowing down your list, you can interview each company before making a decision.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, there are several signs of fraud to watch for:
- Asks for large amounts of money upfront
- Discourages you from contacting the credit reporting agencies yourself
- Says to dispute correct items on your credit reports
- Encourages false information on credit or loan applications
- Skips over your legal rights when explaining the company’s services
The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) says you have the right to cancel a contract within three days of signing for any reason.14 If you have trouble with a credit repair company, you can report the issue to your state attorney general or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
In a recent interview with Steve Weisman, an accomplished lawyer and senior lecturer on law and taxation at Bentley University, he explained that “The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) requires credit repair companies to provide you with a written contract that details the services they will perform for you and explain your rights under the law, notify you of a three day right to cancel your contract with the credit repair company, inform you of how long it will take to perform their services and explain in detail the total cost to you.”
How Much Does It Cost to Repair My Credit?
According to our research, most companies charge an upfront fee, ranging from $19 to $149. After that, you can expect to pay $19 to $149 per month. It may take up to six months or longer to improve your credit score, depending on your situation. It’s also possible to repair your credit on your own for free.
How We Chose the Credit Repair Companies
It can be challenging to find the right credit repair company. To create our list, we looked for established companies offering nationwide services. We also considered each company’s reputation and searched for regulatory enforcement action. We compared each company’s services, pricing, and transparency.
What Do Credit Repair Companies Actually Do?
Before we launch into why these are some of the best credit repair services available, it’s important to talk about the steps that go into actually rebuilding your credit. Unfortunately, waving a magic wand and uttering “Abracadabra” will not result in an immediate fix, and repairing your credit can often be a time-consuming and confusing process.
We’ve selected these specific organizations as examples of the ultimate way to improve credit safely and efficiently because they excel at these core competencies:
Trust Ratings from Recognized Leaders
While the Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating system is considered by many to be the gold standard in trust ratings, there are other organizations whose stamp of approval provides validation such as industry publications like Inc. and Business Insider.
Actionable Results
Knowing that your credit repair specialist will be able to provide you with specific results such as reducing the number of bad debts on your ratings and more gives you peace of mind.
Clear, Consistant Pricing
Don’t trust organizations whose website is unclear about their pricing model. You need to know upfront what the costs associated with starting a repair of your credit score.
Easy Access to Support
When you’re dealing with something as important as your personal credit rating, you need to know that you can quickly get the support that you need and deserve either on the phone or via email.
Free Consultations
Understanding the perfect way to repair your credit is not generally something that you can scan through once on a website and fully understand. The best credit repair companies are willing to provide you with a free consultation to make sure the service is a good fit for your particular needs.
While many organizations are available that can help you move towards an acceptable credit score, the best credit repair companies will never ask you to do anything that is illegal or unethical. If you’re requested to obtain false information from the Internal Revenue Service or use an invalid Social Security number, that’s a pretty good indication that you’ve chosen the wrong credit repair company! Immediately report any credit repair specialist who asks you to falsify information by contacting the FTC.
Fortunately, we discovered that not all credit repair services are bad. Some of these organizations are entirely legitimate and offer a valuable service to consumers who are simply having a rough time and need help.
How Long Does It Take To Repair Credit?
Good credit is necessary when you want to apply for things such as loans, credit cards, auto loans and mortgages. If you are planning to make a big purchase soon, you may want to check your credit score and see if it needs a little help. Many people in this situation might be wondering how long it takes to repair credit.
There is no single answer to that question, unfortunately. Many factors will determine how long until you get your score to go up high enough to obtain a good rate on a loan. The severity of your credit history will affect how long it will take to rebuild your score. For some, it could simply take a few months. For others, it may take many years of hard work and commitment.
How to avoid getting scammed from Credit Repair Agencies
Just because you might be in rather dire financial straits, this does not mean throwing common sense out of the window. Just like any other sales pitch out there — if it is too good to be true, it probably is. Some possible danger signs that we recommend people to avoid include:
- Being insistent on paying the service fees upfront even before a single minute of work is done. The law dictates that the credit repair companies do not have the authority to force anyone to cough up money before the services promised have been completed and duly delivered to the client’s satisfaction.
- Credit repair agencies that do not inform their clients of their legal rights, as well as the means of action that clients are able to take personally without having to incur additional charges in terms of service fees. For instance, anyone is able to obtain a free copy of their credit report (from AnnualCreditReport.com) should credit be denied them within the past 60 days. This rule also extends to the denial of insurance or employment within a similar time period. Any mistakes or out-of-date details can be fixed in the credit report for free upon request.
- A claim that every single negative entry in the credit file can be removed. This is impossible to achieve if the credit report in question is already accurate and updated, as the credit bureau does not entertain such an option. However, inaccurate information is always open for the dispute to be corrected without the assistance or service from a third party.
- Suggestions for starting from a clean slate with a “new” credit report through the application for an Employer Identification Number as opposed to one’s Social Security Number. This is illegal as it involves the creation of a new credit identity, and would lead to an even greater degree of trouble with the law later on.
- No written contract is provided for the client. All contracts ought to be furnished with essential details such as the company’s contact details, a full description of services on offer, a detailed list of services provided, the amount of time before the completion of the assignment, as well as the final bill.
- “Free credit repair services”. Nothing screams fraud more than a company promoting their services for free or offering a cheap ‘credit fix’ or ‘credit help’. The best credit repair services are not usually the cheapest and are never free.
The rule of law is this: any credit repair company is unable to carry out its duties until the client signs a written contract with a three-day cooling-off period without being tied down or pressured to pay the fees involved. Choose one of the best credit repair companies that we reviewed in order to be sure about your choice!
Alternatives to Credit Repair Companies
Instead of enlisting the help of traditional repair companies, there are some other ways to improve your credit:
- Take out a credit-building loan: It’s not always rational to take out a loan when you don’t need the money. However, it can be a smart financial move when it comes to improving your score. When you make consistent payments on this kind of loan, you will likely see your score go up by tens if not hundreds of points.
- Apply for a secured credit card: When you hold this kind of card, you need to set aside some of your own money. This fund will act as payment in the event that you default. It functions like a regular credit card, as you have to meet a minimum amount, and you’ll carry interest from month to month on balances that you don’t pay. The one difference is that the lender has a guarantee to get payment. Using this kind of card is a great way to improve your credit, as it gets reported to the major bureaus. As long as you keep up with your monthly payments, it should positively impact your score.
- Open another credit card account or increase your current limit: Some individuals with a low score may be hesitant to try one of these tips. However, opening another account or expanding your current limit could positively affect your score. As long as you keep your utilization rate low and don’t open too many new accounts, you should notice your score rise.
- Credit repair software: you may want to consider using personal credit repair software as an alternative but this is often not as effective as engaging a legitimate service to undertake the work for you.
Not all of these methods are right for everyone. Consult with a professional before deciding on which one is right for you. In some cases, hiring a traditional credit repair company is the best route to take.
