Best Credit Repair Companies

#1. Credit Saint

BBB Rating

A+

Setup Fee

$99

Monthly Fee

$79.99+

Credit Saint

Overview of Credit Saint

Credit Saint is a credit repair company based in New Jersey. The company has been in operation since 2004 and currently serves customers in 39 states and the District of Columbia, offering remote assistance over the phone and via email. Credit Saint provides customers with an array of credit repair solutions that include disputes of credit reporting inaccuracies and in-house credit monitoring, packaged into three different monthly membership plans.

  • Year Founded 2004
  • Kinds of Credit Repair Service Credit disputes, monitoring
  • Fee Schedule Upfront and monthly
  • Monitoring Options Included with some plans
  • Customer Service Phone, email
  • Official Website www.creditsaint.com
Credit Saint’s services are above average, but not impressive enough to explain why the company charges so much for credit repair. Still, it’s hard to ignore an industry-leading money-back guarantee that promises customers a full refund if they don’t see any changes in 90 days.
Today’s credit repair industry is full of paid services, some more expensive than others. Credit Saint clearly falls under the more expensive category, with initial work fees reaching an astounding $195 for premium-tier service. But is the cost worth it? In our review, we’ll break down package options, service guarantees, and more to help you decide.
 

Types of Services in Credit Saint

 Credit Saint’s services are packaged into three membership levels that vary, depending on how aggressive you need to be in order to remove inaccuracies from your credit report. This is beneficial as it lets you choose a customized plan that matches your needs without overpaying for services you don’t want.
 

Credit Polish

The entry-level credit repair plan from Credit Saint includes five disputes of inaccurate information on your credit report per month. These can be applied to any type of information except hard inquiries, which are only covered by upgraded plans. You’ll also get an initial credit score analysis and an ongoing credit score tracker to keep an eye on your progress. Both are accessible through a client web portal.

Credit Remodel

Credit Saint’s mid-tier package includes everything included in the Credit Polish plan with a few extras. You’ll get twice as many credit inquiries; 10 are included per month, and you can use these to have inaccurate hard inquiries addressed. The package also includes Experian credit monitoring.

Clean Slate

The most aggressive credit repair plan offered by Credit Saint is also the only one that includes unlimited disputes every billing period. With this membership, you can also ask the company to send cease and desist letters on your behalf. This can be a solution to stop unwanted phone calls related to accounts currently in collections. Of course, you’ll also have access to all services included in the Credit Polish and Credit Remodel packages.

Warning: Getting phone calls about unpaid debts you can’t afford to repay can be stressful and frustrating. Many credit repair companies advertise cease and desist letters as a way to legally prevent lenders and collections agencies from continuing to make contact. While this might sound like an easy solution, it’s not quite that simple. Once these companies can no longer contact you, they may jump straight to filing a lawsuit. Make sure you discuss both the pros and cons with your credit repair company before allowing them to send cease and desist letters on your behalf.

 Credit PolishCredit RemodelClean Slate
Monthly disputes510Unlimited
Credit score analysis
Credit score tracker
Hard inquiry disputes 
Experian credit monitoring 
Cease and desist letters  

Optional Add-ons in Credit Saint

Some credit repair companies make supplemental services available in the form of optional add-ons. Since Credit Saint packages all of its solutions into a range of all-inclusive plans, the company doesn’t offer any further options to tailor services.

Credit Saint Customer Service

Credit Saint customers can get ahold of the company via phone or email. If you need help during off hours, you can also log into the Credit Saint customer portal 24 hours a day. Here, you’ll find your credit score tracker and initial score analysis for easy reference.

Credit Saint Company Reputation

Former Credit Saint customers give the company average ratings with some mixed reviews. The company has an A rating with the Better Business Bureau, although more than 43 complaints are on record in the last three years and the average review score sits at just 2.5 stars. With that said, there are no complaints recorded with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Google customer ratings are decidedly better with an average of 4.0 stars.2

While online reviews should sometimes be taken with a grain of salt, they can be useful in spotting trends among former customer opinions. Many of Credit Saint’s positive reviews make note of exceptionally friendly customer service agents. On the other hand, the most common complaint comes from customers who say the company didn’t fulfill its 90-day money-back guarantee.

If you have a complaint about the services of a credit repair company, you can file a complaint with the FTC or call 877-FTC-HELP.

Contract Duration

Since Credit Saint doesn’t lock customers into contracts, all services are offered on a month-to-month basis, allowing you to cancel anytime without penalty. All you need to do is contact a representative via phone or email to request a cancellation before your next billing date.

One of Credit Saint’s most unique points of attraction is its 90-day money-back service guarantee. According to this promise, the company vows that if it is unable to remove a single negative item from your report within the first 90 days of service, you can ask to have all fees paid up to that point returned.

Warning: Customer complaint data shows that many former Credit Saint clients have been unsuccessful in collecting a 90-day refund they felt they deserved. Before signing an agreement with Credit Saint or any credit repair company that advertises a service guarantee, make sure you get a clear explanation in writing of the exact results you can expect by which date. This can help eliminate uncertainty should you need to ask for your money back.

Cost of Credit Saint

There are two components to Credit Repair’s pricing structure. The first is an upfront fee that covers the initial work period, including an in-depth review of your credit report and an initial credit score analysis. Then, ongoing services are charged on a monthly basis according to the plan you selected.

This fee structure is fairly standard for the credit repair industry, although fees are markedly higher than average. The $195 first work fee for the Clean Slate plan is the highest we came across in our reviews of more than 15 credit repair companies.

 Credit PolishCredit RemodelClean Slate
First work fee$99$99$195
Monthly fee$79.99$99.99$119.99

The Competition: Credit Saint vs. The Credit Pros

Our review of the credit repair industry found Credit Saint to be one of the most expensive paid credit repair options currently available. To see whether the cost is worth it, we compared Credit Saint to The Credit Pros, the competitor with the most similar pricing structure.

Like Credit Saint, The Credit Pros offers three-tiered service packages, although the latter also makes a non-credit repair option available that includes just credit monitoring for $19 per month. Each company offers a similar array of services across their three core plan levels, but The Credit Pros makes more services available at lower tiers. For example, the cheapest plan includes credit monitoring, which Credit Saint only offers with upgraded packages.

The Credit Pros also includes several services with its plans that Credit Saint doesn’t provide at all. These include identity theft monitoring, financial planning tools, and a prescription medication discount program. Overall, we’d consider The Credit Pros a better value.

 Credit SaintThe Credit Pros
Year Founded20042009
Services OfferedCredit repair, monitoringCredit repair, monitoring, identity theft protection, financial planning
Customer Service TouchpointsPhone, email, client portalPhone, email, client portal
Upfront Fee$99 to $195$119 to $149
Monthly Fee$79.99 to $119.99$69 to $149

 

 

Credit Saint Pros

  • Choose from three credit repair plans: Pick the package and price that makes the most sense for your personal situation.
  • Most packages include credit monitoring: Two of Credit Saint’s three plans include Experian credit monitoring.
  • Offers a 90-day money-back guarantee: If Credit Saint is unable to remove any inaccurate items from your report in the first 90 days, you’ll get all your fees refunded.

Credit Saint Cons

  • Hard to find pricing online: You need to fill out a form with your contact information before being shown plan pricing.
  • High initial work fees: First work fees range from $99 to $195, depending on the plan.
  • Limited monthly disputes with low-tier plans: The entry-level plan includes just five disputes per billing cycle.
  • Sparse online resources: There isn’t much educational information available on Credit Saint’s website.
  • Not available in all states: Credit Saint is unable to serve residents of 11 states as listed on the company’s signup form.

#2. Sky Blue Credit

BBB Rating

C

Setup Fee

$79

Monthly Fee

$79

Sky Blue Credit

Overview of Sky Blue Credit

Sky Blue Credit is one of the older credit repair companies, with more than three decades in business. The company was founded in 1989 in Boca Raton, Florida, and now offers its services primarily online. Sky Blue Credit is best known for its condition-free refund policy that promises customers their money back if they aren’t happy within the first 90 days, a policy that every other competitor makes contingent upon results, if they offer one at all.

  • Year Founded1989
  • Kinds of Credit Repair Service Credit disputes, credit rebuilding, debt management
  • Fee Schedule Upfront and monthly
  • Monitoring Options Not offered
  • Customer Service Phone, email
  • Official Website www.skybluecredit.com
Sky Blue Credit’s services are straightforward and offer no surprises. Consumer-friendly cancellation and refund policies provide peace of mind for new customers who aren’t sold on credit repair. The company is missing a few services, though, such as credit monitoring.

Just getting started with credit repair and not sure what type of service you need? If so, Sky Blue Credit may be a good place to start. The company’s flexible credit repair service can be tailored to meet the needs of those preparing to buy a home, facing debt collectors, or simply trying to rebuild their credit score. But as with all credit repair companies, there are a few drawbacks to consider, too. Our review lays out all the pros and cons to help you decide whether Sky Blue Credit is the right credit repair choice.

Types of Services in Sky Blue Credit

It’s fairly common for credit repair companies to offer multiple tiers of service packages, selling premium services at a higher monthly cost. Sky Blue Credit offers just one. However, this single plan is more flexible than most, covering a broad scope of services that can be personalized to suit individual needs.

Professional Credit Analysis

One of the main benefits of working with a credit repair company is having an expert set of eyes check your credit report for potential discrepancies. A seasoned credit repair professional may be able to spot errors you would have otherwise missed. Sky Blue provides a detailed analysis of each credit report upon signup.

Credit Disputes

Once Sky Blue Credit has gone through your credit reports, the company begins sending disputes to the credit bureaus on your behalf. Up to 15 disputes, or five per bureau, are included with each month’s membership fee.

Score Rebuilding
In reviewing your credit, Sky Blue Credit will offer suggestions for steps you can take to improve your credit score. This may include prioritizing paying off certain balances or opening a secured credit card. The company will also work with you to form a long-term credit rebuilding plan.
Optional Add-Ons in Sky Blue Credit
Since Sky Blue Credit’s service package is all-inclusive, there aren’t any paid upgrades to mention. However, the monthly membership fee does cover a list of services the company considers optional as they’re only applicable to a handful of specific cases.

Debt Validation

If you’ve received a letter from a collections agency for a debt you believe is erroneous, Sky Blue Credit will help you navigate the debt validation process by asking the agency to provide proof of the amount owed.

Goodwill Letters

In some cases, goodwill letters can be sent to ask creditors to remove an accurate derogatory mark from your report. Sky Blue Credit advises that these letters are useful if the event (such as a late payment) was a one-time occurrence and you’ve been making payments on time for at least six months since.

Cease and Desist Letters

Sky Blue Credit customers who have been inundated with debt collection calls can ask the company to send cease and desist letters to stop communications. However, the company notes, this is only used as a last resort as it may trigger a lawsuit from the collection agency.

Mortgage Preparation

If you’re fixing your credit in preparation to purchase a home, Sky Blue Credit specializes in mortgage lender requirements and will adjust your credit repair strategy according to your timeline.

Sky Blue Credit Company Customer Service

The best way to get in touch with Sky Blue Credit is by phone or email. Note that phone lines are only open from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. EST, hours that might be inconvenient for busy professionals. Sky Blue doesn’t offer live webchat or a smartphone app, although customers can manage their account by logging into an online portal.

Company Reputation

To gauge the reputation of credit repair companies, we often turn to the complaint database maintained by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Sky Blue Credit has been named in two complaints in the past three years, both related to customer service issues.

 

The CFPB notes that both complaints were closed in a timely manner.

Sky Blue Credit also has a profile with the Better Business Bureau, although the company isn’t accredited and has a rating of C-. Despite this, customer reviews on the website average an impressive 4.38/5 stars. Sky Blue also has a 4.2-star rating on Google.

If you have a complaint about the services of a credit repair company, you can file a complaint with the FTC or call 877-FTC-HELP.

Contract Duration

Customers who sign up with Sky Blue Credit are not subject to any long-term contracts. The company’s cancellation policy is among the most customer-friendly in the industry. Memberships can be canceled at any time by logging into the online portal, calling the customer service phone line, or sending an email. There are no fees associated with canceling.

Tip: If you need a break from paying membership fees but don’t want to cancel entirely, Sky Blue Credit lets you pause service at any time and pick things back up when you’re ready. By taking advantage of this option, you won’t have to pay another $79 setup fee when you resume service.

Sky Blue Credit Cost

Sky Blue Credit’s cost structure is fairly straightforward. Customers pay a $79 upfront fee for the initial setup and consultation process. There’s also a $79 membership fee for each month of service. Both fees are right around average for the credit repair industry.

If you’re not happy with your service for any reason, Sky Blue Credit will refund all fees paid within the first 90 days.

Important: Sky Blue Credit’s money-back guarantee sets the company apart from competitors as it doesn’t depend on a specific outcome. Most companies only offer a refund if no successful disputes have been made within a certain period of time.

The Competition: Sky Blue Credit vs. Ovation Credit Services by Lending Tree

There’s a lot of competition in the credit repair industry, so we compared Sky Blue Credit to longstanding rival Ovation Credit Services by Lending Tree to see which offers better value. Ovation prices its base package in the same range as Sky Blue Credit’s sole offering, although the company also makes a premium membership available with unlimited credit disputes and TransUnion credit monitoring.

But Ovation also provides members with comprehensive educational tools designed to empower them to take control over their own credit, resources that Sky Blue Credit doesn’t come close to matching. For this reason, we’d pick Ovation Credit Services by Lending Tree as the better value.

 Sky Blue CreditOvation Credit Services by Lending Tree
Year Founded19891996
Services OfferedCredit disputes, credit rebuilding, debt managementCredit repair, credit monitoring
Customer Service TouchpointsPhone, email, client portalPhone, email, client portal
Upfront Fee$79$89
Monthly Fee$79$79 to $109

 

Sky Blue Credit Pros

  • Simple cost structure: Sky Blue Credit charges a $79 setup fee and an additional $79 for each month of service.
  • Tailored services: The single service plan covers optional services like mortgage preparation and debt settlement consultations.
  • Offers a 90-day guarantee: If you aren’t happy with the service you receive from Sky Blue, the company will refund all fees paid within the first 90 days.
  • Easy to pause or cancel membership: Pause or cancel your membership in seconds through the Sky Blue Credit membership portal, by email, or over the phone.

Sky Blue Credit Cons

  • Limited monthly disputes: Sky Blue Credit will only send 15 disputes per month, or five per credit bureau. Many competitors offer unlimited disputes.
  • Doesn’t offer credit monitoring: If you’re interested in ongoing credit monitoring, you’ll need to sign up through a third party.
  • No free consultation: Initial consultation costs are included in Sky Blue Credit’s $79 setup fee. The gold standard in credit repair is to offer an initial consultation for free.

#3. The Credit People

BBB Rating

C+

Setup Fee

$19

Monthly Fee

$79+

The Credit People

Overview of The Credit People

The Credit People is a credit repair company based in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, with additional offices in Chicago and Florida. Founded in 2001, the firm has served more than 100,000 clients across the United States. Services are mostly offered virtually via phone, email, and an online portal.

The Credit People attracts customers with low prices and a discount plan that advertises even more savings. But the credit repair industry is filled with pitfalls, and you should never sign up for services without thoroughly investigating the company first. Our review does the work for you by breaking down The Credit People’s services, value, reputation, and more to find out if they’re worth the cost.

  • Year Founded 2001
  • Kinds of Credit Repair Service Credit disputes, monitoring
  • Fee Schedule Upfront and monthly
  • Monitoring Options Included
  • Customer Service Phone, email
  • Official Website http://www.thecreditpeople.com

Types of Services in The Credit People

The Credit People lists several services in its single package, covering both traditional credit repair and a few related areas. All are included in the same monthly fee.

Credit Disputes

Credit disputes are the bread and butter of the credit repair process. Like most companies, The Credit People handles this by first reviewing your credit reports in detail and identifying items that may be incorrect or outdated. They’ll then send letters to the credit bureaus on your behalf requesting that the errors be removed.

Credit Monitoring

With your membership fees, you’ll also receive complimentary credit monitoring. This is an ongoing service that is incredibly helpful during the credit repair process. Credit monitoring gives you real-time updates as the contents of your credit report change and your score changes. Most credit repair companies either charge extra hidden fees for this service or fail to offer it at all.

Debt Validation

While not strictly part of the credit repair process, The Credit People also offers debt validation. This involves asking creditors to come up with proof that they have a legal right to collect the debt they say you owe. The Credit People can also validate hard inquiries on your report, one of the few companies to uniquely mention this service.

Warning: If you have reason to believe a creditor or collections agency is attempting to collect a debt you don’t owe or shouldn’t have to repay, a debt validation letter can clear the air. However, you should hesitate to let a credit repair company send a debt validation letter regarding a legitimate account. This can trigger creditors to step up their collection efforts as they may see the request as a sign you don’t intend to repay the debt.

Optional Add-Ons In the Credit People

It’s fairly common for credit repair companies to make optional add-on services available to customers who want a more inclusive service. However, The Credit People doesn’t offer any of these. Since the company’s single service package already contains a broad scope of services, there’s no pressing need for them to sell anything else.

Customer Service

The Credit People’s customer service presentation is in line with industry averages. Representatives can be reached by phone or email, and an online customer portal provides an easy access point to track progress and upload documents. However, there’s no live web chat or mobile app similar to what some competitors offer.

Tip: When you sign up for service with The Credit People, you’ll be assigned a team of credit repair professionals to handle your case, typically made up of three people. If you’d rather work one-on-one with a dedicated case manager, the option is available, but you’ll have to specifically request it,

Company Reputation

We typically use third-party data sources to gather customer sentiment on the companies we review. In The Credit People’s case, not much information is available. The company does have a fairly negative presence with the Better Business Bureau, receiving a C+ rating and an average customer review score of just one star out of five.

Even so, we try to take these ratings with a grain of salt since the Better Business Bureau is not an official government agency but a private organization. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is an agency within the U.S. government, does not have any complaints on file for The Credit People.

If you have a complaint about the services of a credit repair company, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or call 877-FTC-HELP.

Contract Duration

The Credit People doesn’t lock customers in with long-term contracts. Month-to-month service can be canceled at any time. In fact, thanks to The Credit People’s satisfaction guarantee, the company will even refund your most recent payment if you decide to cancel because you’re not satisfied with the service you receive. Unlike most money-back guarantees advertised by competitors, this one isn’t tied to any specific outcome; you can request a refund even if items have been removed from your report.

Although The Credit People doesn’t ask customers to sign contracts, the company does market a prepayment plan that tries to entice customers with a $74 discount when they pay for six months of service in advance. The satisfaction guarantee also applies to this plan, entitling you to a full refund if you’re unhappy with the service.

Cost

Pricing for The Credit People’s credit repair plan is extremely affordable compared to the alternatives. The initial work fee is just $19, and ongoing service costs $79 per month. If you opt for the six-month prepayment plan, you’ll be charged $419, for a total savings of $74.

The Competition: The Credit People vs. Sky Blue Credit

The Credit People and competitor Sky Blue Credit both price their credit repair service at $79 per month, the key difference being that The Credit People charges just $19 in initial work fees while Sky Blue Credit asks for $79. Unlike The Credit People, Sky Blue Credit doesn’t offer credit monitoring; customers who want this service will need to purchase it separately from another company. Sky Blue Credit also places a limit of 15 credit disputes per month, just five with each credit bureau, for every month of service. The Credit People offers unlimited monthly disputes with its plan.

The one area where Sky Blue Credit stands out is homebuying. The company specializes in the mortgage application process and can help you polish your credit prior to applying for a loan. However, if you’re not pursuing credit repair specifically for the purpose of getting approved for a mortgage, The Credit People offers better value.

 The Credit PeopleSky Blue Credit
Year Founded20011989
Services OfferedCredit disputes, credit monitoringCredit disputes, credit rebuilding, debt management
Customer Service TouchpointsPhone, email, client portalPhone, email, client portal
Upfront Fee$19$79
Monthly Fee$79$79

The Credit People Pros

  • Affordable pricing: The Credit People’s initial work fee is just $19, a small fraction of competitors’ pricing. Monthly fees remain competitive at $79.
  • Money-back satisfaction guarantee: If you’re not satisfied with the service you get, The Credit People will refund your most recent payment.
  • Unlimited disputes: The Credit People doesn’t limit the number of credit disputes they’ll file on your behalf each month.
  • Credit monitoring included: Most credit repair companies tack on extra costs for credit monitoring (if they offer it at all), but The Credit People includes it in your monthly fee.
  • Ample educational tools: The Credit People’s help zone is a great resource for informational guides, videos, and more.

The Credit People Cons

  • Markets a six-month prepayment plan: The Credit People tries to convince customers to pay for six months upfront by offering a prepayment discount, but this isn’t actually beneficial for most people.
  • Single service option: There’s only one service package available.
  • No web chat or mobile app: While The Credit People’s website is filled with great digital tools, the company fails to offer live web chat or a mobile app version.

#4. Lexington Law

BBB Rating

C

Setup Fee

$6.99

Monthly Fee

$89.95+

Lexington Law

Overview of Lexington Law 

Lexington Law was founded in 2004 in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the goal of providing credit repair services from a legal perspective. The company grew quickly and reached one million customers by 2010, eventually opening a second office in Tucson, Arizona. Today, Lexington Law provides services to customers in 48 states and the District of Columbia. The company has sent more than 183 million disputes on behalf of customers.

  • Year Founded2003
  • Kinds of Credit Repair Service Credit disputes, monitoring, identity theft protection, financial planning
  • Fee Schedule Monthly
  • Monitoring Options In-house, additional fee
  • Customer Service Phone, email, mobile app
  • Official Website www.lexingtonlaw.com
 Lexington Law’s status as one of the largest credit repair companies allows it to pour resources into advanced digital tools that competitors can’t beat. But the company’s above-average fees and recent legal troubles make us think twice about recommending this service.

If you’ve ever researched credit repair companies, you’ve probably heard of Lexington Law. One of the largest credit repair services in the nation, the company has sent more than 183 million credit disputes since its founding in 2004. But more recently, Lexington Law has become the target of government action with a lawsuit that claims the company engaged in deceptive practices. To find out what this means for customers thinking about signing up with Lexington Law, we performed an in-depth review of the company’s services, pricing, terms, and reputation.

Types of Services in Lexington Law

Lexington Law groups its services into three packages, ranging from basic credit repair to more premium options. This plan structure ensures customers only pay for the services they need. Those with fairly straightforward needs can choose a cheaper plan, while complex cases are able to purchase more in-depth assistance.

Concord Standard

Lexington Law’s entry-level package, Concord Standard, covers the essentials of credit repair. While it’s the most bare-bones option from Lexington Law, the plan actually comprises the full range of services offered by some smaller credit repair companies.

The Concord Standard plan covers two services: credit disputes and creditor interventions. During the credit dispute process, Lexington Law will identify errors on your credit report and issue requests to the credit bureaus to have those items removed. Creditor interventions are various types of correspondence the company can send on your behalf directly to lenders and collection agencies.

Common examples of creditor interventions are goodwill letters and debt validation letters. Goodwill letters ask the lender to stop reporting a late payment if you have an otherwise on-time payment history. Debt validation letters solicit proof that you actually owe a debt you believe to be invalid.

Concord Premier

Concord Premier, the mid-level plan, includes the credit repair basics covered under the Concord Standard plan plus a few additional services. With this package, Lexington Law will dispute hard inquiries on your report that shouldn’t be there. You’ll also receive a credit score analysis and ongoing credit monitoring with alerts any time your score changes.

PremierPlus

Lexington Law’s premium package, PremierPlus, encompasses not just credit repair but additional financial services that may be helpful. Building on the lower-level plans, this package also includes cease and desist letters, which the company can send to creditors to stop collection efforts like intrusive phone calls. PremierPlus also grants access to a FICO® score tracker and financial planning tools, both of which are accessible via the Lexington Law app. Finally, up to $1 million in identity theft protection is included.

Warning: Getting endless calls from collection agencies can majorly disrupt your day-to-day life, so it’s easy to see why cease and desist letters would sound attractive. But before proceeding with this route, you should be aware of the potential consequences. Once a creditor runs out of ways to contact you, they may proceed directly to suing you over the unpaid debt.

 Concord StandardConcord PremierPremier Plus
Credit disputes
Creditor interventions
Hard inquiry disputes 
Credit score analysis 
Credit monitoring and alerts 
Cease and desist letters  
Personal finance tools  
FICO® score tracker  
Identity theft protection up to $1 million  

Optional Add-Ons in Lexington Law

Aside from its three plan offerings, Lexington Law doesn’t sell any optional add-ons. All services the company provides can only be purchased within a package.

Customer Service

In the customer service domain, Lexington Law stands out from the rest of the industry with a highly rated smartphone app. The app receives outstanding reviews, garnering an average 4.8-star rating in Apple’s App Store and 4.6 stars in the Google Play store.

Representatives are easily accessible, with phone lines open 12 hours every weekday from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. MST. Email service is also available, and the company is highly responsive on social media platforms like Facebook. However, no live chat service is offered.

Company Reputation

While Lexington Law’s customer service looks outstanding on paper, customers don’t tend to agree. The company has accumulated more than 600 complaints with the Better Business Bureau and 14 in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint database. The details of these complaints are widely varied, although many mention specific promises the company made that failed to materialize.

Warning: The Credit Repair Organizations Act makes it unlawful for credit repair companies to make any specific promises to customers. If a company claims that they can boost your score by a certain number of points or achieve results in a specific amount of time, the best course of action is to walk away and find a more reputable service.

Likely as a result of investigating these customer complaints, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against Lexington Law in 2019.1 The suit alleged that the company had used “deceptive marketing tactics” to attract customers and charged “unlawful fees” by collecting payments before services had been rendered. The case is still open.

Contract Duration

Lexington Law does not ask customers to sign any long-term contracts. Services are charged on a monthly basis and can be canceled anytime by contacting customer service at least five days before the next billing date. According to the company’s website, most customers need an average of six months to complete the credit repair process.

Cost

Lexington Law lists no initial work fee, something most competitors charge for the first phase of the credit dispute process. Monthly fees start at $89.95 for the Concord Standard plan. The Concord Premier plan is priced at $109.95 per month, while PremierPlus costs $129.95.

These fees are significantly higher than industry averages, particularly the lower-level Concord Standard option that includes relatively few services. However, you should take the absence of upfront fees into consideration. These can often exceed $100 with other credit repair companies.

 Concord StandardConcord PremierPremierPlus
Monthly fee$89.95$109.95$129.95

The Competition: Lexington Law vs. The Credit Pros

To see how Lexington Law’s cost structure compares to other credit repair services, we put it up against The Credit Pros, a competitor that advertises lower monthly costs but charges high initial work fees.

The Credit Pros’ entry-level plan costs $119 upfront and $69 per month for ongoing service. Assuming an average service period of six months, this plan would cost $533 total. Lexington Law’s cheapest plan would be just a few dollars more—$539.70 over the same six-month period.

Looking at the specific services included in these two plans, however, The Credit Pros is a much better value. In addition to credit disputes and creditor interventions, the company throws in credit monitoring, financial planning tools, and identity monitoring, all of which are only available from Lexington Law with upgraded packages.

 Lexington LawThe Credit Pros
Year founded20032009
Services offeredCredit repair, monitoring, identity theft protection, financial planningCredit repair, monitoring, identity theft protection, financial planning
Customer service touchpointsPhone, email, mobile appPhone, email, client portal
Upfront fee$0$119 to $149
Monthly fee$89.95 to $129.95$69 to $149

Lexington Law Pros

  • Highly rated smartphone app: Lexington Law’s smartphone app gets outstanding ratings from customers.
  • Free consultation: New customers can get an online consultation free of charge. The service includes a credit score check, report summary, and expert recommendation.
  • No initial work fees: Unlike most competitors, Lexington Law doesn’t charge customers an upfront fee.
  • Three plan levels: Choose from a selection of plans to find the service and price that works for you.
  • Credit monitoring available: Two of Lexington Law’s three credit repair plans include credit monitoring at no additional cost.

Lexington Law Cons

    • High monthly fees: Lexington Law’s cheapest plan costs $89.95 per month, which is far from affordable for most customers. If you want the most premium package, you’ll have to pay $129.95 per month.
    • Large volume of complaints: The company has been named in 14 CFPB complaints and more than 600 Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaints in the past three years.
    • Alleged legal violations: In 2019, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against Lexington Law for allegedly charging illegal fees and using deceptive sales practices.
    • No money-back guarantee: It’s fairly common for credit repair companies to issue customers a refund if no items are successfully removed from their report, but Lexington Law doesn’t offer one.
    • Unavailable in two states: Residents of North Carolina and Oregon aren’t able to sign up for services with Lexington Law.

#5. Ovation Credit

BBB Rating

A+

Setup Fee

$89

Monthly Fee

$79

Ovation Credit Review

Overview of Ovation Credit

Founded in 1976, Ovation is one of the longest established credit repair services currently in operation. The company operated out of its Jacksonville, Florida, headquarters for more than four decades before being acquired by LendingTree, an online marketplace for various types of loans. During the 2018 acquisition, Ovation president Terry Cordell noted the company’s “emphasis on consumer education and empowerment,” a core value that remains reflected in the financial resources provided to customers. Today, Ovation offers online credit repair and monitoring services to consumers across the United States via phone consultations and electronic account management.

  • Year Founded1976
  • Kinds of Service Credit disputes, monitoring
  • Fee Schedule Upfront and monthly
  • Monitoring Options In-house, additional fee
  • Customer Service Email, phone
  • Phone(866) 639-3426
  • Official Websitewww.ovationcredit.com
Ovation Credit Services by LendingTree empowers customers with the financial knowledge they need to improve not just their credit, but their entire financial future.

Experts often say that the best credit repair solution is education, and if any service embodies this approach, it’s Ovation Credit Services by LendingTree. The company offers much more than just credit repair in its plans, walking customers step by step through the dispute process and providing additional education and tools for better debt management.

But monthly fees aren’t cheap, even for the most basic plan. To see if the membership cost is worth it, we took a deep dive into the service Ovation provides. In this review, we’ll cover what customers can expect from their dedicated Ovation case advisor, how the company tackles credit disputes, and what current customers have to say about their experience with the service.

Types of Services in Ovation Credit

Credit repair services from Ovation are available at two plan levels, allowing you to choose the level of service best suited for your personal situation. However, there are a few services you can expect regardless of which plan you choose. Each member is assigned a case manager who will assist them throughout the credit repair process. This is something that not all competitors do, but it allows for better service as you know you’ll always be talking to someone who is already familiar with your case.

Ovation is also unique in that the company takes a more education-focused, hands-on approach to credit repair. While some companies simply collect your money and do everything for you, Ovation works with members to help them fully understand the credit repair process. This means you may be asked to do a bit more leg work than with other credit repair companies, but you’ll walk away better prepared for long-term success. Budgeting and debt management tools are included with all packages to help prevent future credit issues through better planning and education.

Essentials Plan in Ovation Credit
At $79 per month plus an $89 upfront fee, the Essentials Plan is Ovation’s entry-level credit repair service. The plan includes access to a personal case advisor who is assigned to your account and will guide you step by step through the process of filing disputes with the credit bureaus. However, your case advisor won’t be able to physically do much on your behalf, so you should expect a more hands-on experience. Members can also take advantage of a set of financial management tools through the Ovation web portal.  

Essentials Plus Plan in Ovation Credit
Ovation’s upgraded Essentials Plus Plan is priced at $109 per month with the same $89 upfront fee as the Essentials Plan. For the extra $30 per month, you’ll get access to everything included in the base package plus a few premium services designed to accomplish more of the work for you. Ovation will send unlimited letters to creditors on your behalf for the purpose of challenging debt. You can even request a recommendation letter from Ovation in the future to supplement loan applications. TransUnion credit monitoring is also included with this package.

Optional Add-Ons in Ovation Credit

Many credit repair companies sell optional add-on memberships with auxiliary services not included in their core packages. Ovation offers fewer options than some, but does provide one add-on for credit monitoring. Note that this plan can be purchased independently of credit repair services; you don’t need to be an existing Ovation member to sign up.

Credit Monitoring
Ovation offers credit monitoring through a digital platform that tracks and analyzes your credit score. The platform breaks down the different factors that affect your score and helps you understand how to improve your credit. You’ll also get notifications if anything changes, allowing you to identify and quickly respond to potential errors or signs of identity theft. This service is ideal for anyone planning to make a large purchase, such as a home or vehicle, in the next six months to a year.

All credit repair and monitoring services from Ovation require a free credit consultation prior to signup.

Warning: While there’s no commitment required for a consultation, be aware that some companies use these free sessions to upsell customers on services they don’t necessarily want. Never feel pressured to give out your credit card information or purchase a membership without giving it some thought.

Customer Service

Service from Ovation is generally provided via phone and email, with few digital options compared to competitors. There’s no live chat or mobile app to take advantage of, a bit of a disappointment due to Ovation’s association with LendingTree. However, an online portal is provided with 24/7 access to updates regarding your case. Once you sign up, you’ll be put into direct contact with your case manager, who will primarily communicate with you via email and the Ovation customer portal.

Company Reputation

Overall, Ovation is highly respected in the credit repair industry, which is unfortunately laden with less-than-reputable organizations. Ovation has no negative record with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and just two complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), good indicators that the company’s practices meet legal standards.

Feedback from Ovation customers is notably above average for the industry. The company is just short of four-star ratings from both Google and the Better Business Bureau, fairly impressive scores when stacked up next to competitors. Most complaints involve difficulty getting ahold of case managers, which is a common downside of signing up for this type of credit repair service. Since advisors work limited hours and handle multiple cases simultaneously, they may not always be readily available to answer messages.

If you have a complaint about the services of a credit repair company, you can file a complaint with the FTC or call 877-FTC-HELP.

Important: Ovation has been the subject of only two CFPB complaints in the past three years, one of the lowest complaint rates in the credit repair industry.

Contract Duration

Ovation’s credit repair memberships require no commitment and can be canceled at any time. All you need to do is cancel before the end of your billing period and you won’t be charged for the next month. If you simply want to take a short break, putting the membership on pause is an option as well. While there’s no money-back guarantee, Ovation advertises a unique policy that if the company fails to deliver on promised services, you won’t be charged a fee for that month–although the company is unfortunately vague on what exactly qualifies as failure to deliver. 

Cost

Both Ovation credit repair plans require an $89 upfront fee that covers the initial discovery period as your case manager reviews your credit reports. Subsequent monthly fees are either $79 or $109 depending on the plan you choose. Pricing is in line with most competitors that charge both upfront and monthly fees as part of their cost structure.

 Upfront FeeMonthly Fee
Essentials Plan$89$79
Essentials Plus Plan$89$109

The Competition: Ovation Credit Services by Lending Tree vs. Lexington Law

Ovation Credit Services often faces competition from Lexington Law, another major credit repair company. Assuming an average six-month service period, Lexington Law is a bit less expensive than Ovation. Ovation’s monthly fees are slightly higher, and they charge an upfront fee. Lexington Law also beats Ovation in the tech space with a smartphone app that gets rave reviews.

However, Ovation wins in the areas that matter most. Lexington Law has been the subject of 44 complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the past three years, dwarfing the two complaints associated with Ovation. The company has come under fire for alleged deceptive marketing practices and was even named in a CFPB lawsuit on the subject. Even if it costs a few extra dollars per month, we’d recommend going with Ovation for a better experience from a more reputable company.

 Ovation Services by Lending TreeLexington Law
Year Founded19761991
Services OfferedCredit repair, credit monitoringCredit repair
Customer Service TouchpointsPhone, email, client portalPhone, email, client portal, mobile app
Upfront Fee$89$0
Monthly Fee$79 to $109$89.95 to $129.95

Ovation Credit Pros

  • Dedicated case advisor: As an Ovation credit repair subscriber, you’ll be assigned a case advisor who gives you more personalized attention.
  • Includes financial planning tools: All Ovation memberships come with access to tools that will help you build credit with better budgeting and debt management.
  • Offers standalone credit monitoring: You don’t need to be a credit repair customer to subscribe to Ovation’s paid credit monitoring service.
  • Discounts available: Savings of up to 20% are offered to seniors, couples, and members of the military.
  • Cancel anytime: No advance notice is required to cancel a monthly membership.

Ovation Credit Cons

  • Some features only available with premium package: For unlimited dispute letters and credit monitoring, you’ll have to upgrade to the Essentials Plus Plan.
  • No money-back guarantee: If you’re not happy with the results, you won’t be able to recoup any fees.
  • Few digital tools: As a company owned by industry innovator LendingTree, we expected more from Ovation’s digital tools. There’s no mobile app or web chat option, both of which are offered by many competitors.

#6. AMB Credit Consultants

BBB Rating

A+

Setup Fee

$149

Monthly Fee

$99

AMB Credit Consultants

Overview of AMB Credit Consultants

AMB Credit Consultants is a credit repair firm based in Dallas, Texas. The company was founded in 2007 by Arnita Johnson-Hall, an entrepreneur who struggled with her own credit score and was denied many financial opportunities as a result. Johnson-Hall eventually learned valuable money management skills that helped get her finances back on track. This knowledge is what she used to build AMB. The company now offers credit consultation, education, and repair services to customers across the United States over the phone and through its website.

  • Year Founded2007
  • Type of Service Credit disputes
  • Fee Schedule Upfront and monthly
  • Monitoring Options Required, additional fee
  • Customer Service Phone, email
  • Official Website www.ambcredit consultants.com

Personal finance experts often say that the best credit repair services are based on the core principle of education. This is the approach that AMB Credit Consultants takes with its credit empowerment program. Customers who enroll in the company’s membership receive training in how to better manage their credit and their finances for a better long-term financial future.

But the company claims that this central focus on education means it doesn’t truly belong to the credit repair industry. Can this really be the case? We investigated AMB Credit Consultants’ services, pricing, reputation, and more to see if it really belongs in an industry of its own.

Types of Services in AMB Credit Consultants

AMB Credit Consultants offers a single credit repair package that encompasses four main services, generally completed in chronological order as follows.

Credit Consultation
Credit repair services from AMB begin with a credit consultation. The session takes place over the phone with a consultant who reviews your credit report at a high level and discusses your financial goals. The consultant will then suggest a course of action to address your credit issues. 

Warning: Initial consultations with credit repair companies are often free, but AMB asks you to give your credit card information before scheduling the call. Don’t forget that the Credit Repair Organizations Act entitles you to a full refund if you cancel your contract within three business days.

Credit Report Audit
Following the initial consultation, a credit auditor will perform a line-by-line review of your credit report to search for potential discrepancies. There are ultimately two goals of the credit report audit: to look for items to dispute with the credit bureaus and identify which areas are most impacting your credit score.

Credit Empowerment Program
The bulk of AMB’s credit repair service is its credit empowerment program, which is what customers pay an ongoing monthly fee to access. The program focuses on providing financial education and skill-building to help you reach and sustain a healthy credit score.

Dispute Resolution
While enrolled in the credit empowerment program, customers get unlimited access to the AMB dispute resolution team. This team is in charge of communicating with the credit bureaus on your behalf to challenge any items you believe are inaccurate. You can also ask the dispute resolution team for help contacting creditors and collections agencies if you believe the issue is on their end.

Optional Add-Ons in AMB Credit Consultants

Since AMB Credit Consultants only offers customers one service package, there are no optional add-ons to customize your service. However, there is one add-on that is entirely mandatory—only it isn’t included in the listed price. Credit monitoring is required for anyone who wants to participate in the program. AMB asks all customers to purchase this service from their credit monitoring partner, IdentityIQ, before scheduling their initial consultation.

Customer Service

AMB Credit Consultants offers fairly traditional customer service channels via phone and email. Phones are only open from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. CST. The company does have an online portal, but only for billing and payment purposes. More advanced technology, such as live chat or a mobile app, isn’t available.

Company Reputation

Overall, AMB Credit Consultants gets mostly positive reviews from customers. While not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, the company receives an A+ rating and a 3.4-star average review score.1 On Google, scores are even more positive at 4.8 stars.2

Most encouraging is that AMB has no history of complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB keeps records of reported infractions such as deceptive marketing and excessive fees.

If you have a complaint about the services of a credit repair company, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or call 877-FTC-HELP.

Cost

AMB Credit Consultants charges customers an initial enrollment fee in addition to ongoing monthly fees. Individuals must pay $149 to sign up, although couples who enroll together will only pay $198 jointly. Continued services cost $99 per month per individual.

AMB asks for payment information before scheduling an initial consultation, although your credit card won’t be charged until after the consultation occurs in compliance with the Credit Repair Organizations Act.

Every customer is also required to enroll in credit monitoring through IdentityIQ, their preferred credit monitoring partner. The fee for this service is $24.99 per month after a $1.00 seven-day trial. Customers must obtain the subscription prior to scheduling their initial consultation with AMB.

Tip: The additional cost of credit monitoring is required, but not included in AMB Credit Consultants’ fees. Keep this extra $25 per month in mind when budgeting for AMB’s services.

The Competition: AMB Credit Consultants vs. The Credit Guru

AMB Credit Consultants’ competitor The Credit Guru has been in business for a similar amount of time and offers an overall comparable service. Both companies sell their entry-level plans at the same price, although The Credit Guru also offers a more premium package with significantly higher enrollment and monthly fees.

If you look at the fine print, many of the services included in The Credit Guru’s higher tier of service are included in AMB’s credit repair package, such as personalized service from a consultant. There’s no use in paying 30% more per month for this; AMB Credit Consultants is easily the better deal here.

 AMB Credit ConsultantsThe Credit Guru
Year Founded20072010
Services OfferedCredit repairCredit repair
Customer Service TouchpointsPhone, emailPhone, email
Upfront Fee$149.00$149.95 to $199.95
Monthly Fee$99.00$89.00 to $129.00

AMB Credit Consultants Pros

  • Unlimited disputes included: AMB Credit Consultants doesn’t place a limit on the number of disputes it will file on your behalf in a single billing period.
  • No consumer complaints: There are no complaints registered against the company with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
  • Offers online portal: Customers can track the status of their credit repair case by logging in online.
  • Discount for couples: Couples who sign up together receive about 1/3 off the price of the combined enrollment fee for two people.

AMB Credit Consultants Cons

  • High fees: At $149 for enrollment and $99 per month, AMB Credit Consultants’ fees are higher than industry averages.
  • No free consultation: Unlike many competitors, AMB asks for your credit card information before you schedule a consultation.
  • Single service option: Customers only have one service package to choose.
  • Requires credit monitoring for an additional fee: AMB Credit Consultants requires that all customers purchase credit monitoring from their partner for an additional $24.99 per month.
  • Few online resources: The AMB Credit Consultants website contains fairly little information and no free educational resources.

#7. CreditRepair.com

BBB Rating

D

Setup Fee

$14.99

Monthly Fee

$99.95

CreditRepair.com

Overview of CreditRepair.com

CreditRepair.com was founded in 1997 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company offers credit repair, credit monitoring, and identity theft protection services to customers in most locations across the United States. The company has filed more than 19 million disputes since opening its doors. Today, CreditRepair.com is owned by Progrexion, which also owns Lexington Law, Credit.com, and Efolks.

  • Year Founded 1997
  • Kinds of Credit Repair Service Credit disputes, monitoring, identity theft protection
  • Fee Schedule Upfront and monthly
  • Monitoring Options In-house, additional fee
  • Customer Service Phone, email, mobile app
  • Official Website www.creditrepair.com

CreditRepair.com offers a broad scope of services ideal for all types of credit repair needs. However, consistently negative customer reviews should be a red flag for those considering signing up for services.

One of the most well-known credit repair companies, CreditRepair.com has been helping consumers address credit disputes since the late 1990s. But just because a credit repair company has spent decades in business doesn’t mean it offers the best services. While CreditRepair.com has a competitive range of plans, there are also a few red flags you should know about before you decide to enroll in credit repair services.

Types of Services in Creditrepair.com

CreditRepair.com offers three service packages with tiered levels of service. These are designed with the idea that not all customers need the same level of support in repairing their credit; some may just have one or two errors to be corrected, while others are in need of a complete overhaul. This allows customers to save money by not paying for services they aren’t likely to ever use.

Creditrepair.com offers three different plans. With each plan you will get a different level of service. Between the three plans things like credit monitoring, number of disputes per month, what they will dispute, and the level of support and assistance you receive will differ. The plans are called basic, moderate, and aggressive.

Optional Add-ons in Creditrepair.com

Creditrepair.com doesn’t offer many ad-ons or optional services. We have heard rumors about one option called Quickstart service that starts the process faster in exchange for a one-time fee. However, their site has no information about it and you have to go to the checkout page to see it.

Warning: Pay close attention as you’re completing the checkout process on CreditRepair.com. The company automatically checks the box selecting Quickstart, and unless you uncheck it, you’ll be charged an extra $14.99 for a service that you may not want or need.

Customer Service

CreditRepair.com’s main customer service touchpoints are via email and phone. Phone service is available between Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. MST and during shorter hours on the weekend.

Customers can also download a mobile app for easier access to their account dashboard and credit score tracker. The app is available for both iOS and Android and gets generally positive reviews with at least four-star ratings in both app stores.

Company Reputation

From an objective standpoint, CreditRepair.com’s services appear to offer good value with a broad range of services. Unfortunately, however, many customers seem to disagree. The company has a D rating from the Better Business Bureau, 66 complaints in the past three years, and a 2.84/5 stars average rating.1

More worrisome is that CreditRepair.com has been the subject of 16 complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the past three years.2 Even worse, it was sued by the agency in 2019.3 According to the lawsuit, CreditRepair.com and a competitor owned by the same holding company, Lexington Law, both violated telemarketing laws and charged illegal credit repair fees before any service had been rendered. This violates the Credit Repair Organizations Act, which states credit repair companies cannot collect payment before providing their services.

If you have a complaint about the services of a credit repair company, you can file a complaint with the FTC or call 877-FTC-HELP.

Contract Duration

None of CreditRepair.com’s service plans are subject to contracts, meaning you can cancel anytime without penalty. According to the company, most customers need to pay membership fees for an average of six months to see results.

Cost

CreditRepair.com offers three services levels, but they only publicize on their site that the most popular option costs $99.95 per month. They also state that there is a one-time charge of $14.99 to obtain your credit reports.

Tip: To stay in compliance with the Credit Repair Organizations Act, CreditRepair.com calls its first month of membership fees a “first work fee.” This is because credit repair companies aren’t allowed to start charging monthly fees until they’ve already begun performing work. From a practical standpoint, this doesn’t change anything for the consumer, but it’s something to be aware of as you’re signing up for credit repair.

No two credit repair services are the same. To gauge how CreditRepair.com stacks up against the competition, we pitted it against The Credit Pros. Credit Pros offers more comprehensive services, but it’s prices seem to be a bit higher.

While The Credit Pros is higher in price, we find the difference justified. All packages include credit monitoring and identity theft protection. The Credit Pros will also submit unlimited disputes on your behalf. Finally, The Credit Pros offers financial management tools to all of its credit repair customers that CreditRepair.com doesn’t match. These include bill payment reminders, a budgeting system, and automatic syncing with your open accounts.

 CreditRepair.comThe Credit Pros
Year Founded19972009
Services OfferedCredit repair, monitoring, identity theft protectionCredit repair, monitoring, identity theft protection, financial planning
Customer Service TouchpointsPhone, email, mobile appPhone, email, client portal
Upfront Fee$14.99$19 to $149
Monthly Fee$99.95 plus two other options$19 to $149

CreditRepair.com Pros

  • Offers a free credit evaluation: Get a free online credit snapshot that includes your credit score, a summary of the negative items on your report, and suggestions for how to address them.
  • Choose from three service levels: CreditRepair.com offers options for basic, moderate, or aggressive credit repair based on your needs.
  • Robust educational library: Even non-customers can take advantage of the free credit information, videos, and interactive calculators at CreditRepair.com.
  • Mobile app available: Download the free CreditRepair.com mobile app to track your progress and get alerts.
  • Option for in-house credit monitoring: Two of CreditRepair.com’s three service packages include ongoing credit monitoring and alerts.

CreditRepair.com Cons

  • Poor customer reviews: CreditRepair.com gets consistently poor feedback across multiple review sources.
  • Lacks full pricing transparency: Pricing isn’t disclosed upfront on CreditRepair.com’s website, and you need to watch out for hidden fees.
  • Limited monthly disputes: Monthly disputes are limited depending on the plan you choose.
  • Not available in all locations: CreditRepair.com may be unable to offer services in your area of residence due to a lack of local legal representation. Unfortunately, the company doesn’t disclose its service areas; you’ll have to enter your address to find out.
  • No money-back guarantee: Many competitors offer a refund if they aren’t able to remove any items from your report, but CreditRepair.com doesn’t have a similar policy.

#8. Credit Assistance Network

BBB Rating

C+

Initial Fee

$179

Charges

$50-$70

Credit Assistance Network

Company Overview – Credit Assistance Network

Founded in Boca Raton, Florida, in 2004, Credit Assistance Network is a relatively small credit repair company. According to the company’s website, it has served approximately 12,000 clients in the past decade, a volume that many competitors easily handle in a single year. As a smaller organization, however, Credit Assistance Network is better positioned to offer clients tailored services based on individual needs instead of cookie-cutter service packages.

  • Year Founded2004
  • Kinds of Credit Repair Service Credit disputes
  • Fee Schedule Per item
  • Monitoring Options Not available
  • Customer Service Phone, email
  • Official Website www.creditagenda.com
Credit Assistance Network charges fees on a per-dispute basis, which means they aren’t ideal for anyone with a large number of errors on their credit report. Customers who do sign up for services may find themselves frustrated by the company’s outdated technologies and conflicting information.

Credit Assistance Network is one of the smaller credit repair agencies in the business, a status that comes with pros and cons. While the company is more likely to give you individualized attention than a major competitor might be, you’ll also have to deal with fewer resources and outdated technologies.

What gets our attention most about Credit Assistance Network, though, is its fee structure which, unlike most competitors, operates on a per-deletion basis instead of a monthly basis. For anyone with a long list of credit reporting errors to fix, this could lead to exorbitant fees you can’t afford to pay, leaving you in an even worse position than where you began.

Types of Services in Credit Assistance Network 

Credit Assistance Network offers a single credit repair service with no clearly defined plans or packages. Since the company is smaller than most competitors, it has the advantage of being able to tailor services to the individual. This means the services you receive may vary depending on your personal credit history. However, Credit Assistance Network highlights two core services that it offers by default to all credit repair customers.

Credit Disputes

Most people seek out a credit repair company for assistance disputing items on their credit report. Credit Assistance Network handles these disputes on your behalf, first combing through your credit reports to identify potential errors and then drafting and sending letters directly to the credit bureaus. The company will then follow up on any disputes that are rejected to pursue alternative courses of action.

Creditor Interventions

A more unique service to Credit Assistance Network is its inclusion of creditor interventions. This encompasses a range of actions that require interacting directly with creditors. The company may send requests for debt validation, which forces the creditor to come up with proof that you legally owe the debt they are reporting. If your credit is in otherwise good shape and you’ve been making all your recent payments on time, you may benefit more from a goodwill letter, which simply asks the creditor to remove the derogatory mark out of good nature.

Warning: If Credit Assistance Network or any credit repair company suggests sending debt validation letters on your behalf, proceed with caution. Most collections agencies view this as a sign that you intend to avoid the debt and it may trigger a more aggressive effort to collect payment.

Optional Add-Ons in Credit Assistance Network

Depending on what Credit Assistance Network finds on your credit reports, they may suggest additional services to help further improve your credit. There’s no official pricing structure for these additional services, so it’s up to the company to decide how many they’ll include in your base fees before imposing a surcharge. Make sure to ask about additional fees before agreeing to services not included in your initial contract.

Settlement Offer Assistance
Credit repair can’t be used to erase valid debts that you actually owe. If a delinquent account is bringing down your credit score, the best course of action is to pay off the balance as quickly as possible. Since it’s in the creditor’s best interest to collect as much of their money as possible, some will accept an offer for less than the outstanding balance if you agree to pay a lump sum. Credit Assistance Network can help draft settlement offer letters to creditors if you choose to pursue this option.

Identity Theft Resolution
Victims of identity theft face a long road to repair their credit by eliminating traces of accounts opened by criminals in their name. Credit Assistance Network can tailor its services to help anyone struggling to restore their credit to its prior status after their identity has been stolen.

Tip: While you can easily hire a professional service to help restore your credit from identity theft, it’s entirely possible to do it on your own without paying lofty fees. Check out the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) identity theft guide for a clear, step-by-step plan to report identity theft and clean up your credit.

Security Clearance Assistance

If your job requires you to have a security clearance, your credit is one of the many items looked at on your application. While bad credit won’t necessarily bar you from getting clearance, it can certainly hurt your case. Credit Assistance Network offers a specific service to those hoping to polish their credit before applying for a security clearance.

Customer Service in Credit Assistance Network

Credit Assistance Network primarily interacts with customers by phone and email. Representatives are available to answer phones from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST every weekday. This is a selling point for working professionals with a nine-to-five job; many competitors shut down phone lines right at 5:00 p.m. every day, which creates a major headache anytime you need to get in touch with your case manager.

Sadly, the Credit Assistance Network website doesn’t live up to the same standard. Much of the site’s information hasn’t been updated since 2013 or earlier, and the design appears at least as old. We frequently struggled to locate key information such as pricing, and some details were entirely incorrect. For example, while Credit Assistance Network advertises an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, its actual rating is a much less respectable C+.

Company Reputation

We frequently use third-party rating sites as a source of customer review data when analyzing credit repair companies. Unfortunately, Credit Assistance Network doesn’t have much of an online footprint, likely due to its small customer base. The company has no complaints registered with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the Better Business Bureau, although it does receive a less-than-optimal rating of C+ from the latter. Due to a lack of data on popular review platforms such as Google, we were unable to locate reliable customer testimonials.

Contract Duration

Unlike the vast majority of credit repair companies, Credit Assistance Network doesn’t charge fees on a monthly basis. With no contracts to speak of, it’s easy to cancel services anytime. However, since Credit Assistance Network bills customers based on the number of successful disputes, you may still be responsible for fees related to any items that are removed after you cancel.

Note that Credit Assistance Network does offer a 90-day money-back guarantee. If no items are successfully removed from your report in the first three months, the company will refund any fees paid up to that point.

If you have a complaint about the services of a credit repair company, you can file a complaint with the FTC or call 877-FTC-HELP.

Cost

Credit Assistance Network charges two types of fees. The first is a one-time setup fee paid when you sign up for services. This fee is $179 for individuals and $279 for couples, which is extremely high for the industry. The second fee is charged based on the number of items the company has deleted from your credit reports. The rate is $50 per deletion per bureau; public record deletions are $75 each. 

Warning: Credit Assistance Network charges customers $50 for every successful deletion. Even if the same error appears across all three of your credit reports, you’ll end up paying $150 in total to have that one item removed. If you have multiple errors on your report, these fees could add up very quickly.

To see how much you’d pay for credit repair with Credit Assistance Network versus a company that charges monthly fees, we ran a comparison against Credit Saint. The competitor’s mid-tier Credit Remodel package costs $99 per month and includes up to 10 disputes for every billing cycle, placing the cost per dispute as low as $9.90. You’d pay $500 for the same number of disputes with Credit Assistance Network (assuming they were all successful).

On top of this, Credit Assistance Network’s $179 first work fee is nearly twice the $99 you’d pay with Credit Saint. Taking these costs into consideration, Credit Saint is easily the better value out of the two.

 Credit Assistance NetworkCredit Saint
Year Founded20042004
Services OfferedCredit repairCredit repair, monitoring
Customer Service TouchpointsPhone, email, client portalPhone, email, client portal
Upfront Fee$179.00$99.00 to $195.00
Monthly FeeVaries by number of disputes$79.99 to $119.99

Credit Assistance Network Pros

  • Free consultation: Your initial credit review with Credit Assistance Network is free of charge.
  • Personalized service: Since Credit Assistance Network is a small company, you’ll get more one-on-one attention than you might with a larger firm.
  • Money-back guarantee: If Credit Assistance Network is unable to remove any incorrect items from your credit report within 90 days, they’ll refund your initial fee.
  • Offers educational materials: The company’s blog is filled with guides related to credit and financial health.

Credit Assistance Network Cons

  • High service fees: After a one-time $179 setup fee, you’ll be charged $50 per deletion per bureau. That adds up to $150 for every item that appears on all three of your credit reports.
  • No monitoring: Credit Assistance Network doesn’t offer or include monitoring in its service fees.
  • Outdated website: The Credit Assistance Network website provides a poor user experience and makes it difficult to locate information. Most of the information hasn’t been updated since 2013.
  • Makes questionable claims: We found several examples of questionable and contradictory information across the Credit Assistance Network website. For example, the company claims to hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, but it’s actually a C+.
  • Few customer reviews: Credit Assistance Network has few to no verified customer testimonials on any of the major review websites.

#9. Credit Versio

BBB Rating

NA

Setup Fee

NA

Monthly Fee

$19.95

Credit Versio

Overview of Credit Versio

Credit Versio is a Software for DIY Credit Repair

Studies over the last decade show that 1 in 5 Americans has mistakes on their credit profile. Depending on the data, a single mistake can cost you hundreds of points on your credit score.

While each credit reporting bureau provides online disputes and forms you can mail to dispute inaccuracies on your credit history, doing this requires some general knowledge in credit repair. After all, you have to understand what you’re disputing if you want it removed from your credit profile.

With Credit Versio, you simply link your credit report to its online system. The program scans your report for potentially negative items. If they’re disputable (remember, you can’t remove an accurate item from your credit report until it’s old enough to disappear on its own), Credit Versio directs you to the proper form that you can mail in to dispute the item.

Credit Versio’s smart system helps determine which form is best for your situation since different items require different types of dispute letters. You can dispute inaccurate information pertaining to a late payment, repossession, charge-off, foreclosure, collection, judgment, inquiry, and bankruptcy.

In many cases, you’re only required to add some necessary information to the form, put a stamp on the envelope and send it off.

Keep in mind that you have to send a dispute letter to every credit bureau that shows the error. That means potentially contacting Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion for one item.

Depending on the pricing tier you choose, you may find yourself limited in the number of disputes and credit report pulls you receive every month. Fewer pulls mean you have to wait longer to track any progress on your dispute.

Credit Versio Pricing

Just about every legitimate credit repair company will have multiple pricing tiers available for customers. The differences in most tiers are determined by the number of disputes you can file each month.

You can typically get away with a lower-priced package if you only have one or two items to dispute. Not coincidentally, most entry-level packages allow two disputes per month — which doesn’t help since you may need to file a separate dispute with each credit reporting agency.

Credit Versio sticks to that trend in its pricing structure. The most cost-effective package is the smartcredit® BASIC. For $19.95 per month, you’ll get your credit report and score from each credit bureau, credit monitoring alerts, and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance.

Most importantly, this package also includes two monthly Smart Credit Report and Score pulls and two monthly action buttons — which are essentially dispute allowances.

The smartcredit® PREMIUM package ($24.95 per month) offers all of the key perks of the Basic package but adds unlimited credit score pulls and action buttons.

Credit Versio is unveiling its IdentityIQ service soon for $29.95 per month. This service will provide credit monitoring for changes to your credit scores and also look for signs of identity theft. You can cancel your account at any time — no matter which package you choose — and don’t need to sign a contract to get started.

Each paid account also receives access to pre-recorded video lessons from credit experts that coach you through different aspects of the credit repair process. While this is a nice added perk, it still does require some knowledge in credit repair, as these aren’t live coaching sessions, and Credit Versio doesn’t provide any other way to access experts to answer your questions.

This is where other services have an advantage over Credit Versio. Lexington Law, for example, partners with lawyers who have decades of experience disputing credit report inaccuracies. You can’t tap into that type of experience through Credit Versio — and you certainly can’t hire a lawyer on your own for what Lexington Law’s services cost.

Credit Versio Reviews Around the Web

Credit Versio is a newcomer to the credit repair game. At the time of publishing, the company has only six months of service under its belt. As such, reviews are limited to a short time frame and limited consumer experience.

That said, the company already holds an excellent 4.6 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot from over 130 reviews. Many customers claim to experience fast fixes to their credit reports, with score increases in two months or less.

“Absolutely love Credit Versio. They helped so much with my credit since I’ve joined 2 months ago my credit score has jumped 62 points.” — Aquilla, Trustpilot Reviewer

Other reviewers seem to appreciate the ease of use when spotting errors and filing a dispute with each credit bureau.

“Makes things extremely easy when fixing delinquencies on my credit. Just dispute, use the automated reason, print, send, and BAM, you’re done. It’s not always guaranteed to be removed, but in my first round of letters I had 12 negative items removed from my credit!” — David, Trustpilot Reviewer

A key takeaway from the above review is that no legitimate credit repair company or service can guarantee the removal of a disputed item. You can only dispute inaccurate information from a legitimate financial institution. Any accurate information on your credit report must stay there for its allotted amount of time (typically between two and seven years).

You may not know this with a service like Credit Versio, since you don’t have access to experts who can guide you through the process. These frustrations reflect in some reviews.

“Could use more guidance or what I’m doing. I’m not sure if I’m doing the right thing or not.” — Michael, Trustpilot Reviewer

Without that proper guidance, you could find yourself firing off disputes with no idea of the next step to take. That could lead to a longer credit repair process that requires more monthly payments than you’d expect to pay.

“This is my 3rd month & have no actions. Good or Bad. Seems like I’m wasting my money.” — Kelle Ellison, Trustpilot Reviewer.

As with any service you sign up for, it’s important to understand what you’re getting and what you should expect before you make your first monthly payment.

Since Credit Versio is truly a do-it-yourself solution to credit repair, you may find yourself confused if you aren’t familiar with the dispute process. If that happens, your only recourse is to watch a series of instructional videos that will, hopefully, guide you properly and answer your questions.

If you aren’t a visual learner or don’t have time to dedicate toward learning the ins and outs of credit repair, you may want to consider an option that offers similar monthly payment structures but provides experts who work on your behalf to remove inaccuracies from your credit report.

Credit Versio Pros

  • Free w/3 bureau subscription

  • Unlimited disputes per month

  • Get Video Credit Coaching

 

Credit Versio Cons

  • Only 3 Bureau Credit Reports & Scores

  • Doesn’t offer credit monitoring

  • No free consultation

 

#10. Pyramid Credit Repair

BBB Rating

NA

Setup Fee

$0

Monthly Fee

$99

Pyramid Credit Repair

Overview of Pyramid Credit Repair 

As the name implies, Pyramid Credit Repair is a credit repair service. The company began operations in 2012 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware. It employs 273 people.

The company uses a combination of dedicated employee participation, and proprietary technology to empower consumers to take control of their finances, and improve their credit scores.

They work directly with creditors and credit bureaus until your credit problems have been resolved. They also check back after a short interval, to make sure changes made in your credit profile are still in place.

Terms of Services in Pyramid Credit Repair

3 Bureau Credit Report

Why a three-bureau credit report? This is a necessary step since not all credit information appears on each bureau’s report.

For example, there could be a collection reported on the Experian credit report that does not appear on the TransUnion and Equifax reports. A comprehensive credit repair can only take place when the information from all three credit bureaus is available.

IMPORTANT: One of the reasons it’s requested that you order your credit report is because if you do, your credit score won’t be hurt. If the company orders it, your score will take a small hit for an inquiry. That’s the last thing you need if you already have a low credit score.

3-Step Credit Repair Process

Pyramid Credit Repair works with a three-step credit repair process as follows:

One of the most important features of the Pyramid Credit Repair service is that you are assigned a knowledgeable Personal Account Manager who works with you through the entire process.

The company offers a well-established database and a reliable platform to create a custom-designed plan to help you work through your credit problems.

Expert Staff

Apart from your Personal Account Manager, you’ll also have the company’s credit team and dispute experts. Their job is to dispute credit report errors, and they do this by using a rigorous process to both scrutinize and hold credit sources accountable for those errors.

This is important because credit reports routinely contain errors. If not disputed, they can stay on your credit report for years, and drag down your credit score.

This is because credit errors seem most commonly to be negative in nature. If you don’t have experience getting those errors corrected yourself, it can seem impossible. But when you have a professional team working for you, the process is not only easier, but also much more likely to succeed.

Personal Dashboard

During the entire process, you’ll have access to a personal dashboard. All information regarding your credit repair situation will be available on that dashboard. It’s also where you can communicate with company personnel, and view results of your case. You’ll also have access to the credit score tracker and an analysis of your situation.

When you have your one-on-one Risk-Free Assessment with your Personal Account Manager, it will be determined if the program is the right strategy for you. Pyramid Credit Repair wants to make that determination even before any payment information is provided.

How Long Does the Credit Repair Process Take?

The company reports you will typically see results in as little as 45 to 60 days. Though it is possible the process will take longer, based on the specifics of your credit situation. The company’s goal is to take as little time as possible, and they believe their new system makes it happen faster than competitors can. Due to credit bureau restrictions, it will take at least 30 days before you will begin to see results.

Features and Benefits of Pyramid

100% Money-Back Guarantee

Pyramid Credit Repair offers a 90-day moneyback guarantee for their service if they fail to update inaccurate, obsolete, erroneous, incomplete and unverifiable information on your credit reports. Ninety days should be sufficient time to determine if the credit repair program is moving in the right direction, even if it’s not fully completed.

To take advantage of the guarantee, you’ll need to provide a copy of the results showing the information has not been corrected. Refunds will typically be issued within 5 to 7 business days of your request and will be applied to the credit card the monthly fees were charged.

Analysis and Budgeting Tools

Includes debt payment calculators to help you better manage your personal finances. Pyramid Credit Repair isn’t only interested in helping you improve your credit score. They also give you the tools you need to improve your credit and finances in the future.

Customer Service

Pyramid Credit Repair can be reached by phone, Monday through Friday, from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Eastern time. Though the hours of operation are unusual, they will work well for those who are not able to call from work during regular business hours, and may need to call from home in the evening.

Platform Security

Pyramid Credit Repair will not share your credit information unless you provide explicit consent. They also do not provide information to law enforcement unless they are presented with a valid subpoena or court order. And the protection of your credit history information is protected from being shared under federal law.

The website itself meets or exceeds the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA (WCAG 2.0 AA). The company also engages the services of The Bureau of Internet Accessibility to conduct accessibility audits of the website and make recommendations to maintain compliance.

Pricing and Fees

As of 2/1/21, the fee for the service is $99 per month for individuals and $198 for couples. However, there is a 50% discount on the first month’s service for couples. Fees are billed for services previously rendered and performed. The first payment is scheduled for 5 to 15 days after your free credit assessment. That payment will be collected after Pyramid Credit Repair performs work on your account.

Service Cancellation

You can cancel your participation in the program anytime you want. Since Pyramid Credit Repair works on a “pay-as-you-go” basis, you’re not locked into paying for services that haven’t been provided.

Pyramid Credit Repair Pros

  • Free Credit Consultation
  • Assurance or Money-Back Guarantee Policy
  • 3-Bureau Credit Reports & Scores

Pyramid Credit Repair Cons

  • Limited monthly disputes

  • Doesn’t offer credit monitoring