Identifying the Top Credit Repair Services
http://www.ads-get-read.co.uk/articles/107562/1/Identifying-the-Top-Credit-Repair-Services/Page1.html
Stuart Hunter
Providing credit repair services since 1991, Lexington Law has helped over 500,000 clients legally take on their credit. Last year alone, Lexington Law helped clients remove over 600,000 negative items from their credit reports. By Stuart Hunter
Published on Thursday 28th 2010
With so many new and inexperienced credit repair providers entering the market, many of which are turnkey credit repair businesses using third party software to power their service, it becomes a challenge to know which services can be trusted with your credit. To help separate the top credit repair services from the greenhorns looking to make a quick buck, here are some suggestions for spotting a quality credit repair company:
1) Check for experience - Setting up a credit repair service is remarkably easy. All a person needs is a website and a little money in the bank to purchase a software package. Staying in the business and generating results for customers is more difficult. The leading credit repair companies typically have an established history of helping people which not only indicates a stable business, but it also is a sign that the company practices within the confines of the law since most shady companies don't last very long.
A company's BBB report will show how long the company has been in business. If the companydoesn't have a BBB report, it could be a red flag since the company may be very new or flying under the radar. If you have a hard time figuring out how long a company has been operating, you can try performing a WHOIS lookup of their domain name to see how long it has been since it was registered, but odds are if it takes that much work to track down the information, you are probably better served looking elsewhere.
2) Look for an offline presence - The Internet is ideal for commerce, but the process of working to repair your credit reports generally produces better results when performed offline. Established credit repair providers usually have a physical place of operations you can use as an indication of how stable the company is. Satellite imagery services like Mapquest are great tools for researching the company's headquarters. Grab the company's address, load a map and see if the company occupies their own building, is headquartered in an office complex, rents out a space in a strip mall, or has the mailing address of a personal residence.
3) Look at pricing and payment options - Signed into law in 1996, the Credit Repair Organizations Act CROA sets guidelines credit repair companies must abide by. One of these is to only accept payment for services after they have been performed. This was created to help protect people from fraudulent companies who would charge large upfront fees and never provide the expected services.
Naturally, you should steer clear of credit repair providers who require an upfront payment (yes, there are still many in operation despite this regulation).
In addition to finding out when and how much you will be expected to pay, make note of the payment options. Most reputable companies will, at a minimum, give you the option to pay via credit card on their website or over the phone.
With so many new and inexperienced credit repair organizations coming onto the scene, many of which are turnkey businesses using a third party software solution to power their service, it becomes a challenge to know who you can trust with your credit. Here are some tips for spotting a quality credit repair company.
Identifying the Best Credit Repair Services
With so many new and inexperienced credit repair providers entering the market, many of which are turnkey credit repair businesses using third party software to power their service, it becomes a challenge to know which services can be trusted with your credit. To help separate the top credit repair services from the greenhorns looking to make a quick buck, here are some suggestions for spotting a quality credit repair company:
1) Check for experience - Setting up a credit repair service is remarkably easy. All a person needs is a website and a little money in the bank to purchase a software package. Staying in the business and generating results for customers is more difficult. The leading credit repair companies typically have an established history of helping people which not only indicates a stable business, but it also is a sign that the company practices within the confines of the law since most shady companies don't last very long.
A company's BBB report will show how long the company has been in business. If the companydoesn't have a BBB report, it could be a red flag since the company may be very new or flying under the radar. If you have a hard time figuring out how long a company has been operating, you can try performing a WHOIS lookup of their domain name to see how long it has been since it was registered, but odds are if it takes that much work to track down the information, you are probably better served looking elsewhere.
2) Look for an offline presence - The Internet is ideal for commerce, but the process of working to repair your credit reports generally produces better results when performed offline. Established credit repair providers usually have a physical place of operations you can use as an indication of how stable the company is. Satellite imagery services like Mapquest are great tools for researching the company's headquarters. Grab the company's address, load a map and see if the company occupies their own building, is headquartered in an office complex, rents out a space in a strip mall, or has the mailing address of a personal residence.
3) Look at pricing and payment options - Signed into law in 1996, the Credit Repair Organizations Act CROA sets guidelines credit repair companies must abide by. One of these is to only accept payment for services after they have been performed. This was created to help protect people from fraudulent companies who would charge large upfront fees and never provide the expected services.
Naturally, you should steer clear of credit repair providers who require an upfront payment (yes, there are still many in operation despite this regulation).
In addition to finding out when and how much you will be expected to pay, make note of the payment options. Most reputable companies will, at a minimum, give you the option to pay via credit card on their website or over the phone.