Identifying the Best Credit Repair Companies

The credit repair industry has become a crowded place. Recent economic turmoil has prompted more stringent lending restrictions that made having a high credit score far more important than it had been in years. Finding themselves no longer being considered good candidates for loans because their credit score isn't as good as it now needs to be, thousands are turning to credit repair services for help. Hoping to cash in on the trend, new credit repair services are popping up all the time claiming to be experts at fixing credit reports.

With so many new and inexperienced credit repair organizations coming onto the scene, many of which are simply turnkey businesses using third party software to power their service, it becomes difficult to figure out who you can trust with your credit reports. To help separate the credit repair services from the greenhorns trying to make a quick buck, here are three suggestions for spotting a quality credit repair provider:

1) Look for experience - Creating a credit repair company is remarkably simple. All a person needs is a website and a little money in the bank to pay for a software package. Staying in the business and generating results for customers is more difficult. The leading credit repair services typically have an established history of providing credit repair services which is not only indicative of a stable business, but it also is a sign that the company practices within the confines of the law.

2) Look for an offline presence - The Internet is perfect for commerce, but the process of repairing your credit generally produces better results when performed offline. Trustworthy credit repair providers usually have a physical location you can use as an indication of how solid the company is. Mapquest or some other satellite imagery service is a great tool for researching the company's home office. Get 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 location 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 adhere to. One of these is to not require payment for services until after the agreed upon services have been performed. This was put in place to help protect people from fraudulent companies who would charge large upfront fees and then never fulfill their end of the arrangement.

As a result of this, you should steer clear of credit repair companies who require an upfront payment.

Along with finding out when and how much you will be expected to pay, note the payment options. Most reputable online companies will provide at a minimum the option to pay via credit card on their website or over the phone.

Article Source: http://tss-articles.com

Many people who begin searching for the best credit repair service end up selecting Lexington Law to help them with their credit. Lexington Law has established itself as a leader in the credit repair industry as is evidenced by the over 1 million negative items clients saw removed from their credit reports in 2009.

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