The Best Credit Repair Services: Three Suggestions for Locating Them
With so many inexperienced credit repair companies coming onto the scene, many of which are turnkey businesses using a third party software solution as the backbone of their product, it becomes a challenge to determine which services can be trusted with your credit reports. To help separate the best credit repair services from the amateurs trying to make a quick buck, here are some suggestions for identifying a quality credit repair provider:
1) Look for experience – Creating a credit repair service is remarkably easy. A person only needs a website and a few hundred dollars to purchase a software package. Remaining in the business and producing results is harder. The best credit repair companies usually have an established history of providing credit repair services which not only indicates 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 ideal for commerce, but the process of cleaning up your credit reports generally produces better results when performed offline. Reputable credit repair providers usually have a physical place of operations you can use as a guide to how solid the company is. Mapquest or some other satellite imagery service is a great tool for researching the company’s headquarters. Grab the company’s address, pull up a map and see if the company occupies their own building, operates in an office complex, rents out a spot 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 establishes rules that credit repair companies must abide by. One of these is to not require payment for services until after they have been performed. This was created to protect consumers from scammers who would charge large upfront fees and then never fulfill their end of the arrangement.
As a result of this, you should avoid credit repair providers who require an upfront payment.
Along with finding out how much and when 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.
