Think of credit repair services as a helping hand. They work on your behalf contacting the credit reporting agencies and submitting the necessary paperwork to dispute an incorrect entry on your credit report. Credit repair companies are invaluable for people who don’t have the time or the desire to contact each credit reporting agency individually and do three separate dispute resolution processes.
Basic Services
All credit repair companies provide the basics in repairing credit. The four main steps that credit repair companies provide in the credit repair process are:
1. A line-by-line review and analysis of your credit reports.
2. Determining issues that could be harming your credit score, identifying practices that could improve your credit score and developing a strategy for your particular case.
3. Sending dispute letters to the credit reporting agencies challenging incorrect information in your credit reports. The number of dispute letters a credit repair service sends per day or month varies by company, so be sure to inquire about their dispute letter limits.
4. Follow up on dispute letter responses to ensure errors and inaccurate information has been removed and, if necessary, increase intensity of efforts depending on responses received.
Other Credit Repair Services
Some credit repair firms provide additional services, either as part of their basic service fee or as a higher service level plan. For example, some credit repair services provide credit score counseling, help with rebuilding your credit and assistance in meeting creditor or lender requirements. Credit repair services typically recommend additional services on a case-by-case basis depending on an individual’s situation and the extent of issues found in the credit reports.
Your Responsibilities in the Process
When you work with a credit repair service, although much of the work is done for you, there are some things that you are responsible for providing. The following list includes items you must do in order for the credit repair company to fulfill its services:
• Obtain copies of your credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – and provide them to the credit repair service.
• Provide personal identification information to the credit repair service. This is a requirement of the credit reporting agencies before the dispute process can begin.
• After the credit repair service sends out dispute letters on your behalf, the responses will come back to you. You are responsible for forwarding these dispute letter responses to the credit report service so they can properly manage your account.
By working in partnership with the credit repair service of your choosing, you are more likely to experience a smooth and problem-free process that results in error-free credit reports. With accurate credit reports, your credit score may improve and lenders will be more inclined to provide you with credit or loans.