CreditRepair.com Reviews and Overview (Before You Sign-up)
There is a wide range of CreditRepair reviews available online. Some CreditRepair.com reviews reflect issues that some CreditRepair.com customers have with claims made by the company, while others are from raving customers who really love the company and the services it provides.
Click here for additional information on these claims and reviews: CreditRepair.com Customer Reviews and BBB Claims.
AdvisoryHQ has performed a detailed review of CreditRepair.com and is presenting the CreditRepair.com review article below to help you decide whether CreditRepair.com’s credit counseling and credit rebuilding services can help you meet your credit repair needs. We’ve also included additional information on CreditRepair.com’s BBB rating.
CreditRepair.com Review (What is CreditRepair.com?)
CreditRepair.com is a consumer credit repair service based out of Seattle, Washington, that offers credit evaluation and management to consumers. CreditRepair claims to be able to improve customers’ credit scores by petitioning reporting agencies to remove unwarranted or inaccurate information from their clients’ credit reports.
Errors in reporting are admittedly a rare occurrence, but when they do occur, they can hinder unsuspecting consumers from accomplishing their long-term goals and dreams. Whether buying a first home, financing college for their children, or applying for a business or personal loan, reporting errors can reduce purchasing power and require an untold amount of time in correction.
This is where businesses like CreditRepair.com claim to help consumers. But how much good can a credit repair service actually do? And if consumers sign up for a membership with CreditRepair.com, what should their expectations be?
CreditRepair.com History
Not much is known about the origins of CreditRepair.com. However, reviewers have learned that the company is based out of Seattle, Washington, with offices in Utah and Florida. CreditRepair.com reviews have noted that the company has been in business since 1997, and during those 18 years they have formed partnerships with reporting agencies Transunion and Equifax.–
These partnerships allow CreditRepair to provide consumers with updated credit reporting information.
CreditRepair.com Reviews and Claims
Many online CreditRepair.com reviews reference the company’s claimed ability to improve consumer credit scores. In fact, CreditRepair.com says their service is so effective that customers’ scores with Transunion jumped by an average of 40 points over four months. CreditRepair.com also asserts that members with a removal of negative items from their reports averaged 11.6 removals, or 7%.
Caveats to CreditRepair.com’s Claims
On the face of it, these are fairly bold claims for a credit repair business to make. However, some CreditRepair.com reviews were quick to point out caveats to these claims that, while not casting doubt on said claims, urged potential customers to keep such figures in context.
The jump in credit score that former members experienced appeared to be relegated solely to Transunion. While a bump in credit score is a positive thing regardless of the reporting agency, it is important to keep in mind that Transunion is just one of three reporting agencies.
A slightly higher score may not boost a consumer’s overall creditworthiness if scores on the other two reporting agencies, Experian and Equifax, remain unchanged. Depending on the inquiry being made on a credit report, Transunion may not be the only agency utilized, if it is even utilized at all.
Other reviews clarified use of the term “removals” as used by CreditRepair.com. Contrary to what many customers believe, removal of a credit score error is counted per reporting agency. This means that if CreditRepair.com removes a single error, it is removed from only one. To count as “three removals,” the error would need to be removed from all three scores.
Other CreditRepair.com reviews stressed the fact that a positive increase in credit score hinges on two qualities surrounding the information being challenged, namely:
- The amount of inaccurate information
- The severity of each inaccuracy
For example, if an inaccuracy concerns an open retail account that should have been closed, correcting the information would result in a much less dramatic increase in credit score than a correction due to a delinquent home or car loan.
Because of this variable, CreditRepair.com cannot and does not promise customers that they will experience any sharp increases in their credit scores. Such dramatic improvements may indeed take place, but that is contingent upon the nature of the errors made to the individual customer’s credit score.
CreditRepair.com Credentials
The credit repair business is relegated to state oversight, and in some states, such as Florida, no governmental oversight or regulation is applied to companies such as CreditRepair.com.
Image Source: CreditRepair.com Reviews
However, in every other state, customers can be guaranteed of three separate credentials with CreditRepair.com:
- Licensed. In short, this means that CreditRepair.com has been licensed by the state government to operate within that state. This helps alleviate the concerns of customers who want to ensure that they are using a credit repair company that follows that state’s laws, rules, and regulations.
- Bonded. CreditRepair.com is backed by a surety company that insures the business in the event of legal trouble or class action lawsuits.
- Registered with the Attorney General. While credit repair companies are not overseen by the Federal Attorney General, they are affiliated with the attorney general in each individual state. Registering with each state’s attorney general demonstrates that the company falls under the purview of state government and local laws.
All-in-One Change Management Tools
Top Rated Toolkit for Change Managers.
Get Your Change Management Tool Today...
The CreditRepair.com Process
CreditRepair.com’s simple user interface allows them to collect customer information quickly and easily. From there, CreditRepair.com initiates a three-step process to help customers manage their credit scores.
Step One: Financial experts at CreditRepair.com review the customer’s credit report to identify possible disputes, inaccuracies, or errors. This consultation is free and determines the customer’s creditworthiness.
If the customer elects to move forward with the service, CreditRepair.com assigns them an account manager who draws up a customized “game plan” that provides next steps as well as counseling to help with future financial decision-making.
Step Two: CreditRepair.com initiates contact with the companies that made the erroneous claims on the consumer’s score and challenges to have said claims removed. CreditRepair.com will also contact the credit reporting agencies on behalf of the customer to verify that the errors have been removed.
It is at this point that some CreditRepair.com reviews said that the company will issue an unlimited number of challenges to errors on a customer’s credit score, but some reviewers expressed worry that CreditRepair.com was doing nothing more than sending out form letters month after month.
They felt this process was both inefficient and not worth the cost of the service. One or two reviewers even noted that the companies being contacted by CreditRepair.com refused to work with the company and would deal only with the customer directly.
Step Three: After the customer has been advised as to the errors in their credit scores and how best to fix them, they are given access to an online dashboard that helps them monitor and track their score, which is automatically updated every 90 days. Suspicious activity would trigger a text or email alert that could cut down on the time needed to catch credit fraud or identity theft. CreditRepair.com also makes apps available for easy mobile tracking.
Certain CreditRepair.com reviews mentioned that customers can register by phone rather than online. While many users said that hold times were tolerable, some reviewers did complain of having to wait much longer than expected.
CreditRepair.com Review: Cost
When it comes to charging fees for their service, CreditRepair.com has both pros and cons.
One pro is that CreditRepair.com has one of the lowest credit report processing fees of all the credit management companies on the web. At only $12.99, CreditRepair.com is one of the cheapest options for collating necessary credit data.
However, one of the cons that came up repeatedly in one CreditRepair.com review after another was the high monthly fee. CreditRepair.com charges $89.95 plus tax each month that the account is kept active, and most reviewers felt that this price was simply too high, even when taking into consideration the monitoring and tracking capabilities provided through the company’s website and apps.
Users most often brought up cost when also complaining that the errors on their scores were not being challenged frequently enough or quickly enough. For them, the idea of dragging out credit disputes that showed no signs of being resolved did not warrant the high $89.95 monthly membership fee.
Adding fuel to customers’ complaints was CreditRepair.com’s no refund policy. CreditRepair.com offers month-to-month contracts with the option to cancel at any time rather than forcing customers into an annual membership plan. Because of this, CreditRepair.com will not refund the monthly fee should the customer decide to cancel their service.
In the event a customer does terminate their contract, however, CreditRepair.com will honor the service through the last month that has been paid in full.
A Healthier Relationship with Credit
One notable feature of the CreditRepair.com service is the company’s emphasis on helping customers utilize their credit more effectively and in a manner less detrimental to their overall creditworthiness.
From CreditRepair.com’s website:
“We are beyond one-time credit repair; we are dedicated to helping you develop a healthier relationship with your credit. Our focus is on you, your story, and your determination to make a change. We want to empower you to make a significant, long-lasting lifestyle change that can give you access to your financial dreams.”
In keeping true to their word, CreditRepair.com offers several resources through their website aimed at helping customers make better financial decisions.
It should be noted that despite the best intentions of CreditRepair’s guiding philosophy, many online CreditRepair.com consumer reviews minimized this kind of lifestyle counseling while zeroing in on the high monthly cost of the service as a whole. Those who wanted to fix what was already broken, as opposed to avoiding further damage down the road, found the service wanting.
Customer Support and Privacy Protection
A CreditRepair.com review would not be complete without discussing the firm’s customer support and privacy protection.
CreditRepair.com supports customers by email, by phone, or by online chat seven days a week. Some CreditRepair.com reviews posted by customers online have noted that the employee on the online chat will most likely not be the customer’s dedicated account manager.
Many CreditRepair.com customer reviews did cite lengthy hold times when calling via phone. Others noted that canceling their memberships—either through the website, by email, or over the phone—proved extremely difficult.
Each CreditRepair.com customer also receives identity theft protection with their membership. In addition, CreditRepair.com says that they are dedicated to protecting the privacy of their customers’ information.
CreditRepair.com BBB Ratings
The BBB (Better Business Bureau) ratings assigned to CreditRepair.com have featured prominently in many CreditRepair.com reviews.
These CreditRepair.com BBB reviews provide only a patchwork retrospective of the company’s history with the BBB, with one review noting a B- rating, another citing an A+, and another an A-. As of this writing, CreditRepair enjoys a solid BBB rating of A.
BBB ratings are the sum of many separate variables, not the least of which is the company’s size, the number of complaints against the company, and how quickly the company has sought to resolve those complaints. Because of this, comparing a CreditRepair BBB rating from any one specific point in time to the present would be an apples-to-oranges comparison.
In other words, CreditRepair.com’s former A+ rating might have been downgraded due to company resizing, CreditRepair’s tenure as a business, or an influx of fresh complaints, among other fluid data points. For this reason, it would be extremely difficult for anyone outside the BBB to establish why CreditRepair’s rating has fluctuated during the interim between the aforementioned reviews.
Conclusion – Review of CreditRepair.com
Many professional CreditRepair.com reviews agreed that CreditRepair.com is a good service for customers who are either too busy to petition creditors themselves or who don’t know how to start.
In cases like these, CreditRepair.com can lead customers by the hand and quite possibly improve their credit scores. However, reviewers have advised readers to take the time to learn the ins and outs of challenging credit inaccuracies. If they do, then much of the work done by CreditRepair.com can be accomplished in the customer’s spare time at no cost.
A lot of online reviewers stated that CreditRepair.com had been helpful in cleaning up their credit scores. This often meant removing small collections or a few inquiries here and there, which CreditRepair.com itself insists is a more realistic expectation.
Despite this, reviewers frequently expressed frustration that the assistance provided by CreditRepair.com was inadequate and failed to make a dent in their credit score. Many people complained about the process consuming far more time than necessary and of overdue updates to their accounts. Several reviewers canceled their memberships and sought out CreditRepair.com’s competitors.
In the end, it appears that CreditRepair.com can be useful for anyone with realistic expectations when it comes to just how much their credit scores can be repaired. The monthly membership is one of the most expensive around, with no refunds and no exceptions. However, for someone with a busy schedule or with no interest in learning how to clean up their own credit, CreditRepair.com could be a viable option.
AdvisoryHQ (AHQ) Disclaimer:
Reasonable efforts have been made by AdvisoryHQ to present accurate information, however all info is presented without warranty. Review AdvisoryHQ’s Terms for details. Also review each firm’s site for the most updated data, rates and info.
Note: Firms and products, including the one(s) reviewed above, may be AdvisoryHQ's affiliates. Click to view AdvisoryHQ's advertiser disclosures.