Credit Repair Scams and Reputable Credit Repair Services

The credit repair industry can be a frightening place. Given the abundance of news articles, television stories, and "expert" pieces cautioning against fraudulent credit repair services that get published by well regarded media outlets, it can look like the only logical option is to avoid credit repair companies entirely - something many news outlets seem to advocate.

There are dozens of articles detailing how to avoid a credit repair scam. Most itemize a list of red flags such as companies that charge hefty upfront fees, claim to be able to create a clean credit identity, don't advise you of your right to repair you credit yourself, and otherwise make misleading or untruthful claims. At this point, however, a very small portion of articles mention that there are credit repair companies like Lexington Law who do not participate in the fraudulent practices that typify a credit repair scam. In fact, many articles from established news agencies like CNN end by advising people to "get legitimate help" from consumer credit counseling services.

Not only is this advice incomplete as it implies that there are no legitimate credit repair services, but it is also completely useless to people who are in need of credit repair. Credit counseling may be able to assist people who are struggling to make payments on their debts, but it will do nothing to improve your credit rating. Some credit counseling programs may even make your credit score worse.

Unlike credit counseling services that work to bring your debts under control, credit repair services are designed to help you improve your credit score. They are not mutually exclusive offerings and in many cases, a person who has used a credit counseling service to help manage their debts becomes a great candidate for credit repair once they have completed the program.

Legal credit repair services do have a purpose and it is a disservice to say otherwise. Hopefully as consumers and news columnists alike become more familiar with the services credit repair organizations provide, we will start seeing more of a balance between news stories warning of credit repair scams and news stories listing the qualities to look for in a legitimate credit repair service.