If a low credit score or mistakes with credit in the past are keeping you from obtaining new credit, you may be considering credit repair. Offered by for-profit companies, credit repair is a process that claims to “clean up” a consumer’s credit report by removing any incorrect negative items. Once these negative items are removed, most consumers may see their credit score improve. But is it really that simple? Let’s take a look at what happens during the credit repair process.
Consumers typically contact credit repair companies when they want to quickly raise their credit score to be able to obtain new credit. For many people, this happens when they want to secure new credit such as a home mortgage, vehicle loan or personal loan.
Once a consumer enters into an agreement with a credit repair company, the first thing the company will do is obtain a current copy of the consumer’s credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. The company then looks for negative entries on the reports and begins the dispute and negotiation process.
The credit repair company looks for bankruptcies, charge-offs, tax liens and other derogatory notations on the consumer’s credit reports. When they identify these items, they will create a plan to dispute errors and negotiate with the credit bureaus to remove the negative entries.
After receiving the disputes, the credit bureaus have 30 days to do their own investigation to verify if the negative entry is accurate. Here’s where things can get tricky. During the 30-day investigation period, the bureaus may remove some or all of the negative entries from consumers’ credit reports. This can cause the credit score to improve. However, this improvement could be temporary.If their investigations prove the negative entries are accurate, those entries will go back on the reports.
Additionally, the credit bureaus can determine a dispute is “frivolous” and may choose not to investigate.
Going through the credit repair process does not guarantee that the consumer’s credit will improve. And if it does improve, it may not be permanent. Any number of factors, including late payments, can cause it to drop again quickly.
Before choosing a credit repair company, be sure to check their reputation with the Better Business Bureau and read reviews at third-party review sites, such as Trustpilot.com. While reputable credit repair companies do exist, there are also countless credit repair scams to watch out for.
Credit repair companies don’t offer any services consumers can’t do for themselves. For example, take a look at how to address errors on your credit report. These do’s and don’ts for managing a credit score can also be helpful when trying to improve credit.
If a consumer is ready to change their spending habits and make a plan to pay off debt, a great place to start is with a nonprofit credit counseling agency, such as EcoCredit. During credit counseling, a certified counselor works directly with a consumer to review income, expenses and debt. Next, they create a manageable budget and determine a path forward to pay off credit card debt. That path may include a debt management plan. A full credit counseling session is also available online, any time at ecocreditgroup.com/contact-us.
OpenOcean Credit is different that the others because we work to remove inaccurate information while providing you with the tools and direction you need to rebuild and maintain your credit.
Results will start appearing within 30 to 90 days.
When you sign up for the monthly program, we will help you raise and rebuild your credit score while removing inaccurate information from your credit report.
Most customers stay in the program for three to six months.
You have three options here. You can sign up for an online credit report provider like smartcredit.com and use your sign-in credentials to forward us a copy of the report. You can also mail us a hard copy. You can create your own online portal and send them to us that way.
Yes, this allows you to see the information from all three credit bureaus at once instead of flipping through different reports.
We can challenge as many as you want.
Yes. If your spouse signs up with you, you will get a family discount that gives you 50% off your spouse’s credit analysis report.
No, but you must live in the same household.
No, your personal information is safe. The only time your information would be shared is if we are working with an affiliate partner who is involved in the dispute process.
Yes, by raising your credit score, you are more likely to qualify for a home loan.
Yes, we challenge all inaccurate information when necessary.
Call us at or visit our website and use the contact form.
Call us at or fill out the contact form on the website and somebody will get back to you within 24 hours.
We don’t only work to remove the negative, inaccurate information from your credit report. We also give you the information you need to increase your credit score.
You can expect to see results in as little as 30 days, with it taking up to 180 days in some cases.
You will need to pay a credit analysis fee of $149 in the beginning. During this process, we will give you a detailed report that explains what is lowering your credit score and what can be done to increase the score. If you decide you like the direction outlined, the fee is $99 per month. You are not obligated to sign up and you can cancel your service at any time. You are not charged a fee until work is performed.
At EcoCredit, our specialists will negotiate on your behalf, calling upon consumer protection laws and our long-standing industry experience, to help rebuild your financial standing and liberate you from the restraints of poor credit.