3 Things You Should Know Before Hiring A Credit Repair Law Firm
There are hundreds of law firms out there that specialize in credit repair. I may get sued for writing this, but its my opinion that credit repair law firms like Lexington Law are scams.
Let's say you have a goal to have perfect credit, meaning no negative entries and the highest credit score possible. Keep in mind that often these law firms can do a great job, but there are couple major problems.
Problem #1: High Monthly Charges
In addition to set-up fees that average $99 at one of the most popular law firm, the monthly charges can be anywhere from $39 to $79. If their services only took one month, and believe me the 'true' process doesn't take more than a couple of days, then you would only be charged $39 to $79. The problem is law firms are in for business and their perspective is the longer they take to repair your credit the more money they make. This is why credit repair services usually cost you between $567 and $2,000 to get your credit fixed. This is why they are getting very, very rich.
But even that much would be worth it, wouldn't it? If they fix your credit for you? But how much sense does it make to pay $2000 or even $500, when you can get the same benefit from credit repair programs for less than a hundred bucks?! Well, you might say that your time is valuable and it's worth it to pay someone to do all the work.
Problem #2: You Do Most Of The Work Here's a dirty little secret with credit repair law firms. You still have to do most of the work yourself. More work, in fact, than when you use credible repair programs. Here's why:
First of all, you have to sign all kinds of paper work and Power of Attorney forms just to start the process. Some of these forms even require you to get your signature notarized. So the sign up process alone can take hours.
Then, you have to order your own credit reports from the credit bureaus.
Then, the credit bureaus are going to send the reports back to YOU, not to the law firm.
Of course, you then have to re-send the same letters to the law firms so that they have them for the records and making sure you make copies for your own file too.
Then, the law firm is going to scan your credit reports into a computer, and post it on their website.
Then, believe it or not, even with all the money you're paying the law firm, you still have to go to their website and choose for yourself which items you want to dispute and even how to challenge each negative credit item. You heard me right. When I hired a credit repair company, hoping they would take care of my credit, I had to choose which 'items to question' and know which items were errors. I wanted to protest, "How am I supposed to know? That's why I hired a professional!"
The law firm then takes the information you put on their website and create a standard dispute letters that they send to the credit bureaus.
Finally, the credit bureaus will still send all correspondence to your home address. So you will have to open every letter, read it, figure out if it's important, make copies of it for your records, and then put it in another envelope, address it, stamp it, and send it back to the law firm. You might have to do this five or six times every week.
So you can see how inefficient this process is. And because all of this takes so much time, the process drags on and on and the law firm just keeps making more and more money. In fact, credit repair law firms tell you that it can take a year, two years, or even three years before you reach your goal.
Problem #3: Forget about their crappy guarantee All they have to do is improve one item, such as a credit card inquiry, and they consider that they've done their job. Really! There's no money back even if 90% of your credit report is still negative after three years and $2000.
Let's say you have a goal to have perfect credit, meaning no negative entries and the highest credit score possible. Keep in mind that often these law firms can do a great job, but there are couple major problems.
Problem #1: High Monthly Charges
In addition to set-up fees that average $99 at one of the most popular law firm, the monthly charges can be anywhere from $39 to $79. If their services only took one month, and believe me the 'true' process doesn't take more than a couple of days, then you would only be charged $39 to $79. The problem is law firms are in for business and their perspective is the longer they take to repair your credit the more money they make. This is why credit repair services usually cost you between $567 and $2,000 to get your credit fixed. This is why they are getting very, very rich.
But even that much would be worth it, wouldn't it? If they fix your credit for you? But how much sense does it make to pay $2000 or even $500, when you can get the same benefit from credit repair programs for less than a hundred bucks?! Well, you might say that your time is valuable and it's worth it to pay someone to do all the work.
Problem #2: You Do Most Of The Work Here's a dirty little secret with credit repair law firms. You still have to do most of the work yourself. More work, in fact, than when you use credible repair programs. Here's why:
First of all, you have to sign all kinds of paper work and Power of Attorney forms just to start the process. Some of these forms even require you to get your signature notarized. So the sign up process alone can take hours.
Then, you have to order your own credit reports from the credit bureaus.
Then, the credit bureaus are going to send the reports back to YOU, not to the law firm.
Of course, you then have to re-send the same letters to the law firms so that they have them for the records and making sure you make copies for your own file too.
Then, the law firm is going to scan your credit reports into a computer, and post it on their website.
Then, believe it or not, even with all the money you're paying the law firm, you still have to go to their website and choose for yourself which items you want to dispute and even how to challenge each negative credit item. You heard me right. When I hired a credit repair company, hoping they would take care of my credit, I had to choose which 'items to question' and know which items were errors. I wanted to protest, "How am I supposed to know? That's why I hired a professional!"
The law firm then takes the information you put on their website and create a standard dispute letters that they send to the credit bureaus.
Finally, the credit bureaus will still send all correspondence to your home address. So you will have to open every letter, read it, figure out if it's important, make copies of it for your records, and then put it in another envelope, address it, stamp it, and send it back to the law firm. You might have to do this five or six times every week.
So you can see how inefficient this process is. And because all of this takes so much time, the process drags on and on and the law firm just keeps making more and more money. In fact, credit repair law firms tell you that it can take a year, two years, or even three years before you reach your goal.
Problem #3: Forget about their crappy guarantee All they have to do is improve one item, such as a credit card inquiry, and they consider that they've done their job. Really! There's no money back even if 90% of your credit report is still negative after three years and $2000.
About the Author:
About The Author: David Wada, who has been improving credit in Northern California for thirty years, has written a very practical guide to clarify Credit Repair Companies. For a limited period, you can access a free copy by going to his Credit Repair Companies
posted by Credit Counseling at
5:43 PM
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