Best Credit Repair Companies of November 2023

Credit Saint
Safeport Law
The Credit Pros
The Credit People
Sky Blue Credit Repair

1. Credit Saint

Pros	Cons
A rating from the BBB No CFPB complaints 90-day guarantee	Limited details on packages

Credit Saint earned our No. 1 ranking as a credit repair business in no small part due to its reputation with consumers. Credit Saint has an A rating from the BBB and no complaints registered with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It's also BBB accredited.

This isn’t surprising as Credit Saint offers a free credit evaluation, a 90-day money-back guarantee, and allows you to cancel at any time. It offers three different levels of service to best solve your credit repair needs. The highest level package (Credit Premium) offers unlimited disputes with the three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian). The other two packages offer a limited amount of challenges, but the Credit Saint website doesn’t specify how many.

Credit Saint’s 90-day money-back guarantee ensures that at least some of the negative information on your credit report will be removed in your first three months of working with Credit Saint. Its website notes that for you to be eligible for the guarantee, you must be an “active participant” in the program, make all payments due, and allow Credit Saint 30 days from the date you request the refund to review your account before you receive the money back.

Credit Saint includes a credit monitoring account with CreditSquad.com.

Credit Premium	Credit Remodel	Credit Polish
Unlimited challenges to the three credit bureaus Creditor interventions Inquiry targeting	Limited challenges to the three credit bureaus Creditor interventions Inquiry targeting	Limited challenges to the three credit bureaus Creditor interventions
$119.99 per month	$99.99 per month	$79.99 per month
$195.00 initial work fee plus applicable sales tax	$99.00 initial work fee plus applicable sales tax	$99.00 initial work fee plus applicable sales tax

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... Or read our Credit Saint review.

Credit Saint

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2. Safeport Law

Pros	Cons
Money-back guarantee Access to all three credit reports and scores Unlimited disputes	Only one plan option

Safeport Law is unique because you work with attorneys at a law firm who dispute errors on your credit report and negotiate with creditors.² It has one plan option called Credit Cleanse that costs $99.99 per month with a first work fee of $99.

It’s also accredited by the BBB, has an A- BBB rating, and has no complaints registered with the CFPB. It has a limited number of reviews, but the ones it has on Google and the BBB website are positive.

Safeport Law offers a 90-day money-back guarantee, and you can cancel anytime. Clients have access to an online portal and a credit score tracker. Like other credit repair companies, you also receive a free consultation.

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... Or read our Safeport Law review.

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3. The Credit Pros

Pros	Cons
A+ from BBB No CFPB complaints Mobile apps	Lowest price plan only allows you to challenge one credit bureau Limited details on credit builder loan offering

The Credit Pros has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, affordable rates, and no complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It has a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot from 354 reviews.

The Credit Pros offers TransUnion credit monitoring alerts, dark web monitoring, and a bill reminder and budgeting system with all its plans. Its lowest price plan only allows you to challenge one credit bureau’s information, and it also doesn’t include cease and desist letters. That said, it’s also a relatively affordable $69 per month with a $119 first work fee.

Its highest-price credit repair plan allows you to challenge all three credit bureaus and includes access to a credit builder loan.

Money Management	Prosperity	Success Plus
One-bureau reports and scores Dark web monitoring Budgeting system	Three-bureau credit bureau challenges Creditor interventions Cease and desist letters One-bureau reports and scores Dark web monitoring Budgeting system	Three-bureau credit bureau challenges Creditor interventions Cease and desist letters Three-bureau reports and scores Dark web monitoring Budgeting system Credit builder loan
$69 per month	$119 per month	$149 per month
$119 first work fee	$119 first work fee	$149 first work fee

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4. The Credit People

Pros	Cons
Money-back guarantee Access to all three credit reports and scores Low set-up fee	No credit monitoring

The Credit People¹ could be a great match for your credit repair needs if the price point is one of your most critical deciding factors. Credit People’s monthly plan scores high on affordability.

You can choose between a flat-rate membership or a monthly membership that you can cancel at any time. With the monthly membership, you can get started for as little as $19 with an ongoing monthly fee of $79 per month.

The flat-rate membership is $419 for six months of membership with no set-up fees, which might be steep if you don’t need six months of help. Otherwise, the two plans are identical, offering unlimited challenges to credit bureaus, credit score analysis, creditor interventions, and monthly credit score updates.

The Credit People also offers customer support via email, phone, and chat, which is not something all credit repair companies feature.

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... Or read our The Credit People review.

The Credit People

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5. Sky Blue Credit Repair

Pros	Cons
A+ rating from the BBB 90-day money-back guarantee Couples discount	No credit monitoring

If your financial situation means you need some flexibility from your credit repair company, then Sky Blue Credit Repair could be the best fit for you. Sky Blue has an A+ rating from the BBB and offers a 90-day satisfaction guarantee that it will refund your money in full if you’re not satisfied with its service.

But you may be totally happy with Sky Blue and still need to take a break from its service, which is why it allows you to pause service, start back up whenever you’re ready, or even change your monthly payment due date.

Sky Blue disputes items with credit bureaus, but it doesn’t appear to dispute items with individual creditors.

It keeps things simple by offering one monthly plan with everything included rather than a variety of plans. For an individual plan, it charges a $79 set-up fee and $79 per month. For couples, it charges a $119 set-up fee and $119 per month. Couples don’t need to be married to qualify, but they do need to live together.

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... Or read our Sky Blue Credit Repair review.

What is credit repair?

According to a 2013 study by the Federal Trade Commission, one in five consumers had an error on at least one of their three personal credit reports. For example, your credit report might include foreclosures or collections notices that don't belong to you.

Credit repair is the process of identifying these questionable, damaging items from your credit report that are weighing your credit score down and then working to change or remove them when possible so your reports reflect accurate information.

The process is pretty much the same whether you do it yourself or hire an agency, but credit repair companies will typically move through the following steps:

A free consultation: The first step usually entails a free credit consultation to evaluate your credit and discuss the company’s credit repair packages, the price of doing business, and potential results.
Thorough credit report examination: Once you’ve hired them, the company will request a copy of your credit report from all three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — and then review each one before creating a plan of action tailored to your specific situation. They'll typically do a thorough credit score analysis.
Dispute any questionable and inaccurate items: The company will identify and dispute credit report errors and other questionable items on your report. Eligible items are typically hard inquiries that never should have been on your report or items that should have already fallen off.

If you think your credit score is suffering from negative items that don’t belong on your report, the credit repair process may be worth it, regardless of whether you tackle it yourself or hire a company to handle it.

How credit repair companies work

Credit repair companies will use a variety of strategies on your behalf. They work with the three credit reporting agencies to determine whether or not there are inaccuracies that should be removed from your credit report.

This can include strategies such as disputing questionable negative items, negotiating with lenders, and utilizing credit repair loopholes to have negative items removed. So, for example, a company might dispute a late payment if you didn't actually pay late. Or they may negotiate with a credit card issuer to resolve any charge-offs listed on your credit file. In the end, this could help you improve your credit score.

Depending on your situation, credit repair companies may be able to assist you in the following ways:

Fix errors and inaccurate information on your credit report
Potentially improve your FICO score
Negotiate with lenders to remove negative items from your credit report
Send goodwill letters to ask creditors to eliminate items like inadvertently missed payments
Stop collection agency calls by sending debt collectors cease-and-desist letters
Challenge debts listed on your credit report by writing and sending debt validation letters
Take advantage of credit repair loopholes to have negative items removed from your credit.

Negative items that could be removed from your credit include:

Non-action by creditors: The FCRA requires credit bureaus to process legitimate consumer complaints within 30 days, and this means verifying or removing questionable items. This can include things like incorrect dates, misspellings of creditors’ names, and dollar amounts that are slightly off. If creditors respond with the correct information, it’ll stay on your report; if they choose to ignore these inquiries from the credit bureaus, it can result in the total removal of the negative information.
Timing of a dispute: While credit bureaus don’t have to investigate every consumer dispute they deem “frivolous or irrelevant,” if a legitimate credit dispute is not verified, it must be removed from your credit report. If you happen to catch a credit bureau at a busy time, it may result in a failure to validate the information within the required 30-day limit. If that happens, you may see the item removed entirely.

Credit repair can work, but it’s not an overnight fix, so it’s important to go into the credit repair process with a plan and realistic expectations. It would be great if simply hiring someone to make all of our credit issues go away worked, but this isn’t always the case.

Troubled credit history doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything a professional can help with. It may just mean you need to brush up on some credit do’s and don’ts and focus on how to manage your money.

Tip

Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you’re allowed to obtain a free credit report from all three credit reporting bureaus once every 12 months through AnnualCreditReport.com. As of May 2023, the credit bureaus are offering them weekly. Additionally, if you apply for credit and get turned down, you’re entitled to no-cost reports to identify why you were denied. Lenders must tell you which credit bureau provided the information that led to the rejection, and those credit bureaus have to give you a free report.

When credit repair makes sense

With enough time and know-how, you can most likely tackle the credit repair process yourself. Just like a car, you’re free to do your own repairs, but sometimes it just makes more sense to step aside and let a professional take over.

Here are three reasons you may want to hire a credit repair firm:

If you can save a lot of money

Having poor credit can cost you a lot of money. Credit card interest rates are usually higher, car insurance premiums can be more expensive, and even utility bills can be pricier if you have not-so-great credit. Paying a professional to help clean up your credit could be the difference between costing or saving tons of cash.

You’ll have to weigh the cost of hiring a credit repair company and how likely you’ll get results against what you could end up spending as a price for having bad credit.

If you can save a fair amount of time

The credit repair process is tedious, there’s no way around it. It takes a lot of time — often months — to dispute credit report errors, make phone calls, and mail letters over and over again. Simply put, not everyone has the time to see this process through — some may not even want to bother with it at all.

Credit repair companies do all of this work for you. While you may possibly miss something that could result in a missed opportunity, they know what they’re doing. They mail the right letters and craft the right responses.

If you can benefit from their expertise and experience

Credit repair is a credit repair company’s business — all day, every day.

These companies can spot what is disputable, and with teams of trained professionals, there’s a good chance they’ll catch the things you may have otherwise missed. If you don’t have any experience dealing with creditors, bureaus, and potential legal issues — or don’t want to figure it out on your own — a credit repair company can be a wise option.

How to find the best credit repair companies

Just like any service, it’s important to research any company you’re considering working with. Although credit repair scams do exist, the FTC’s implementation of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) has seen success in cracking down on shady practices by credit repair companies. To ensure you don’t fall victim to a credit repair scheme, do your research.

Here are nine things to look for when choosing the best credit repair service for you:

Reviews and reputation

Nowadays, checking customer reviews is common practice, and the same should go for finding a credit repair company. The first thing you should do when looking for a credit repair company is to check its reputation. A simple Google search of the company will be a good start to see what people are saying about the business. Aside from that, check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and look for any unresolved complaints or government actions against them.

Quality customer service

You’re going to want to stay informed during the entire process, so dealing with an agency that will answer your questions and address your concerns in a timely fashion is important. You’ll probably be able to quickly spot if a credit repair company has poor customer service in their reviews. If they do, you’re probably better off continuing your search.

Free consultations to see if you’re a fit

Any reputable company will provide a free consultation before starting to work on your behalf. Walk away from any company that insists on charging you to simply determine whether or not you’re a good fit for their services.

Prices are reasonable

Paying for a service is one thing, being gauged for exorbitant fees and unrealistic prices is another. Reputable companies will usually offer both reasonable pricing for their services and a range of options to choose from so you can pick what works best for your situation.

Proven success

No matter the business, there are going to be some who found nothing beneficial from their experience, but a reputable credit repair company should have a proven track record of success. If you’re finding that a significant amount of previous customers can attest to a company’s services, you should be on the right track.

Reasonable claims

Absurd, baseless claims should be an immediate red flag, such as guaranteeing everyone’s credit will go up and by a specific amount of points. If, however, a company claims they’ve had success removing negative incorrect items from clients’ credit reports or raised their credit scores by reasonable amounts, that could very well be true.

Timeframe for results

The credit repair process isn’t an overnight fix, but you don’t want the entire credit repair process to drag on and on without seeing any results. Since many companies use a subscription-based service, you can cancel and walk away if aren’t getting anything out of it.

Help you learn about your credit

You might be paying for a service to help you clean up your credit, but this isn’t a permanent fix. Some companies may provide personal finance tools or materials to help educate you on how to keep your credit in the green. That way, you don’t have to go through this process ever again. Even if they don't offer this help, make it a priority to educate yourself on how to build and maintain good credit.

Offer credit monitoring services

Credit monitoring is a form of identity theft protection that helps you stay informed of any activity — especially fraud — taking place on your credit. Most credit cards provide free credit monitoring, but if you don’t already have it, it’s typically a service that many credit repair companies will provide. Some may also

How to avoid getting scammed

As much as we wish it weren’t true, scams exist, and the credit repair industry has had its fair share of them. Fortunately, the government has cracked down on shady practices with regulations around how credit repair companies can conduct themselves as a business.

Here are some red flags to look out for in a credit repair agency:

Payment is demanded upfront without any work being done on your behalf. Under federal law (the CROA), credit repair agencies can’t request or receive payment until they’ve completed work for you.
They promise results without knowing the specifics of your situation or your credit file.
They can’t answer or avoid answering any of your questions about the process, including things like the specifics of their services or the total cost you’ll be paying.
They withhold or feed you misinformation, especially regarding certain rights afforded to you. This can include your right to obtain a written contract detailing your arrangement, as well as the ability to cancel your contract with any company within three business days.
They recommend you try to create a “new credit identity” or they tell you to falsify information on an application for new credit or new loans. Scammers often accomplish this through identity theft. For example, they steal the Social Security number from someone else and then sell it to you as a new identity.
They try to come off as an official government program.

If you are interested in hiring a credit repair company, don't despair. There are plenty of legitimate credit repair companies out there, you just need to be aware of your legal rights and do a little homework before choosing who to work with.

DIY credit repair vs. using a credit repair company

Hiring a credit repair company can be a good idea for some people, but it’s not required in order to repair your own credit. You can do it on your own.

The following breakdown of some pros and cons of each method might help you decide which is best for you:

Using a credit repair company

Pros	Cons
They send out cease-and-desist letters to get creditors off your back	You have to pay, and it’s not always cheap
They do all the legwork	There’s a potential for being scammed
You have trained professionals working on your behalf who know the ins and outs of the credit repair process	You may not get the results you were hoping for but still have to pay for the work they’ve done
The process may go faster

DIY credit repair

Pros	Cons
It doesn’t cost a penny	There’s a learning curve
There’s no chance of you being scammed	You’ll have to negotiate with lenders yourself
You’ll learn a lot of valuable lessons that will motivate you to keep your credit in check	It may take longer to see results
	You may miss things a professional might not

Our methodology

In determining our ranking of the best credit repair companies, we looked at popular companies and ranked them according to a series of weighted factors that we consider critical to the consumer. We did not evaluate all companies in the category.

FinanceBuzz ranking criteria include:

BBB rating: To be on our list, a company must have a BBB rating. Companies were scored higher for having a better BBB rating.
BBB accreditation: Companies were scored higher for being accredited by the BBB.
CFPB complaints: The number of complaints recorded with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was taken into account. Companies with no or fewer complaints scored higher.
Money-back guarantee: Companies were scored higher for offering a guarantee.
Cancellation policy: All companies listed offer a cancellation policy that allows the consumer to stop on any given month. If a company requires a contractual commitment beyond a month, it was not included on our list.
Customer experience: Companies were scored higher if they have both online and mobile access, as well as a variety of ways for a customer to communicate with them.

FAQs about credit repair

How long will it take to repair my credit history?

Every credit situation is unique, so there's no simple answer to how long credit repair takes. It’s important to understand that there is no overnight solution to repair your credit.

Considering how time-consuming the entire process is, you may not see results for months — if you see results at all. Keep this in mind when deciding if it’s the best option for you.

How much does credit repair cost?

Prices will vary depending on the company, but for companies that use a subscription-based service, they’re generally between $75 and $150 per month beginning 30 days after starting the service.

Most credit repair companies will charge an initial review or set-up fee as well, and this is oftentimes the same price as the monthly fee. These are also sometimes referred to as first work fees.

Is it worth it to hire a credit repair company?

Whether or not credit repair services are worth it depends on your situation and preference.

You may not have the time to stay on top of things or your time is too valuable to spend knee-deep in the credit repair process. On top of that, it takes some understanding of how to go about drafting your dispute letters. If you’d rather pay someone to do all of these things, then it may be worth it.

Is credit restoration the same as credit repair?

Yes. The terms credit restoration and credit repair are generally used interchangeably, with the ultimate goal of improving your credit score.

Can a credit repair company really help?

There are no guarantees that you’ll find paid credit repair to be beneficial, but that doesn’t mean it never works. If you work with a reputable company and there are legitimate issues with your credit that can be remedied, there’s a chance their expertise will prove beneficial.

Just remember that you too can learn what to look for and if you have the time, discipline, and patience to stay on top of the process, you can do it yourself at no cost.

How is credit repair different from credit counseling?

Credit counseling agencies are typically nonprofit organizations. They employ certified credit counselors who can help you with consumer credit, budgeting, and debt. These counselors can help you learn money management. If you need help with debt you can't handle, then they can also get you set up with a debt management plan. Credit counseling is considered an alternative to debt settlement or bankruptcy. You should spend time learning about the best credit counseling companies if you think this route is the right one for you.

Matt Miczulski also contributed to this piece.

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Author Details

Becca Borawski Jenkins

Becca Borawski Jenkins is the Senior Director of Content Strategy for FinanceBuzz. She spent five years living and traveling full-time in an RV. In a previous life, she earned a Masters Degree in Cinema-Television from the University of Southern California and worked in the entertainment industry. She loves to write about saving money, planning for retirement, and credit cards. Her writing has been featured on Escapees.com, MobileRVing.com, and BoondockersWelcome.com.

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