Are you looking for professional help to improve your credit score? We have reviewed 42 credit repair companies and have selected 7 that could help you challenge credit inaccuracies, dispute negative items on your credit report and raise your credit score.
For those living in Colorado, you already know that renting an apartment, buying a car, or even getting a credit card is nearly impossible without good credit. If you have bad credit, no credit, or old items on your report that are dragging down your score, there are services available that can help. Improving your credit score with help of a Colorado credit repair company is the best way to improve your score and save money on collections at the same time. Don’t let bad credit stop you from living the life you deserve. We have put together some information on how credit repair companies can help you get your finances back on track.
Colorado is one of the more expensive US states to live in, which could play into their higher credit card debt averages as well as higher credit scores. The average person in Colorado has $5,447 in credit card debt, close to $250 above the national average.
Credit scores in Colorado are higher than the national average, at 728 compared to the US average of 714. This is a solid average, but unfortunately not everyone in the state has a score this high. If your credit score is lower than the average in your state, credit repair might be able to help you as your work to turn it around.
In Colorado, all credit repair companies must be licensed and follow Colorado financial industry laws. State laws in Colorado give some specific boundaries for credit repair providers operating in the state. The Colorado Credit Services Organization Act (CO Rev Stat 5-19-101) dictates that these companies should:
Colorado credit repair companies are subject to the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), a federal law that dictates how these organizations can represent themselves to potential customers. This act also covers the types of contracts credit repair companies have to offer, as well as some of the specifics about how they should accept payment for services.
No, it’s not a must to hire a lawyer for credit repair services in Colorado. While there are lawyers who offer this service, there are also a number of legitimate credit repair organizations that aren’t law firms.
Credit repair is a service that you can even do for yourself, since credit bureaus are legally required to give you an avenue to challenge inaccurate credit record entries. Even though it’s technically possible to do it on your own, credit repair companies make the process far simpler and give you a greater chance of success, whether they’re lawyers or not.
The process for credit repair in Colorado can be completed in 3 steps:
Every 12 months you’re entitled to a free credit report from each of the 3 credit bureaus operating within the US. These reports make up your recorded credit history, which is used to calculate your FICO credit score, among other things. In order to start credit repair, you first need to request a report from all 3 credit bureaus.
Look at each of the 3 credit reports closely. Try to see if any of the negative entries have false or inaccurate information that might be reflecting poorly on your credit score. Make sure you look at each report individually. Don’t assume they all contain the same information, since Colorado companies aren’t required to report to all 3 credit bureaus.
It’s your right as a consumer to challenge any information on your credit reports that you believe to be incorrect. When you submit a letter disputing any entries on the report, the credit bureau you’re challenging must investigate the issue and respond. Fraudulent or incorrect information can be removed from your credit reports as a result of following the process through to the end.
Note: Credit repair sounds like a simple and straightforward process, but it’s far more time-consuming than you’d think. While you can do everything that credit repair company does on your own, they will be able to help you save a ton of time and hassle involved in doing it on your own. The dispute letters and subsequent follow ups are difficult and stressful to handle by yourself.
A normal credit score and an excellent credit score are not much different when applying for credit or other services. However, if you have a bad score, you will be treated much differently. Your premiums will be higher and even your interested rates will be through the roof among other things. Your credit score has a dramatic effect on the rates you are offered for your car and home insurance, even your health insurance. This can result in thousands of dollars worth of extra charges that could have been avoided if only your credit was a bit healthier. Bad credit can even keep you from landing your dream job. Maintaining healthy finances is usually a sign of a responsible employee as such, those with good credit tend to land better positions. If you are looking to buy a home, refinance, or even get a loan for a new car, your credit will be the first thing companies look at.
Professional credit repair companies will work to remove accounts and negative marks on your report that don’t belong to you. Misspellings and old debts are some of the most common entries that are on credit reports that lead to lower scores overall. At the same time, often some legitimate debts are no longer verifiable. Unknown to most consumers, these types of negative marks must be removed. The credit repair company can work with the reporting agencies directly to have them stricken from your report in order to help increase your credit score.
Usually, there is a monthly fee involved when you hire a dedicated credit repair company. These fees will vary depending on the company and how much work your credit report needs to do in order to return to its healthy state. The more reliable credit repair agencies will delay these fees until the work has been completed, but not all companies have the same billing structure.
When you pay your bills on time, your score will naturally improve. However, everyone is human and if you happen to be late or miss a payment on occasion, you can ask the company you owe to remove the negative mark once your account is brought up to date. Maintaining a DTI of less than 50% is also a great way to help improve your credit scores. In fact, if you use more than 50% of your available credit, it will actually start to lower your score even if you are making your payments on time every month.
As your credit repair agency works on your credit report, they will also work on your financial health. Credit counseling is usually a bundled service that helps the efforts of a credit repair service stick. After all, there is little point in spending a year repairing your credit if you are still making the same mistakes that led you to this position in the first place. Credit counseling will teach how to budget effectively and how to manage money more efficiently. Learning how to balance your finances can often take as long as repairing your credit. Depending on the company this may be a weekly or monthly class, or you may have a dedicated agent assigned to teaching you creative money management tricks that fit your lifestyle.
Your credit score can be greatly improved by effective credit repair service. If there are incorrect entries on your credit report, they can be a huge drag on your credit score. Removing those entries will put your credit score back where it belongs. If you’re struggling to improve your credit, Colorado credit repair could help to put you back on even ground by removing false negative entries that are holding you back.
Credit repair is paid for on a monthly basis for as long as the process goes on. In Colorado, the cost is usually between $99 - $189, but it can range anywhere from $89 - $249 per month. While some companies will charge a setup fee in the beginning of the contract, others will charge only the monthly fee. All companies allow for cancellation of the service at any time, even if the process is unfinished.
The average time it takes to complete the credit repair process in Colorado is 3 – 6 months. Credit repair is a beneficial process that can help you get a better credit score, resulting in more favorable loan terms and access to credit. This is a benefit you don’t want to risk, so working with a credit repair company is usually a safer bet if you want reliable credit repair service.
You can easily get credit repair in large metro areas like Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Boulder, or Fort Collins. But these aren’t the only areas you can get credit repair in Colorado. It doesn’t actually matter how large or small of an area you live in, everyone in the state can access the same credit repair services, including those in smaller cities like Bennet, Akron, Aspen Park, or Sugarloaf.