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.
Bad credit or no credit can have a negative effect on your life. Securing a home loan or even landing a job can be much more difficult your credit history is in shambles. In fact, it can be downright scary once you realize just how much your credit affects your opportunities in Indiana. From higher rates on insurance premiums to being denied housing in the apartment complex of your choice, your credit rating follows and dictates just how far you can go. If you are stuck with bad credit, a credit repair service in Indiana is an efficient way to fix your negative marks and improve your score at the same time.
Indiana has a low cost of living compared to other US states. It’s got affordable real estate and basic necessities, as well as having some of the lowest rates of credit card debt in the nation. The average per person is $4,719 versus the US national average of $5,193.
Despite the lower cost of living, Indiana has a very middle-of-the-road credit score. The average credit score in Indiana is 712, just 2 points below the national average of 714. This is considered a good credit score, but it only represents a small portion of the state. If your credit score is lower than this average, or if you have any reason to believe it’s getting lowered from false credit entries, credit repair can help you get your score higher.
The Credit Services Organizations (I.C. 24-5-15-1) is an Indiana state law that affects credit repair companies serving customers within Indiana. While this law builds on the existing federal legislation, it adds the requirements for credit repair companies to:
The main legal groundwork for credit repair companies is the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). This is a federal law that sets boundaries for all credit repair companies that operate within the US. It restricts how payments can be charged, what services these companies can offer to people, and how contracts should be dispensed, among other things.
Credit repair in Indiana is a service that can be done by anyone. As long as a person or company meets the requirements of Indiana state laws and federal laws about credit repair, they can offer this service to customers anywhere in the state. Although lawyers do often offer credit repair as one of their services, there’s no requirement in Indiana for lawyers to do it.
There is no magic want that can wish away bad credit, although most of us may wish that were the case. Cleaning up your credit report is a complex process that takes both time and effort to complete. Credit repair agencies will start by getting a copy of your credit report. You can provide your reports if you have recent copies or you can give the credit repair agency permission to request them on your behalf. The credit repair company will analyze your credit report and create a detailed plan that will address the problems that are causing your poor scores. This can cover everything from bankruptcies and charge-offs to late payments and overdue bills. You may be asked to close unused accounts, pay off smaller bills, or even consolidate your credit cards if that will be the most effective course of action.
Credit repair companies will also dispute any mistakes on your credit report that are causing your score to drop. The agents at these companies will negotiate with creditors and collections agents to reduce the fees, accept lower amounts on charged off debt, and then move forward with having the negative entries removed. As your score starts to improve, they will work with you to create a plan to keep your finances in order as you continue to repair your credit. Depending on the credit repair agency you choose, they may even help you open new accounts with specific companies or lenders that will help build new credit more efficiently.
To summarize, doing credit repair in Indiana means following a few basic steps. These are as follows:
Before you can do anything about your credit, you need information. This comes in the form of credit reports. Credit reports are records kept by the 3 major credit bureaus in the US that detail payment histories and events that will impact your credit score. Each credit bureau keeps their own records, so you need to request reports from all 3. You’re entitled to a free credit report once every 12 months from each bureau.
After you’ve gotten your credit reports, it’s time to look them over carefully. This is the step that will tell you whether you’re eligible for credit repair or not. This is a service that’s done to remove inaccurate or fraudulent entries from your credit report. It cannot be done to remove legitimate negative entries. Look over all 3 credit reports and search for entries that are there erroneously. If you find anything that’s on your credit report that shouldn’t be there, you need to send in a dispute letter to the credit bureau who manages that report.
Dispute letters are simple in concept, but they need to be done right to be effective. You need to include information about the false entry, as well as evidence why it’s inaccurate. If your letter doesn’t give enough information or evidence about a false entry, it’s unlikely to be successful. Dispute letters are best sent by credit repair experts who have gone through the process before with other clients.
Note: There is no official qualification needed to do credit repair. Technically, you can even do it yourself. But don’t let the simplicity of the 3-step process fool you! This is not as simple of a process as it sounds, and you aren’t as likely to be successful if you try to do it yourself.
When you have less than perfect credit moving through life us much more difficult. Working with a credit repair company is a simple way to pay down your debt and return your credit to good standing. There are plenty of credit repair advertisements on the internet, but choosing a company that is certified and can deliver results is the key to success. There are few easy ways to go about picking a credit repair company, and the first thing to check for is their certifications. Make sure to also look at their BBB ratings to see if there are any complaints or problems listed.
The most important thing to check for is the companies track record of providing results. Credit repair agencies are able to help with a lot, but they are not magicians. It is important that they let you know how they can help you after checking your credit history and provide results they have achieved for other consumers.
Your credit score is affected by a variety of things, one is how much of your available balance you are actually using each month. Just because you have a line or several lines of credit doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to max out your credit. Keeping a debt ratio of under 50% is the best way to maintain a healthy score, anything above that will have a negative impact on your overall score. The best way to maintain a good credit score is by making payments on time each month. If you happen to pay late or miss a payment, you can still ask for the notation to be removed. Bring the account up to date and then call or write the company asking for the mark to be removed.
Credit scores are heavily dependent on your payment history. If there are negative payment events recorded on your credit report, such as late payments or missed payments, these will sharply reduce your credit score. False entries have the same impact as legitimate entries, but if you get these inaccurate entries removed through credit repair, you can see an instant improvement in your credit score, allowing your actual credit score to surface.
Credit repair is charged on a monthly basis because it’s an involved process. The average cost for credit repair in Indiana is $99-199 per month, with a full range of costs being closer to $139 per month. With most companies, you need to pay an upfront setup fee to get started, followed by the normal monthly fee as long as you continue the service.
You can expect credit repair to take anywhere from 3 – 6 months in Indiana. The reason it takes this long is because credit bureaus are notorious for causing delays in the process, usually by delaying the investigation or requesting additional information from you to prove that an entry really doesn’t belong on your report.
From Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, or Evansville to Yorktown, Sullivan, and Worthington, residents of every town and city in Indiana can access credit repair. It’s not a service that’s limited by location. As long as the company or individual offering the service follows state and federal regulations, you can work with anyone you feel comfortable with.