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.
Restoring credit or credit repair is the process of challenging negative marks on a credit report. Inaccurate listings, old accounts, and even unverifiable accounts will also be challenged. As these negative marks start to fall off of the credit report, the score will start to organically improve. In many cases, credit rebuilding is bundled along with the credit repair services offered to help bring the whole report back into good standing. You can do some of these things on your own, but a credit repair service in Missouri will be much more efficient and also vigilant about following up regarding removals.
Missouri has some of the lowest costs of living within the United States. Not only are basic necessities fairly affordable, but real estate is usually priced under the national averages. It comes as no surprise then that Missouri has lower-than-average credit card debt per person. The average person has $4,881 in credit card debt, compared to the national average of $5,193 per person.
Unfortunately, this low credit card debt is paired with a slightly lower than average credit score per person. The average credit score in Missouri is 711, compared to the national average of 714. While this is still considered a good credit score, it may not be high enough to access the best mortgage rates or loans possible. Through the credit repair process, residents of Missouri may be able to improve their credit scores by removing entries from their credit reports that don't belong.
There is a state law in Missouri that puts some extra regulations on credit repair companies. The specific statute dealing with credit repair, MO Stat 407.635, dictates that companies offering this service must:
Federal law also covers Missouri companies offering credit repair. In particular, the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) provides the most guidance to these companies, including requiring contracts for all customers, disallowing payment before the service is provided, and limiting the scope of credit repair.
Although many lawyers in Missouri offer credit repair, you don't have to work with a lawyer specifically. As long as a company is following the local and federal regulations, you can work with any company for credit repair in Missouri. Legally speaking, you can actually do credit report for yourself as well. However, this isn't a good idea unless you have gone through the credit repair process on your own before and understand the process thoroughly.
Working with a credit repair company is an efficient way to repair your credit. They will start off by disputing items on your credit report that may be inaccurate and are causing your score to drop. If the negative items are not validated, the credit reporting agencies will strike them from your report, often resulting in a score boost of up to a hundred points. If you're going through the credit repair process in Missouri, you can expect it to roughly follow these 3 steps:
Step 1: Make a credit report request with each credit bureau
credit repair only works if there are inaccurate entries on your credit report. You can see if this is the case by requesting your credit reports from all 3 of the major credit bureaus within the United States. These credit bureaus record all credit related activities that you do and use them to calculate your credit score. By law, they must provide you with a credit report once every 12 months for free, if you request it. Make sure to request a credit report from each of the 3 bureaus instead of just relying on a single report.
Step 2: Examine your credit reports for errors
Once you have the credit reports, it's time to look them over to identify any entries that may be incorrect. Inaccurate entries on your credit report can include fraudulent transactions, entries made for another person accidentally on your report, or inaccurately recorded entries, among other things. If there is any inaccurate information on your credit report, you can dispute this with the credit bureau that maintains that report.
Step 3: Contact each credit bureau to dispute entries
Credit bureaus must respond to dispute letters that give evidence of inaccurate information on a credit report. These dispute letters must be sent to every credit bureau that includes the inaccurate information, not just a single credit bureau. Once the dispute letter is sent, you will need to continuously follow up until the entry is finally removed.
Note: Don't let the simplicity of the process deceive you. Credit repair is tedious and sometimes complicated, especially when it comes to providing the evidence required to prove that a transaction is false or inaccurate. You have a better chance of success when you work with a reliable credit repair company instead of trying to go it alone.
After the corrections are made to your credit report, it is mandatory for Credit bureaus to provide you with a notice. Most often the derogatory items that you had removed will stay gone, but there are occasions in which they can be reinserted onto your credit report. Creditors who are able to prove the validity of a specific debt can add them to your credit report at any time. Debt collectors can get overly aggressive when it comes to collecting on debt. Credit repair agencies in Missouri can stop these calls and letters by issuing a cease-and-desist letter. They may also work with creditors to settle for a lower amount and then have the negative record stricken when the account is paid off. If you have a lot of credit card debt, you may be requested to consolidate to help boost your score. Credit repair agencies are also able to have collections and charge-offs taken off of your credit report.
Credit repair doesn't work for everyone. If your credit score is only being affected by legitimate transactions, credit repair cannot help you. However, if your credit score is being affected by inaccurate information and incorrect entries, credit repair can have a significant positive impact on your credit score.
The standard practice for credit repair companies is to charge a monthly fee from the beginning of the contract until the matter is fully resolved. On average, most Missouri companies charge between $89 to $199 per month, although you can find services anywhere from $79 to $249 per month. Keep in mind that most companies will likely also ask for a one-time upfront setup fee.
There is no way to predict how long it will take to have an inaccurate entry removed from your credit report. In Missouri, credit repair takes on average 3 to 6 months. A credit repair company will make sure that you’re sending in the right information and getting ahead of any potential delays as well as possible. If you try to do credit repair on your own, it might end up taking longer.
No matter where you live in Missouri, you can always access credit repair from a reputable company. From Kansas City to St. Louis, Springfield, Glendale, or Fenton, credit repair is offered to anyone within the state. Make sure any company you're working with is following local and state regulations.
When it comes to managing your finances, some people are merely better at it than others. Learning to establish and use credit wisely is a lifelong lesson we all must learn. If you are having trouble staying caught up with your bills and your credit score is suffering as a result, there is help available. Consider working with a credit repair specialist who can help you remove inaccurate entries on your credit report, pay down and pay off collections and remove derogatory marks for good. For those living in Missouri, help repairing your credit and getting your finances under control is no more than a phone call away.