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.
Living with bad credit is not easy. Constantly paying more for the same services, being denied credit or loans and every turn, and much worse. Even if temporary circumstances led to a poor credit score, lenders still are hesitant to give these consumers a second chance. Instead of living in debt, working with a Texas-licensed credit repair company can help you turn your financial future around.
Compared to most other US States, Texas is very affordable. The cost of living in this state is lower than the national average, with real estate being particularly low-priced. Despite the low cost of living in the state, Texas has some of the highest levels of individual credit card debt out of all US states. On average, each individual in Texas has $5,471 in credit card debt, nearly $300 above the national average.
A surprising fact about Texas is that the average credit score is much lower than the national average, despite the fact that real estate is very affordable within the state. The average person has a credit score of 692, more than 20 points below the national average of 714 points. If you're a Texas resident struggling with a low credit score, you may need to access credit repair service to help you remove any inaccurate information that could be damaging your credit score.
The main Texas state law that impacts credit repair companies (TX Fin Code 393.001) has a few main restrictions. Under this law, any company that offers credit repair as a service is required to:
Texas’ state law builds on existing federal laws governing credit repair. The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) is the main federal law impacting these organizations. It requires companies around the nation to provide customers with written contracts, disclose certain information about the credit repair process to all customers, and to only accept payment after service is provided.
Although it's sometimes assumed that a lawyer is needed for credit repair in Texas, this is not the case. You can work with any company that's registered appropriately and follows all state and federal laws. This is beneficial for you, because it allows you to work with any company you feel comfortable with, rather than looking only at local law firms for the service.
Going through the credit repair process in Texas will look something like this:
Step 1: Sending in a credit report request
In the beginning of the process, you need to request your credit reports from the 3 major credit bureaus in the US. These credit reports can be requested for free once every 12 months from each of the bureaus individually. It's important to make sure you request all 3 separate reports, instead of relying on a single report, because each report may contain slightly different information and entries to one another. To get the full picture, you need all 3 reports.
Step 2: Studying your credit report’s entries
Each credit report contains a number of entries from the last seven years of credit activity you've done. This can amount to many different entries, but you need to examine each one to see that it's accurate and correct to what you've done. If you notice anything out of the ordinary or entries that don't look correct, make a note of them and confirm the accuracy of the transaction as best you can.
Step 3: Opening a dispute over inaccurate entries
In the event that you do find inaccurate entries on your credit report, which is not uncommon, you must dispute them through the credit bureau that published the report. If the entry is on multiple different credit reports, you need to dispute each one individually with the relevant credit bureau. These dispute letters will contain evidence proving the inaccuracy of the entry and requesting its removal or amendment on your credit report.
Note: Well credit report is technically made-up of only three steps, it's a complex process that can take a long time to get completed. Don't underestimate the process! Working with a reputable credit repair company can help you get through the process more smoothly by providing the correct evidence and writing an appropriate dispute letter from the very start. There are also helpful in following up with ongoing investigations to ensure the credit bureaus do not forget about you.
You can repair your credit on your own, but hiring a credit repair company will make things much easier. They will deal with creditors and the credit reporting agencies on your behalf so you don’t have to spend hours each day on the phone or writing letters. Credit repair companies also have the skills and the experience needed to get derogatory marks stricken from your credit report much quicker than if you were doing it on your own. For consumers who need help negotiating with debt collectors as well as those who may benefit from debt consolidation, hiring a credit repair company can make a stressful situation less nerve-wracking. Another benefit is that many credit repair companies will also work with you to create a long-term plan for your financial health that will keep you from falling back into the same traps that led to low scores in the first place.
If you have medical debt or credit card debt, one way to improve your credit score is through consolidation. Premier credit repair companies will be able to negotiate a payment plan that brings all of your debts under one creditor. Not only will this make payments easier for you to manage, but it will also help improve your credit score by getting rid of multiple past due lines of credit. As you pay down your debt consolidation bill and make your payments on time, your credit score will continue to improve.
The amount you can improve your credit score by varies based on how much is affected by inaccurate entries. If there are many inaccurate entries on your credit reports, these can have a highly negative impact on your credit score. Having these entries removed will quickly increase your score, allowing it to be calculated only using accurate information from legitimate transactions you've performed.
In Texas, credit repair is usually charged as a monthly service. It includes drafting dispute letters, following up with credit bureaus, and sometimes other complementary services. Companies in Texas will charge anywhere from $65 to $199 per month for this service, with the average being closer to $89 to $129 per month.
No matter how complex your case is, the average time for credit repair in Texas is usually around 3 to 6 months from start to finish. Although credit bureaus must respond to you within 30 days of receiving a legitimate dispute letter, they rarely complete investigations this quickly and may take much longer to finalize any changes to your credit report.
There are no cities in Texas where credit repair is unavailable. This means that residents of large metros like Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, or Austin have the same options as smaller cities like Port Arthur, Big Spring, Bay City, or Highland Park. There are no restrictions placed on credit repair in the state, as long as companies are following relevant local and federal laws.