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.
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1
AI-Driven Credit Repair
The Credit Pros
- The Credit Pros has been in business for more than 10 years.
- Provides one-on-one consultations with a Certified FICO® Professional, unlimited dispute letters, debt validation letters to creditors, goodwill letters to creditors and cease and desist letters to collection agencies.
- 3 credit repair packages to choose from, with the lowest package priced at just $69/month plus a $119 sign-up fee.
- All packages include 24/7 access to a client portal, as well as ID Cover Darkweb monitoring, TransUnion alerts, real-time account sync, bill reminder and a budgeting system.
- A streamlined sign-up process only takes 90 seconds.
2
In Business Since 1989
Sky Blue Credit
- Sky Blue has been in business since 1989, which says a lot about the company.
- Condition-free 90-day refund policy
- One tier service takes the guesswork out of choosing a package that is right for you.
- Priced at just $79 per month, and $40/month for additional members, Sky Blue is an extremely affordable option for credit repair.
- Every single feature is included in the $79/month package, including Pro Analysis, 35-day dispute cycle, customized dispute and re-dispute letters, score assistance, debt validation, goodwill letters, cease and desist letters, credit rebuilding, and access to phone support.
- Ability to pause the membership for a month if needed
- Includes a couple’s discount, with the total monthly cost for a couple at just $119/month.
3
Almost 1.5 Million Credit Issues Removed
The Credit People
- The Credit People has been in business for over 15 years and has had nearly 1.5 million credit issues removed for their customers.
- Provides your credit reports and scores when you begin working with them.
- Includes access to all 3 credit reports and scores
- Provides a 24/7 online account access for easy credit management
- Could help you with credit report issues such as late payments, collections, charge-offs, foreclosure, repossessions, bankruptcies, tax liens, judgements and more.
- Provides a free credit evaluation so that you can see if The Credit People are a good fit for you.
- Includes live customer service through phone, chat or email
- Offers a satisfaction guarantee where you can cancel at any time and not be charged for that month, plus get a refund for the prior month’s payment.
- Pricing is either $79/month or $419 for 6 months, with all of the features and services included.
4
24/7 Phone Support
Pyramid Credit Repair
- Pyramid Credit Repair has 10+ years of experience in fixing credit.
- Provides 24/7 phone support and dedicated account managers, making it easier to work with them and ask any questions
- Includes a free credit repair evaluation
- Individual start at a competitive $79/month, though the couple’s package is $299/month, making it significantly more expensive than what some of the other credit repair companies offer for couples.
- Includes an online dashboard, monthly progress reports, creditor interventions, score analysis, custom dispute process, text and email alerts and more.
- Offers a 90-day money back guarantee.
5
BBB Accredited
Credit Saint
- Credit Saint has been in business for 15+ years and is a BBB accredited credit repair company
- Includes a 90-day money back guarantee
- Includes a free credit consultation
- 3 credit repair packages to choose from: Credit Polish, Credit Remodel and Credit Premium, with prices ranging from $79.99/month to $119.99/month, plus an initial work fee.
- All packages include a score tracker and a score analysis
- All packages include an online dashboard with full analysis and progress reports.
6
CreditRepair.com
- Has helped with over 7.5 million removals on behalf of their members since 2012.
- Has sent more than 23 million disputes and challenges on behalf of their members.
- Provides a free consultation where you learn your credit score, negative item summary and recommended credit solutions
- Pricing starts at just $49.95, making CreditRepair.com one of the most affordable credit repair options.
- Works with all 3 credit bureaus.
- Provides ID Theft Insurance, FICO® score update, bureau challenges and disputes, creditor interventions, a personal online dashboard, score tracker and analysis, email and text alerts and more.
7
Most Clients Served
Lexington Law
- Includes a free credit report consultation.
- Has been helping people fix their credit since 2004.
- Lexington Law has had an astonishing 77 million items removed from their customers’ credit reports.
- While not all credit repair companies are lawyers, Lexington Law is a law firm.
- Provides 3 levels of credit repair: Concord Standard, Concord Premier and Premier Plus.
- According to their website, 77% of their clients who have had their credit scores improved saw an average increase of 40 points.
- Provides a military and spouse discount.
- Includes Fraud Alert and Identity Protection
Bad credit is something that affects a least a quarter of the population. For some, it was caused by poor money management decisions while in others it may be due to circumstances beyond their control. Whatever the reason, bad credit has a profound effect on your ability to get good interest rates, find affordable housing, and more. Following sound advice and managing your spending are key ways to lower your debt and increase the amount of money you have saved at the end of the year. If you have bad credit and want to make a change, professional credit repair services in West Virginia can help.
Overview of the credit industry in West Virginia
West Virginia is one of the lowest cost areas in the United States. Real estate, transportation, basic necessities, and utilities are all lower than average in West Virginia, depending on where you live in the state. This is likely one of the reasons why credit card debt in the state is lower on average than it is in other US states. The average person in West Virginia has credit card debt of $4,687, which is well below the national average of $5,193 per person.
Unfortunately, credit scores in West Virginia are not as high as they are in many other US states. The average credit score in West Virginia is 699 points, 15 points below the national average of 714. If you've been trying to improve your credit score and haven't been able to do it successfully, you may need to look into credit repair to fix any errors on your report first before continuing to try your improvement strategies.
Laws that affect credit repair in West Virginia
Any companies offering credit repair in West Virginia have to abide by the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (WV Code Ch 46A). This law ensures that credit repair companies are prepared to handle the needs of their customers, by requiring them to:
- Maintain a surety bond worth no less than $15,000
- Register as credit service organizations (CSOs) with the West Virginia Secretary of State
- Limit all credit repair contract terms to 180 days at maximum
- Refund customers fully within 10 days of the contract being signed, if requested
- Allow all customers to cancel contracts within 3 business days of signing
- Disclose specific information about credit repair services in customer contracts
Alongside the state laws, all credit repair companies in West Virginia must also follow applicable federal laws. The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) is a federal law dealing directly with credit repair services by requiring them to provide all customers with a written contract, limiting how payments can be charged for this service, and guiding how credit repair service can be advertised or explained to customers, among other things.
Do you need a lawyer to do credit repair in West Virginia?
No, you actually don’t need to work with a lawyer for credit repair in West Virginia. While it’s common for lawyers to include this among the services they offer clients, you have the option to work with any company that’s appropriately registered and following West Virginia and federal regulations. Technically, you can even do credit repair on your own, but this isn’t a good idea unless you’re already very experienced in how to go through the process.
Credit repair process in West Virginia
There’s a specific process for doing credit repair in West Virginia that roughly follows these steps:
Step 1: Obtaining your individual credit reports
The goal of credit repair is fixing issues on your credit reports. To begin, you need to be able to see what entries are listed on those reports. You can do this by requesting your credit reports from each of the 3 major credit bureaus in the US. These credit bureaus maintain their own reports, so you need to make sure you request one from each separately. You’re entitled to one free credit report from each bureau every 12 months.
Step 2: Identifying mistakes on your credit reports
Once you have the credit reports, you can begin to comb through them and look for any errors or mistakes that are present. It's quite common for credit reports to contain simple mistakes, but as innocent as the mistake may be, it can still cause issues for you in your credit score calculation. Look for false transactions or inaccurate entries that could be impacting your credit score.
Step 3: Credit entries accuracy disputes
When you run across these inaccuracies, you are entitled to dispute them with the credit Bureau that maintains that report. The dispute is started when you send a letter to the Bureau alerting them about the mistake on your credit report. You need to include evidence to show the mistake that's been made and request correction of the information or removal of the entry completely.
Note: Three steps doesn't sound like a lot, but once you get started with the process you'll quickly realize it's not as simple as it appears. Especially the last step of disputing credit report entries can go on longer than you’d expect and might involve a lot more communication and evidence collection than you are prepared to do. An experienced credit repair company in West Virginia can help you settle your issues without as much hassle.
Why Should I Use Professional Credit Repair?
While you are able to use many of the same strategies that a professional credit repair service in West Virginia will employ, there are benefits to going the professional route. You can dispute items on your credit report on your own, but a professional credit repair service will be able to dedicate a considerable amount of time to ensure the disputed items are removed. In the event that debt, credit card, or medical debt consolidation is right for your situation, a professional credit repair company will have the skills and connections to negotiate on your behalf. In many cases, they will include the removal of derogatory marks as part of the consolidation agreement. Credit repair specialists can also get debt collectors off of your back by sending out cease and desist letters while you work to correct the problems on your credit report.
Credit Counseling in West Virginia
Many people end up with bad credit simply because they were never taught how to manage their money or their credit correctly. With credit counseling important skills such as balance a budget, spending modestly, and learning how credit works are taught in a way that is easy to understand. Most credit repair companies will offer these services as a part of their credit repair package, but they are also available on their own. If you are interested in learning more about efficient credit and money management in West Virginia, consider signing up for Credit Counseling from your local credit repair provider.
Common questions and answers:
How much can you improve your credit score in West Virginia?
Improving your credit score in West Virginia is never an easy process. It takes a lot of work to make your credit score better, but all of that effort could be held back if there are errors on your credit report that are preventing you from having a correct score calculated for you. Through credit repair, you can see a significant improvement of your credit score very quickly by erasing mistakes that are going against your legitimate entries to lower your credit score.
How much does it cost to fix your credit in West Virginia?
You can expect to pay for credit repair in West Virginia on a monthly contract basis. While the average company charges around $89 to $189 per month, there are a wide range of price points charged by different companies, depending on what level of service they're providing and if there are complementary services included in the package. The full range is somewhere around $79 to $149 per month, with some companies also adding a contract setup fee in the beginning of the service.
How long does the credit repair process take in West Virginia?
There's no way to predict the exact amount of time it will take to do credit repair in West Virginia. However, you can expect it to take somewhere between three to six months from when the dispute letter is sent until the issue is resolved. This sounds like a long time, and it is, but unfortunately there are often delays in the process that can make it take months where you might assume it would only take days or weeks.
Are there any cities in West Virginia where you cannot do credit repair?
No matter where you live in West Virginia, you can access all the same credit repair companies as anybody else in the state. If you're in some of the larger metro areas such as Charleston, Huntington, or Parkersburg, or if you're in a smaller city such as St. Albans, Sissonville, or Craigsville, you won't be suffering for choice. All the same credit repair companies that work in large areas also offer their service to small cities.
Get help with credit repair in West Virginia:
- Barboursville
- Beckley
- Belington
- Berkeley Springs
- Bluefield
- Bridgeport
- Buckhannon
- Berkeley County
- Brooke County
- Charles Town
- Charleston
- Chester
- Clarksburg
- Cabell County
- Dunbar
- Elkins
- Fairmont
- Follansbee
- Fayette County
- Grafton
- Grantsville
- Greenbrier County
- Hinton
- Huntington
- Hurricane
- Hancock County
- Harrison County
- Kingwood
- Kanawha County
- Lerona
- Lewisburg
- Logan
- Martinsburg
- Montgomery
- Morgantown
- Moundsville
- Marion County
- Marshall County
- Mercer County
- Monongalia County
- Oak Hill
- Ohio County
- Parkersburg
- Petersburg
- Princeton
- Putnam County
- Ravenswood
- Romney
- Raleigh County
- Randolph County
- Saint Albans
- Scott Depot
- Spencer
- Weirton
- Wellsburg
- Wheeling
- Whitman
- Worthington
- Wood County