The Lexington Law Firm is a popular credit repair service. They have 22 expert consumer credit lawyers on staff in addition to over 400 paralegal’s. They have been in business since 1991 and in the year 2010 they removed 1,297,226 negative items from their clients credit reports!

How Does It Work?

1. Get Copies of Your Credit Reports – This is the first step. You need to know what is on your reports and what items on there are bringing down your overall FICO score.
2. Forward These Reports To Lexington- You need to forward your reports to Lexington Law Firm. They will file a credit dispute on your behalf for all the item you tell them you want to dispute.*On a side note, you can dispute any item you feel is questionable – that is the way the law reads. An item is questionable for a number of reasons including: not my account, incorrect balance, incorrect dates, the item is an error.
3. Sit Back & Relax – This service is going to handle all your communications with the bureau. You just sit back and let them do their job.
4. Investigation Results- You will be notified by mail of the results of your dispute. Once the bureaus deem you dispute valid (which is a headache you won’t have to worry about with a service) the bureaus will investigate the item.They will contact the lender and ask the to verify the account, the dates on it, and the balance. If the lender doesn’t verify the account then by law it must be removed from your credit report.

   As you get these letters you need to forward them on to Lexington Law, so they are on the same page with you. As the items on your report start being removed, you will likely see your score increase provided you are building some positive credit lines while removing the old negative ones.

5. Enjoy Your Good Credit – No guarantees can be made when it comes to credit repair. However by removing negative entries from your report and building positive payment history (pay your current bills on time) you will be improving your payment history.

Your payment history is roughly 40% of your overall credit score.

The other four factors are:

• Amount of Debt – 30%
• Types of Credit – 10%
• Length of Credit – 10%
• Credit Inquiries (Having Your Credit Checked) – 10%

The only other factor you will have any control over is the amount of debt and this factor you will only have minimal control over. You can improve your standing with regards to your amount of debt because it will look at all the money you owe (student loans, mortgage, car loan, credit cards…) however it will also account for your available credit. If you can show that you have unused credit your score will see a bump.

This is most easily accomplished by using a credit card. For example, if the limit on your card is a $2,000 then you should try to keep your monthly balance at roughly 25% of that or $500. This will show the bureaus that you do use your credit but you are in a secure financial position because there is money you could borrow but are not.

How Much Does It Cost?

You are looking at $99 up front and then a monthly fee ranging from $49 – $99 depending on what level of service you want. You can typically expect to use the service for 6-12 months, however as we mentioned earlier there are no guarantees.

Lexington Law does not guarantee any results for you nor will any credit repair companies – however Lexington does offer a refund and they let their past results speak for themselves. They have been in business for over 20 years and have cultivated relationships with the bureaus and are more than familiar with the bureaus techniques to avoid investigations.

They have the legal backing to ensure your dispute gets investigated. Additionally they can use: debt inquiry, goodwill intervention, court intervention, and debt validation. Debt validation is hands down the most valuable tool.

This puts the burden of proof on a collection agency. They must show that they legally own your debt. If they can not prove this, which isn’t uncommon, then you don’t have to pay the debt and the item will be removed from your report once you file a dispute.

Is Credit Repair Is Illegal?

The reason you hear credit repair is illegal or hard is because the bureaus must first deem a dispute valid before they will investigate it. Unfortunately this is just a way for the bureaus to avoid investigating consumer disputes.

The reason they don’t care what is on your report is because you are not the customer. Your information is worth the same to the bureaus if it is correct or incorrect. The bureaus are selling your information to businesses and lenders – thus they have no financial motive to ensure your report is accurate.

Did you know that it is estimated that 1 in every 4 credit reports contain an error? This is why Congress passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 1970, this act gives you the right to dispute any item on your report that YOU feel is inaccurate.

We are beyond perplexed were someone would get the idea that credit repair is illegal? Especially when our elected law makers created a law that gives you the right to repair your credit. Next time you hear someone say this – go tell them to actually read the Fair Credit Reporting Act. And let them live with bad credit.

For a free credit consultation call 800-768-3386 or visit Lexington Law Firm for more about how you can fix your credit report.