America’s leading credit repair firm, Lexington Law has been in business since 1991. The company’s website says it has helped hundreds of thousands of people work toward an accurate and fair credit profile.
Operating in all 50 states, save Oregon and North Carolina, the company also says it was founded to revolutionize the credit repair industry by providing ethical and effective credit repair to consumers in need.
So, does Lexington Law really “fix” your credit?
Well, that depends upon your definition of the word “fix”.
What is Credit Repair?
While you will see much literature to the contrary, a firm like Lexington Law is only capable of doing that which you could do yourself — for free. All of the resources you need to “fix” your credit yourself are readily available online at no charge.
Essentially, credit repair involves reviewing your credit reports — which you can also get for free — and challenging any negative items you find. While this might feel good, that effort will be for naught if the information is accurate.
Yes, credit bureau reporting on those items can be suspended while investigations are conducted, which could give your score a temporary bump. However, the notations will show up again when they are determined to be accurate.
What Lexington Law Does
Negative Lexington Law reviews typically revolve around its clients misunderstanding the nature of the assistance the company provides. According to the firm’s website, its services begin with a review of your credit report for questionable negative entries. It then drafts dispute letters to the reporting agencies and the creditors in question to call attention to inaccuracies found on your report and request their removal.
The firm then follows through on that correspondence, maintaining contact with all involveduntil a decision is made as to the disposition of the entry. Lexington Law also offers credit-counseling services to help you learn to manage your accounts better, which can have the effect of “fixing” your credit.
There Are No Silver Bullets
While credit counselingcan indeed be a successful means of correcting your course if you’re headed toward stormy credit seas (or have already arrived in them), there are no guarantees. Moreover, you can’t be promised inaccuracies on your credit report will be corrected as a result of the actions of Lexington Law or any other entity.
Creditors hold all the cards in that regard. With that said, if there is a genuinely erroneous entry on your credit report, disputing it will often result in its removal.
However, resolution of questionable ones — those that could go either way — depends solely upon the temperament of your creditor. You can open a dispute, but the decision will come from the people holding the debt.
This is why it is illegal for any firm to guarantee results in this regard. Meanwhile, a company like Lexington Law can legally charge you for services rendered — even if itisn’t successful at getting an item removed from your report.
Is it Worthwhile?
So, does Lexington Law really fix your credit?
Well, a more precise way to say it is the firm can help you get errors on your credit report fixed, which in turn can have a positive effect on your credit score.
Again though, you can do everything a credit repair firm can do — on your own — for free. All the tools you need to do socan be found online at no charge.
Keep in mind though;regardless of who opens the dispute, any legitimately negative entries on your reports will remain. The only way to “fix” those is pay them off in full —or reach and follow through on a settlement agreement with thecreditor(s).