Every day, credit reports are pulled by companies and assessed as ways of determining eligibility for mortgages, credit cards, car loans, and many other financial situations. If you have challenging credit history, it makes all of these things more complex and frustrating.
On the same note, trying to repair bad credit can also be one of the most challenging things an individual can face. For this reason, many people enlist the help of a credit repair company to assist with the task.
A good credit repair company will not only help you remove negative items from your credit report from late payments to identity theft, but they will also help you understand your credit score and guide you on how to boost your score and keep it on track long-term. However, with so many companies on the market, it can be hard to decide which direction to take.
Credit Saint and Lexington Law are both popular and well-known credit repair companies that have helped millions of clients repair their credit. These two companies have many similarities but also some differences that may be important when deciding between the two services. Here we provide an overview of Credit Saint and Lexington Law and the pros and cons of each.
Credit Saint Review
Based out of New Jersey, Credit Saint has been in business for over 15 years and has a BBB rating of “A.” This strong rating means they are a reliable and trustworthy company.
Credit Saint bills you for their credit repair services monthly and allows you to cancel any time, so you only commit for however long you need to repair your credit.
The company works by first thoroughly reviewing your credit report and identifying which of the items on there do damage to your credit score. They then create customized challenge letters for these items and send them to the credit bureaus for a response.
At the same time that they review the negative items on your report, they also look at and analyze the positive things they see and provide guidance on how you can continue with these things to improve your score. This service which analyzes the positives, includes coaching you on ways to pay your bills and open/close credit cards to maximize your credit score.
Credit Saint offers the following three different credit repair plans to meet the needs of various clients. All three packages come with a $99.00 “initial work fee” that you pay upfront once in addition to the monthly fee.
- The Credit Polish service provides you with up to 5 challenges to the three credit bureaus every dispute cycle, a credit score analysis, creditor interventions on your behalf, and a score tracker. The monthly cost for this “medium” aggressive plan is $79.99.
- The Credit Remodel Package includes everything in the Credit Polish plan but adds the additional value of inquiry targeting and up to 10 challenges to the three credit bureaus every dispute cycle. You also get disputes for bankruptcies and repossessions. The monthly cost for this “high” aggressive plan is $99.99.
- The Clean Slate Plan is the “very high” aggressive plan offered by Credit Saint. It includes all of the services of the other plans but also adds the value of unlimited challenges to the three credit bureaus. The monthly cost for this plan is $119.99 per month.
Credit Saint states that the Clean Slate Plan is the most popular option of the three credit repair services they offer.
The positive BBB rating of Credit Saint suggests that the company has good customer service and handles complaints and inquiries satisfactorily. They also offer a 90-day money-back guarantee if you do not see any questionable items removed from your credit report during that time.
Credit Saint Pros and Cons
Pros
- Credit Saint is the oldest credit repair company in the industry.
- Free consultation and 90-day money-back guarantee
- The online dashboard allows customers to track the progress of their credit repair. It also includes a credit analysis component.
- If you add a family member from the same household to the service, Credit Saint will waive the $99.00 initial work fee for this member (or members).
- Money.com ranked it as the top credit repair company.
- BBB Rating of “A.”
- The company website has an educational blog that provides customers with valuable information about credit repair.
- Excellent Service
Cons
- The website is not very transparent about the number of challenges included in each plan, and customers need to dig or consult to receive that information.
- No clear statistics about how many challenges and deletions they’ve successfully entered through the years to improve or repair people’s credit.
Lexington Law
Lexington Law firm is another large and well-known credit repair agency that offers similar services to Credit Saint. The company is also an actual Utah-based law firm that deals with other legal matters as well.
The credit repair department at Lexington Law was founded in 2004 and has serviced over 8.7 million clients. They state that they have had success with over 70 million removals and 22.3 million challenges and disputes.
Lexington Law also has “digital partnerships” with the major dispute bureaus, reducing the paper mail trail and leading to faster overall customer results.
Like Credit Saint, Lexington Law also operates on a monthly subscription plan that allows customers to cancel at any time. They serve the same function as Credit Saint, which is challenging and disputing items that reflect negatively on your credit report.
When you create an account with Lexington Law, you work directly with credit repair specialists, lawyers, and paralegals for the dispute process. Some customers might like the benefit of having these types of legal experts on their side.
Finally, for as long as you remain subscribed, Lexington Law will continue to address any new credit issues on your report as they appear.
Like Credit Saint, Lexington Law also offers three different credit repair options to meet the needs of various clients.
- The Concord Standard Plan gives you Bureau challenges/disputes, creditor interventions, inquiry assist, ID theft assurance, and their DebtHandler service. The cost of this plan is $95.95/month.
- The Concord Premier Plan provides you will all of the features included in the standard plan and the addition of Credit Report Watch Alerts. This plan costs $119.95/month
- The Premier Plus Plan gives customers the benefits of the lower-level services and TransUnion FICO score, lost wallet protection, a Personal Finance Manager, and Junk Mail Reducer service. This plan costs customers $139.95/month.
Regarding customer service, Lexington Law has many more complaints lodged against them than Credit Saint does. Lexington Law is also not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, which could be concerning for some potential customers. Many common customer complaints include failing to get results, overpromising results, and overcharging for services.
Lexington Law Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Free online credit report consultation includes credit score, credit report summary, and credit repair recommendations.
- 89% of Lexington Law customers that have experienced improvement with the service have increased their credit score by at least 40 points.
- Lexington Law is an actual law firm so customers can access lawyers, paralegals, and other specialists.
- Many educational resources on the Lexington Law website help customers understand credit scores and how to improve them.
- It has a company mobile app (Apple and Android) where you can monitor account progress from the convenience of your phone.
Cons:
- There is an “initial work fee,” but no information on the website about how much that fee costs. Customers must receive a free credit consultation with Lexington Law to receive complete pricing.
- Monthly pricing is more expensive than Credit Saint.
- It has a “C” rating with the BBB and is not an accredited BBB company.
- Many negative customer reviews.
- Lexington Law currently has a pending federal lawsuit that alleges deceptive and unlawful marketing and billing practices (the company is currently disputing the suit and has filed a motion to dismiss it).
Credit Saint vs. Lexington Law Compared
Because Credit Saint and Lexington Law offer similar and comparable services, both companies have an extensive history of helping customers repair their bad credit scores. Here we provide a direct comparison of each company’s cost, reputation, customer service, and effectiveness.
Cost
Both Credit Saint and Lexington Law charge customers a fee each month for their services. The prices for Lexington Law’s services are about $20 higher per tier per month than for Credit Saint.
Both companies also charge an “ first work fee.” Credit Saint charges $99.00 for this fee. Lexington Law does not publish this fee on its company website, and customers must consult directly with the company to determine the cost.
Reputation
Of the two companies, Credit Saint has a much better reputation overall than Lexington Law for credit repair services. Credit Saint is accredited and highly rated with an “A” by the BBB, whereas Lexington Law has a “C” rating with the BBB and is not accredited.
Additionally, looking at customer reviews shows that Lexington Law has significantly more negative reviews than Credit Saint. Finally, Lexington Law’s active pending lawsuit has slightly damaged its reputation among credit repair companies.
Customer Service
Both Credit Saint and Lexington Law have ways for customers to reach them by phone or email and actively respond to their customers to provide service.
A look at the BBB website shows that Lexington Law does actively respond to negative customer reviews posted by clients. This engagement demonstrates that they do care about addressing concerns and remedying issues.
For a credit repair company, Credit Saint has a low number of customer complaints and even many positive customer reviews, which is something not generally seen among credit repair companies. These things suggest the company’s customer service pleases its customers.
Credit Saint also offers their customers a 90-day money-back guarantee, which indicates that they care about customer satisfaction, stand behind their product, and strive to obtain actual customer results.
Effectiveness
Lexington Law boasts of its effectiveness on its website by providing data that backs up the fact that they receive real results for their customers. They state that most customers that repaired their credit using their services saw at least a 40-point increase in their credit score.
Credit Saint does not have transparent statistics published to demonstrate how many customers they have helped over the years and the number of disputes and challenges they have resolved. However, their number of years in business, excellent BBB rating, and good customer reviews suggest that they are effective in credit repair and one of the best companies in the business.
Keep in mind that laws prevent any company that repairs credit from guaranteeing customers that they will see specific results as every credit repair situation is different, and various factors determine results.
Credit Saint vs. Lexington Law: Which One Is Best?
So which one offers the best credit repair services? Although both companies have remained in business for a long time, are well-known, and have served many clients, deciding which one to use is a matter of personal preference. In our recommendation, Credit Saint outperforms Lexington Law overall.
Credit Saint has received the best reviews of pretty much any credit repair company in the business due to their strong reputation. Their prices are reasonable, they provide a money-back guarantee, and they have an excellent reputation across the credit repair industry. Even though it is not a law firm, like Lexington Law, an attorney founded it, so it also has a legal background.
Finally, we like that Credit Saint’s pricing structure is transparent, and the monthly prices seem reasonable for the provided service. If you are serious about repairing your credit, it makes a good option that is relatively “risk-free” for the first three months.
Of course, as with anything, different aspects of each company will appeal to different clients, so you should always individually weigh the pros and cons of both Credit Saint and Lexington Law before deciding which one would work best for you and your credit repair needs.
Wrapping It Up
Repairing your credit and removing negative items from your credit report is a process that takes time, knowledge, and experience. Although many individuals attempt to do this task themselves, using a reputable credit repair service can relieve some of the stress associated with the process.
These credit repair services provide you with expertise and assistance by writing effective letters to the major credit bureaus to address specific items. In addition, they provide resources to help you repair and improve your credit score and maintain it in the long term.
Customers also like tracking their results and always seeing where they are in the credit repair process. Seeing tangible results can motivate you to stay on track with maintaining good credit.
If you’re serious about repairing your credit and obtaining a good credit score and looking for a credit repair company to help you with the task, Credit Saint is one of the best credit repair companies to consider.
