Are you in the process of fixing your bad credit?
Credit repair can be a daunting task for many people. Yet, it’s often such a vital task. A low credit score can hold you back from getting housing, cars, or even certain jobs.
Much more goes into credit repair than simply paying your bills on time. Because credit repair can be so time-consuming and require financial expertise, many consumers find value in paying for the help of a credit repair service.
Let’s dig into one reputable credit repair service The Credit Pros and the services and value they offer.
Who are The Credit Pros?
The Credit Pros was founded in 2009 by credit attorney Jason M. Kaplan. Kaplan specializes in the Fair Credit Reporting Act and brings a level of expertise and credibility not often seen in credit repair companies. In addition to credit repair, The Credit Pros provides tools such as credit monitoring, finance and budgeting tools, educational resources, and ID monitoring.
Customers are provided with all three of their credit reports (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and potential items to dispute are flagged on these credit reports. The Credit Pros then issues disputes to have these removed.
How Does The Credit Pros Work?
The process starts with a free consultation. The Credit Pros offers the option for either a phone or online consultation. If consumers are satisfied, they then choose the plan that best meets their needs. It’s important to note that if consumers go with the basic Money Management Plan, then they will only get one credit issue resolved. Consumers who need multiple credit issues resolved are better off going with one of the other plans.
After consumers sign up, they receive their credit reports and an expert at The Credit Pros will work with them to identity items that can be flagged for dispute.
Items that can potentially be removed include:
- Inaccuracies
- Collections
- Bankruptcies
- Foreclosures
Bankruptcies and foreclosures are supposed to come off a credit report after seven years, but sometimes remain there incorrectly. The Credit Pros can send dispute letters to have these items taken off your credit report, so that they’re not needlessly dragging down your credit score.
Inaccurate items are another issue consumers find on their credit reports far too often. With the help of a The Credit Pros expert, the two of you can comb through your three credit reports and ensure you aren’t being penalized inaccurately.
The dispute process generally begins 3 to 5 days business days after signing up with The Credit Pros.
From there, you will receive updated copies of your credit reports from all 3 major credit bureaus, generally about 60 days after signing up with The Credit Pros. You send these to The Credit Pros, they review the updated credit scores, and if necessary, continue working on disputes and repairing your credit.
The Credit Pros can also send cease and desist letters on your behalf to stop the collections while the dispute process is ongoing.
They even send goodwill letters. A goodwill letter asks a creditor to remove negative information, such as late or missed payments. This is different than a dispute, because the information is true and it’s a valid item to be included on a credit report. However, sometimes a persuasive goodwill letter can convince a creditor to remove an item and this can drastically improve a credit score, so it’s a very valuable service offered by The Credit Pros.
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The Credit Pros Packages and Pricing
The Credit Pros is more expensive than some of their competitors, but they do offer a lot of features and services for their price points.
There are three credit repair packages to choose from: Money Management, Prosperity, and Success Plus.
Money Management is the most economical and basic package, costing only $69 a month. There is also a one time first work fee of $119. This plan includes credit monitoring, ID protection with dark web monitoring, financial education tools, budgeting tools, and access to their TCP legal team, should you find yourself needing legal help regarding your debt.
Additionally, this basic plan includes access to a line of credit, making this plan a good option for people who need to build their credit history.
The biggest drawback to this plan is that they will only resolve one credit issue. For consumers who only need to resolve one credit issue or who are more interested in credit monitoring and finance-management tools, this plan could be a decent value. But for anyone who needs more intensive credit repair, one of the other plans may be a better fit.
The Prosperity package costs $119 per month and has a first work fee of $119. This plan includes unlimited credit issue resolutions. It comes with all of the same credit monitoring and ID protection services as the Money Management Plan. It also includes all of the same educational and budgeting tools. The biggest difference is that this plan will provide greater value to people who have multiple credit issues to resolve. This plan does not come with access to a line of credit, so it’s not the best option for people who have multiple issues to resolve and also need to build credit.
The Success package costs $149 per month and has a first work fee of $149 to sign up. This plan is the best of both worlds. There is no limit on the number of credit issues that customers can have resolved and people who subscribe to this plan also have access to a line of credit, making it a great option both for repairing and building credit.
| Package | Set-Up Fee | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Money Management | $119 | $69 |
| Prosperity | $119 | $119 |
| Success | $149 | $149 |
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Pros and Cons of The Credit Pros
Pros:
- They offer many features even for the most basic plan.
- Credit Monitoring is included in all plans. This isn’t something offered by many of their competitors.
- Their identity theft protection is very comprehensive and goes beyond the basics of flagging suspicious accounts or changes in your address or other personal information. The Credit Pros also monitors the dark web for your information.
- Great budgeting and finance-management tools
- They not only issue disputes, but also send cease and desist letters and goodwill letters. Not all credit repair services send cease and desist letters and even less will send goodwill letters on your behalf.
- Free consultation either by phone or online
- The Credit Pros has a strong reputation, as they were founded by an attorney who specializes in credit and their team is staffed by FICO-certified experts
- Reviews are mostly positive and the company has an A- rating via the Better Business Bureau
- Fantastic customer service
- 90-day money-back guarantee
Cons:
- The Credit Pros is pricier than other options on the market and subscribers need to pay not only a monthly fee, but a one-time fee when they sign up.
- The website doesn’t have the best user-interface and it can be difficult for consumers to find the information they are looking for. The pricing section is especially convoluted, with it not being clear on first glance what the differences are between their 3 tiered plans.
- They don’t have a no-strings money back guarantee. Customers can only take advantage of the 90-day money back guarantee if no items are removed from their credit report within 90 days. This means customers must wait the full 90 days before they can be refunded. The money back guarantee also only applies to the first 90 days. So, if a customer is subscribed for longer than that and no items are removed, they are only refunded the money for the 90 days.
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How The Credit Pros Helps the Factors That Impact Your Credit Score
Your Credit Score is based on 5 factors. They include:
1. Payment History – This category accounts for 35% of your credit score and includes information about any recent delinquencies or late payments. This also includes bankruptcies, foreclosures, wage attachments and any other adverse items.
2. Debts Owed – This category accounts for 30% of your credit score and is calculated by taking the total amount of debt that you owe across all of your open accounts and dividing it by the number of accounts that you have open. It also includes how long your accounts have been reported to the credit bureau. This includes any late payments on your open accounts.
3. Length of Credit History – This category accounts for 15% of your credit score and is the length of time that you have been using credit. The longer that you have been a responsible borrower, then the better this factor will be for your overall creditworthiness. It also includes how long each of your accounts have been reported to the credit bureau.
4. Mix of Accounts – This category accounts for 10% of your score and is a combination of the different types of accounts that you have, as well as how many open accounts that you have. The more variety in types of accounts that you have start opens (credit card, installment loans, etc.), the better this factor will be for your score. It can also help if you have a mix of older and newer accounts too.
5. New Credit – This category accounts for 10% of your credit score and is how many new accounts that you have opened recently, as well as how much recent credit inquires has been made into your account. The more new accounts that you have opened within the past six months, then the worse this factor will be for your score.
Your The Credit Pros team member will help you address issues in any of the 5 factors that need help.
In addition, The Credit Pros services will help you develop a customized plan to include the following:
Credit repair – They help remove negative items from your credit report that is negatively impacting your score.
Credit monitoring services – With The Credit Pros, their team members monitor both your TransUnion and Experian credit reports on a daily basis to quickly identify any erroneous or fraudulent information and take action to immediately address issues.
Credit coaching – They provide you with the skills and confidence required to establish good credit on your own, in an efficient time period.
How Long Does it Take For The Credit Pros to Improve Your Credit?
The time that it takes for you to improve your credit varies depending on the specifics of your situation. Some The Credit Pros clients see their score to begin to improve within 30 days. Once these improvements have started, they are expected to continue throughout the duration of the program.
Depending on the scope of your situation, it may take up to 12 or more months before you fully see an improvement in your credit score. The length of time that it takes for you to see improvements also varies depending on the severity and type of negative items that are impacting your score. While The Credit Pros cannot guarantee removals of any specific item, their collective work should help you improve your overall score.
The biggest factor that impacts the speed at which you see improvements, is how quickly you are able to address any negative items on your credit reports. The longer these negative items are impacting your credit score, the longer it will take for them to be removed from your report. Proper communication with all 3 of your Credit Bureau’s will be vital to ensure that any items that need to be removed from your credit report, are strictly followed.
Is The Credit Pros Worth It?
Yes, for many consumers the price of The Credit Pros is worth it.
Although whether or not it’s worth it to you will depend on your specific financial needs and what you’re hoping to get out of The Credit Pros. While the majority of The Credit Pros reviews are positive, many of the negative reviews that The Credit Pros does have come from consumers unhappy that they didn’t achieve a specific outcome or upset that The Credit Pros was unsuccessful in having credit items removed.
It’s important to note that no reputable credit repair company will ever guarantee an outcome, and while goodwill letters are one strategy that can be employed, often legitimate marks against you can not be removed from a credit report. If the inclusion of the item on the credit report is valid, they usually can’t be removed.
However, for consumers who go in with reasonable expectations and need help with credit repair, building credit, managing their finances, learning the skills to become more financially savvy, or credit or ID monitoring, these are all services that The Credit Pros offers, and for many people, it’s worth the monthly subscription fee.
Wrapping it Up
There are countless companies in the credit repair industry such as Credit Saint, Sky Blue Credit or Lexington Law. When deciding if a credit repair service is right for you, it’s important to think not only about the price, but also about the value that it offers. The Credit Pros is one credit repair company that offers customers quite a lot of features for what they are charging.
With a plethora of features and services, it’s certainly an option worth considering as you look at credit repair and finance management options. Whether you are looking to improve your credit score, learn how to manage your finances better, or just want some peace of mind, The Credit Pros provides a very comprehensive set of services that meet the needs of many consumers.
The company offers affordable packages that are best suited for beginners and people with either little experience in managing their money or poor financial literacy. Customers can also buy a stand-alone service that caters to their specific needs, which is a plus.
Based on our extensive research, using The Credit Pros can help you transform those negative credit items into a good credit score. If you’re interested in learning more, click the button below and sign up for a free credit consultations.
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