{"id":21503,"date":"2025-08-01T14:10:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T20:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonlaw.com\/blog\/?p=21503"},"modified":"2025-08-01T14:10:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T20:10:37","slug":"lexington-law-firm-clearing-misconceptions-about-credit-repair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonlaw.com\/blog\/news\/lexington-law-firm-clearing-misconceptions-about-credit-repair.html","title":{"rendered":"Lexington Law Firm: Clearing misconceptions about credit repair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. <\/em>See Lexington Law\u2019s editorial disclosure for more information.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s set the record straight: Lexington Law Firm is not a credit repair scam<\/a>. We prioritize safety and honesty and work hard daily to help educate consumers on their credit and credit repair options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help clear up the confusion, we\u2019ll debunk some common credit repair myths and give you tips for avoiding scams targeting Lexington Law Firm customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 common misconceptions about credit repair<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recently, there has been much confusion about what credit repair is, how it works and whether or not it is legal. To help clear things up, let\u2019s explore the five most common misconceptions regarding credit repair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misconception #1: Credit repair can remove all negative marks.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Credit repair does not remove negative marks that appear on your credit reports if those items are accurately reported. Credit repair organizations like Lexington challenge and dispute items that are erroneously listed on your credit reports. These challenges and disputes are filed with the credit bureaus<\/a> and furnishers (the creditors who report to the bureaus). Unless the bureau or furnisher can show that the item should be listed on your report, it has to be removed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit reporting errors are pretty common, with more than 4 in 10 consumers finding errors on their credit reports, according to a Consumer Reports study<\/a>. These errors damage your credit score.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fair Credit Reporting Act<\/a> gives you the right to challenge and dispute mistakes, omissions and fraudulent entries so that they are removed from your credit and no longer unfairly impact your credit score.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit repair does not <\/strong>dispute valid negative information. If, for instance, you have an accurate 30-day late payment reporting, credit repair cannot be used to remove this information from your credit reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misconception #2: Credit repair is guaranteed to work<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are no guarantees with credit repair. Disputing information takes time, and the credit bureaus may deny a dispute either because the creditor fought it or because your dispute lacked information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, a dispute has to be filed multiple times and be accompanied by evidence before the credit bureau will remove inaccurate information from your credit reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also possible that even with successful disputes, your credit doesn\u2019t improve much. Credit repair does not guarantee a good credit score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having good credit requires a good credit history. This means that even if you remove bad items from your history, if you don\u2019t have enough good items, you won\u2019t have a good score. Additionally, your credit score may be impacted by factors that a credit repair organization cannot help with, such as credit utilization (the percentage of your total available credit you are using), new inquiries, or persistent late payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are no guarantees that repairing your credit will be as successful as you want it to be, it\u2019s better than allowing errors to stay. Knowing you have errors on your credit reports and not doing anything could open you up to additional credit issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misconception #3: Credit repair is a scam<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Credit repair is legal and is even something you can tackle yourself. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you the right to dispute errors you find on your credit reports. It also outlines the credit bureau requirements for handling your dispute.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rights and protections afforded to you by the FCRA also allow you to hire a credit repair company to help you challenge the inaccurate information on your reports on your behalf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, just because credit repair is legal doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t scams out there. The Credit Repair Organizational Act (CROA)<\/a> sets forth strict guidelines for credit repair companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CROA states that a credit repair company cannot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Guarantee results<\/strong>: Credit repair companies cannot make any promises about their services. If you see a credit repair company or its agents promising to \u201cclean\u201d your credit, deliver results in a set time (30 days, for example) or increase your credit score (\u201cBoost your score by 100 points!\u201d, for example) it may be a scam.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Ask for payment before services are rendered<\/strong>: CROA does not permit credit repair companies to charge for services before they\u2019ve actually been rendered. (See our billing page<\/a> to learn more about how and when we charge for our services).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Try to penalize you for cancelling<\/strong>: All\u00a0credit repair companies<\/a>\u00a0are required by law to give you at least three days to cancel services with them and there is no penalty for canceling.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If a company does not adhere to these rules, it is a red flag that it might be running a scam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Other scams to watch out for include the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n