Writer: Choncé Maddox
Editor: Lillian Guevara-Castro
Reviewer: Ashley Fricker
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At least 16% of Americans have a bad credit score, which is a FICO score below 580. Having bad credit can make it harder to get approved by lenders, and it also leads to higher interest rates on loans.
While many factors can influence your credit score, your payment history is one of the most critical. If you’ve missed payments or noticed negative marks on your credit reports, credit repair agencies can assist in removing these unfavorable items.
Here is a list of some of the best companies that remove late payments from credit reports and how they can help improve your credit scores.
Best Credit Repair Companies For Removing Late Payments
If you’re eager to find and challenge errors on your credit reports, partnering with a credit repair company could be a wise choice. These experts can also assist in removing outdated details that might be dragging your score down.
Some people prefer working with an expert who knows the industry inside and out. They can save you time and effort by handling the letter writing and creditor communication for you. So, without further ado, here are the top credit repair companies ready to help you remove late payments from your credit report.
- Since 2004, Lexington Law Firm clients saw over 84 million items removed from their credit reports
- Get started today with a free online credit report assessment
- Cancel anytime
- See official site, terms, and details.
| Better Business Bureau | In Business Since | Monthly Cost | Reputation Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| See BBB Listing | 2004 | $139.95 | 8/10 |
Lexington Law is a large credit repair company. Lexington Law Firm has represented over 10.9 million people since 2004. Their several attorneys are familiar with disputing credit information and who can send letters to the credit bureaus on your behalf.
The range of services includes creditor interventions, help with inquiries, identity theft protection, and monitoring your TransUnion FICO score. In 2024, Lexington Law Firm clients saw an average of 5 items removed from their credit reports.
- Best-in-class support
- In business since 1989
- Rapid 35-day dispute cycle, tailored to your situation
- 90-day 100% money-back guarantee
- Low $79 cost to get started, cancel or pause membership anytime
- See official site, terms, and details.
| Better Business Bureau | In Business Since | Monthly Cost | Reputation Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 1989 | $79 | 9.5/10 |
Sky Blue Credit Repair® is a credit repair agency that offers a 35-day dispute cycle to help get clients results quickly. This company also offers only one package and monthly payment so you receive all the services available and don’t have to worry about upgrading in the future. Clients can expect calls with coaches and a goodwill letter sent directly to creditors as part of the credit repair package.
Sky Blue Credit also helps validate debt with creditors or your loan servicer. That may result in getting late payments removed from your credit reports if the creditor can’t verify the debt. This company offers a 90-day money-back guarantee.
- Free online assessment
- CreditRepair.com members saw over 8.8 million removals on their credit reports since 2012
- Free access to your credit report summary
- Three-step plan for checking, challenging and changing your credit report
- Online tools to help clients track results
- See official site, terms, and details.
| Better Business Bureau | In Business Since | Monthly Cost | Reputation Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| See BBB Listing | 2012 | $69.95+ | 8/10 |
CreditRepair.com offers a complimentary credit evaluation that includes a free credit score, a negative item summary, and recommended credit solution. CreditRepair.com members saw over 8.8 million removals on their credit reports since 2012.
This company provides three main membership tiers. Their advisors work directly with your creditors and credit bureaus to ensure that negative items are accurate and fair. If they aren’t, the company will assist you in challenging these inaccurate negative items. As a member, you can log in to track your progress, view your credit score, and communicate with the CreditRepair.com team.
- Credit Firm has helped consumers improve their credit scores for more than 20 years
- No hidden fees — just $49.99/month
- Credit Firm uses every legal tool and procedure allowable by law to remove as much derogatory information as possible from your credit reports to increase your credit scores
- 97% of our clients refer us to friends and family
- See official site, terms, and details.
| Better Business Bureau | In Business Since | Monthly Cost | Reputation Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1997 | $49.99 | 8.5/10 |
CreditFirm.net is a professional credit repair service that was founded by a team of attorneys who specialize in consumer credit and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violations. If you decide to sign up after a free consultation, you’ll get a legal team to review your credit reports and analyze the information for each tradeline.
Next, the team will put together a plan to address any negative issues on your credit reports. In addition to sending letters to major credit bureaus like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, CreditFirm.net can also reach out to LexisNexis and other agencies to eliminate incorrect negative information from your reports.
What Do Credit Repair Companies Do?
Credit repair companies work to enhance your credit score for a fee. Typically, they examine your credit reports and dispute any negative, outdated, or unverifiable information by sending letters to the three major credit bureaus.
Each credit bureau operates independently, which is why credit repair agencies reach out to Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian separately.
Credit repair companies may also reach out to creditors or your loan servicer and ask them to prove that an account is yours by requesting that they validate the debt. If a creditor can’t validate the debt that’s on your reports, then legally they have to remove it under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Working with a credit repair company means having experts on your side to improve your credit. They handle communications with creditors and attempt to remove negative entries. These experts are skilled in drafting letters and negotiating on your behalf.
Some companies also provide you with a free credit score or report, and credit education resources to help you rebuild your score.
Not all credit repair companies offer the same services, so it’s important to confirm which services you’re interested in and whether they can help improve your score.
If you’ve missed payments and have a collection account, you might not actually need a credit repair company. Many of these companies offer free consultations to help you figure out if their services are the right fit for you.
How Do I Get a Delinquency Removed From My Credit Report?
A record of a missed payment on a credit card, student loan, or another type of credit account can result in a late fee and other negative marks in your credit history. Credit repair agencies can challenge delinquencies and request that creditors remove them from your credit reports.
The only way to get a delinquency removed is if the creditor mistakenly reported inaccurate or outdated information. If the delinquency is based on accurate information, removing it is unlikely.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected within 30 days.
Sometimes, creditors might make mistakes, leading to incorrect information on your account. It could be an incorrect balance, a wrongly marked late payment, or even outdated negative payment history.
Consumer reporting agencies can’t include outdated negative information in their reports, according to another regulation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This includes delinquent accounts or negative payment history that is more than seven years old or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
Here’s how long some common items can stay on your credit reports:
| Item Type | Time on Credit Reports |
|---|---|
| Soft Credit Report Inquiry | No Report Impact |
| Hard Credit Report Inquiry | 2 Years |
| Delinquent Payment (30+ Days) | 7 Years |
| Vehicle Repossession | 7 Years |
| Defaulted Account | 7 Years |
| Foreclosure | 7 Years |
| Bankruptcy Discharge | 7-10 Years |
So if you have old delinquencies on your credit report that are unfairly lowering your credit score, a credit repair company can help you get those items removed.
Keep in mind that you can always dispute negative information yourself if you don’t want to hire a credit repair company. You can also write a goodwill letter that asks the creditor that reported your late payments to remove the derogatory mark from your credit reports.
If the item is legitimately yours, you can write a letter to the creditor explaining the reason for the delinquency, such as a financial hardship. Or you can offer to pay the debt in an attempt to persuade the creditor to cease reporting the item to the bureaus.
Are Results Guaranteed With Credit Repair Agencies?
Results from credit repair agencies are not guaranteed. If everything on your credit report is accurate and updated, the credit repair agency will not be able to remove late payments from your reports.
Instead, you’ll need to focus on paying down your account balances and rebuilding a positive credit history.
Credit repair agencies can’t remove late payments from your credit report or guarantee results. But they can help you dispute any items that are erroneous or inaccurate.
Most legitimate credit repair companies, including Lexington Law, Sky Blue Credit, and others on this list, promise to work to address unfair and inaccurate negative items that are hurting your credit score.
Credit repair companies may assure you that they’ll send out letters promptly and keep you in the loop about their progress. However, they can’t guarantee how a lender will respond or what actions the lender might take.
How Can I Rebuild My Credit in the Future?
Teaming up with a credit repair company to remove negative or inaccurate information from your credit report is just one strategy to boost your credit. But for long-term improvement, you’ll need to focus on developing healthy financial habits to rebuild your credit score over time.
Here are a few ways to start rebuilding your credit moving forward:
- Keep your credit utilization low. Start by focusing on your credit utilization and make sure you don’t spend more than 30% of your total credit limit.
- Pay more than the minimum due. When it comes to credit cards and even a personal loan, try to pay more than the minimum payment due each month to pay the debt down quickly. This can lower your total debt amount and also save you money in interest.
- Schedule monthly payments. To make your credit card payments on time, set up an automatic payment schedule based on your monthly payment dates. This ensures you won’t hurt your credit or incur a fee due to late payments. A single late payment can significantly hurt your credit scores.
- Keep long-term accounts open. When possible, try to keep your older credit accounts open, unless you’re trying to offload an annual fee. Closing credit accounts will lower your total available credit and increase your credit utilization ratio if there’s a balance on other card accounts. The length of your credit history is also important, so closing older accounts can shorten your credit history. People with good credit scores generally have credit histories of seven or more years.
- Regularly monitor your credit. Monitor your credit regularly so you can keep track of your progress and catch any inaccurate information early on. You can obtain copies of your credit reports from each of the three major credit bureaus at least once annually.
What Is a 609 Letter to Remove Late Payments?
A 609 letter is a tool that is used for credit report clean-up in the world of personal finance. It’s named after Section 609 of the FCRA, which requires credit reporting agencies to disclose all the information in your credit report and verify any disputed data.
A 609 letter won’t remove any legitimate late payments or debts from your credit report. However, it can help if any information is not reported accurately or the reporting entity can’t verify it.
If you have negative marks or late payments on your credit report, sending a dispute letter to a credit bureau might help remove them — but only if the entries can’t be verified or are inaccurately reported. It’s not a guaranteed fix, but it’s basically ensuring the credit bureaus have done their due diligence. If they haven’t, those negative marks on your credit report may be removed.
Using a 609 letter can be quite handy for cleaning up errors on your credit report, but remember, it won’t eliminate legitimate debts. Consider it more of a tool to ensure your credit report accurately reflects what’s fair and correct.
Credit Repair Companies Can Be Helpful
Having a low credit score will impact the interest rate you receive on loans and limit which lenders will offer you credit. If delinquent accounts are negatively affecting your credit, working with a credit repair company may be helpful.
But you should first consider which services the company offers and book a consultation to see how the company can help with your unique situation. Also, consider whether you’d rather try to send letters to creditors on your own before hiring a company to do so.
Even if you choose to work with a credit repair company, remember that success isn’t always guaranteed. You still need to focus on building a solid credit history as you move forward.
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