Written by: Eric Bank
Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro
Reviewed by: Ashley Fricker
It’s a shame that credit repair for veterans is so necessary. A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) study found that veterans are 9% more likely to have problematic credit behaviors. Another study found that military families have, on average, higher unsecured debt balances, fewer tangible assets, and higher debt-related expenses than civilians.
Fortunately, veterans with credit problems have options for credit counseling and credit repair services. We review five companies that can help military veterans fix their credit reports, which is an essential step in rehabilitating the credit histories of those who defend our nation.
In this guide:
Best Credit Repair Companies For Veterans
The role of credit repair companies is to remove inaccurate information from their clients’ credit reports. If you are a veteran or part of a military family and have bad credit, these firms will challenge questionable items on your credit reports and, if erroneous, see to their removal.
When successful, credit repair can boost your credit score and give you access to a better loan (i.e., with lower interest rates, a longer loan term, or a larger loan amount) and the best credit card for your lifestyle.
- Since 2004, Lexington Law Firm clients saw over 81 million items removed from their credit reports
- Get started today with a free online credit report consultation
- Cancel anytime
- See official site, terms, and details.
| Better Business Bureau | In Business Since | Monthly Cost | Reputation Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| See BBB Listing | 2004 | $99.95 | 8/10 |
Lexington Law offers a military focus track that leverages federal laws that require creditors to act in specific ways when dealing with the service member community. It specializes in repairing credit impacted by your military service and uses the goodwill of your creditors regarding your service. This credit repair service addresses credit report mistakes while providing you with constant case updates.
- 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 |
Part of the credit repair program from Sky Blue Credit Repair® is its monitoring service, which many military clients use to track their credit repair progress when they are overseas. Customers can access a new combined credit report (i.e., containing information from all three major credit bureaus) once a month. The company offers a 90-day satisfaction guarantee and many services in addition to fast, customized credit report disputes.
- Free online consultation
- CreditRepair.com members saw over 8.6 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 disputes credit report mistakes and publishes a guide to financial help for veterans. Its program of checking, disputing, and helping change your credit reports yields an average score boost of 40 points within four months for its clients. CreditRepair.com fights for compliance with federal laws that allow service members to delay payments to a lender or creditor without having late payments reflected on their credit reports.
- Free online evaluation
- One-on-one action plan with a certified FICO professional
- Unlimited disputes of any questionable items on your credit reports
- 24/7 Access to your online client portal
- 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee
- See official site, terms, and details.
| Better Business Bureau | In Business Since | Monthly Cost | Reputation Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 2009 | $69+ | 7.5/10 |
The Credit Pros knows that the fastest way military service members can repair their credit is by concentrating on their payment history and available credit. Its military services guide explains the rights of active duty members and veterans to protect their credit accounts. The company offers services beyond credit repair, including help with identity theft, debt consolidation, security clearance assistance, and personalized credit coaching.
- 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 offers a single service plan for everyone, service personnel included. Although there’s not a military discount, its low monthly rate is cheaper than much of the competition. And there are no signup or first-work fees to worry about. It also offers a Couples Plan for $89.99, effectively saving couples $10 per month if both need credit repair services.
What Is Credit Repair?
Credit repair removes incorrect or incomplete derogatory information from your credit reports, which may cause your credit scores to rise. Derogatory information includes reports of lender hard-credit inquiries, late payments, charge-offs, debt collectors, foreclosures, and bankruptcies.
The Federal Trade Commission found that 5% of consumers had errors on at least one credit report. Some mistakes can reduce your access to credit and make loans more expensive. They can have a significant negative impact when you shop for a car or home or apply for a Veterans Affairs (VA) loan, job, or apartment rental.
Veterans credit repair is one of the fastest ways to raise credit scores, with improvements possible in as few as one to two months.
How Do Credit Repair Companies Work?
A legitimate credit repair service can fix your credit reports at a reasonable price. Legitimate credit repair services usually provide a free consultation with a credit expert to explain how the company will help you. You can sign up for a monthly subscription that you can cancel anytime.
Many credit repair companies offer varying service levels. You should compare the cost of each alternative, including any one-time setup fees. Note which services you get when you pay the subscription fee and which cost extra.
Standard services for credit repair usually include:
- Reviewing your credit reports
- Formally disputing derogatory items with the credit bureaus and your creditors
- Tracking each dispute until the credit bureau resolves it
- Giving you access to educational materials and personal finance tools to help you manage your credit
- Access to credit counseling, often for a separate fee
Each company packages its services and sets its prices. Most order your three credit reports, although you may have to pay a fee. The companies examine issues with your credit history, including:
- Incorrect items: Some errors are easy to fix, such as a spelling mistake or misreported loan amount. A credit report bureau can correct these quickly.
- Expired items: Derogatory items remain on your credit reports for a specified period before expiration and removal. For example, hard credit pulls stay on your reports for two years, whereas many things have a seven- to 10-year lifetime before they drop off.
- Unverifiable Items: If a creditor cannot validate a derogatory item, the credit bureau must remove it from your report.
- Fraudulent items: These usually connect to identity fraud, including new accounts you didn’t open and transactions you don’t recognize. You may be approached by a fraudulent VA lender offering a deal too good to be true. Fixing identity fraud is a huge task, and several credit repair companies offer special services for this purpose. Always report fraudulent items to the Federal Trade Commission.
A credit repair agency will develop an action plan and schedule. With your approval, the company will challenge questionable items via formal disputes that request the bureaus to validate or remove the contested information.
The company may also send specialized correspondence, including:
- Goodwill letters: These ask creditors to remove a missed payment (e.g., for personal loan or credit card debt) from your credit history.
- Cease and desist letters: These are requests for debt collection agencies to stop contacting you for various reasons.
The service level you purchase establishes the monthly quota of challenges the company executes on your behalf. More costly service levels add features such as access to money management tools, score analysis and tracking, identity theft repair, and mobile apps.
Can the Military Fix Your Credit?
Military service (including the Reserve and the National Guard) offers many benefits, from the GI Bill to access to a low-cost VA home loan. While military service won’t automatically fix your credit, it will provide access to certain rights and privileges that can help your finances.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) offers unique benefits to the service member community, including:
- A 6% interest rate cap on loans taken out before joining the military (including the National Guard)
- Protections against default judgments when the defendant is in the military
- Protections against non-judicial foreclosures (including one from a VA lender) during service and for a year following discharge
- Protections against repossessions and lease terminations
Regarding your credit, the SCRA gives service members the right to delay payments without reporting to the credit bureaus. Credit repair companies ensure that these items don’t remain on your credit bureau reports if they are there illegally. Active duty military members and their families receive SCRA coverage for up to 90 days after discharge.
The Military Lending Act (MLA) caps certain loans at 36% for active military members. The cap applies to:
- Payday loans
- Vehicle title loans
- Deposit advance products
- Overdraft lines of credit
- Certain installment loans
- Credit card cash advances
The MLA doesn’t cover residential mortgage loans, vehicle loans, and personal property loans collateralized by the purchased property. However, military veterans can easily access a VA home loan. These are low-cost mortgage loans for which a military family does not have to make a down payment nor have good credit. VA loan offers are also available for home remodels and other purposes.
Veteran affairs groups, such as the Veterans United Foundation (driven by employees of Veterans United Home Loans), offer various types of support to discharged military members. You can find commercial firms and nonprofit organizations to help you deal with credit card debt or apply for debt relief.
Why Might Veterans Need a Credit Repair Company?
Sudden deployments and short-notice relocations can adversely impact the credit plans of military members. It’s not uncommon for bills to go unpaid during the chaotic period following a change of location due to military service. Injuries are even more disruptive, and long-term PTSD can lead to problems such as too much credit card debt well after discharge.
“Veterans deserve the best credit repair available and should not be embarrassed about needing help.”
With so many things that can go wrong during and after military service, it’s not surprising that many veterans need the assistance of credit repair companies.
Veterans deserve the best credit repair available and should not be embarrassed about needing help. It’s entirely possible for a veteran or military family member with subprime credit to reestablish a good credit rating with a little guidance and financial assistance.
Lexington Law finds creditors are more likely to show goodwill when credit problems arise with veterans. We’re confident that most credit repair services invoke their customers’ military backgrounds when seeking accommodation.
Credit Repair Help Is Available to Veterans
You can find many websites offering credit repair for veterans, so make sure you check out their credentials before you choose one. There are also military-focused lenders such as Veterans United Home Loans and Navy Federal Credit Union that offer various types of loans (including a military debt consolidation loan) to veterans.
You can find veterans organizations that provide financial assistance, credit counseling, debt consolidation, and debt relief/debt settlement. You may even get better terms on a personal loan from some veteran-related lenders.
The companies in this review have excellent reputations for integrity and offer special programs for service members and veterans. Subscriptions usually run for four to six months, with fees ranging from $50 to $150 per month.
Remember, you can cancel or extend your subscription at any time. When you work with a trustworthy credit repair company, you should expect to wind up with a clean set of credit bureau reports and perhaps a higher credit score.
Advertiser Disclosure
BadCredit.org is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free for users, we receive advertising compensation from the financial products listed on this page. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear on the page (including, for example, the order in which they appear). BadCredit.org does not include listings for all financial products.
Our Editorial Review Policy
Our site is committed to publishing independent, accurate content guided by strict editorial guidelines. Before articles and reviews are published on our site, they undergo a thorough review process performed by a team of independent editors and subject-matter experts to ensure the content’s accuracy, timeliness, and impartiality. Our editorial team is separate and independent of our site’s advertisers, and the opinions they express on our site are their own. To read more about our team members and their editorial backgrounds, please visit our site’s About page.
