CreditFirm.net Review

Ashley Fricker

By: Ashley Fricker

Ashley Fricker
Ashley Fricker

Ashley has managed content initiatives for BadCredit since 2015, having worked closely with the world’s largest banks and financial institutions, as well as press and news outlets, to publish comprehensive content. Her credit card commentary is featured on national media outlets, including CNBC, MarketWatch, Investopedia, Yahoo Finance, and Reader's Digest.

See full bio »

Editor: Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro
Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience, having written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times. A former business writer and business desk editor, Lillian ensures all BadCredit.org content equips readers with financial literacy.

See full bio »

Credit Firm is a budget-friendly credit repair service that's been in business for more than 25 years. Past clients highly recommend its services, and unlike many other credit repair companies, it charges no initial fees to get started.

Let's take a look at the key facts and features of CreditFirm.net:

  • 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.
Our Rating
★★★★

4.4

Better Business Bureau In Business Since Monthly Cost Reputation Score
A 1997 $49.99 8.5/10

Disclosure: When you apply through links on our site, we often earn referral fees from partners. For more info, see our ad disclosure and review policy.

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.

As you can see, there's a lot to like about CreditFirm.net, especially if you have a bad credit history. But as with any offer or service, be sure to read all the details on the official CreditFirm.net website before committing.

How Credit Firm Takes a Personalized Approach to Help Consumers Repair Credit Reports and Raise Credit Scores

How Credit Firm Takes a Personalized Approach to Help Consumers Repair Credit Reports and Raise Credit Scores

In today’s increasingly cashless society, maintaining healthy credit is perhaps more important than ever.

Sure, it’s possible to open a bank account with poor credit, but an impressive score will open up access to high-yield savings accounts and other benefits. And — unless you’re very diligent about stashing away cash under a mattress — you’re probably going to need a loan at some point to purchase a vehicle or buy a house.

Like it or not, credit is key to being a functioning member of society in the 21st century.

Credit Firm Logo

Credit Firm has been helping clients since 1997.

Many consumers work hard to build and maintain good credit, but unfortunately, missteps can happen from time to time. A gap in employment or unexpected emergency expenses can lead to missed payments, and good credit scores may go spiraling downward.

Even consumers who manage to avoid those financial obstacles may be surprised to see a delinquent account or other negative marks on their credit report when they apply for a loan. That’s because mistakes can happen on all sides — creditors or credit bureaus may accidentally include an account that belongs to a family member or someone with a similar name on your otherwise stellar credit report.

For these reasons, finance experts recommend checking your credit report at least once a year.

When credit scores are lagging — whether it’s due to financial mistakes or credit reporting errors — consumers may want to consider working with a credit repair firm to get their credit report back in top shape and get back to a respectable credit score.

Credit Firm — one of the longest-running and most trusted credit repair firms in the industry — works closely with clients to address issues with their credit reports and set them on a path to success.

We recently spoke with Michael Abramsky, a Senior Credit Counselor at Credit Firm, who addressed some important factors consumers should consider when repairing their credit, and how Credit Firm stands apart from other credit repair services.

Determining When Credit Repair is the Best Option

Abramsky said even though someone’s credit score may be in dire need of help, credit repair isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution and may not be the best solution. And Credit Firm will point consumers toward the best option for them whenever possible.

“When our clients enroll in our services, we don’t actually charge them anything until five days after enrollment,” Abramsky said. “That way, we actually have some time to review their credit reports and figure out what path may be best. I’ve talked to at least three clients today where bankruptcy was a better option for them.”

If a consumer is in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, Abramsky said the person may be at risk of wage garnishment, being sued by credit card companies, or having his or her bank accounts and assets frozen.

In cases like this, trying to work through the credit repair process leaves them exposed to these negative consequences.

“Whereas, if you qualify and spend $2,000 or $2,500 on a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may be able to just get out from under all that debt and start fresh in a lot of cases,” he said. “After Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a lot of people’s credit scores are in the mid-600s. They can start to build their credit again with a secured credit card and in a couple of years, may qualify for a mortgage.”

Abramsky said that, ultimately, Credit Firm wants to help clients who will benefit the most from credit repair and will be able to see positive results within three to six months. “We don’t want to put someone in a position where they have a better credit score but still have $200,000 in debt hanging over their head for the foreseeable future.”

Standing Apart from Other Credit Repair Companies through Individualized Service and Licensed Attorneys

Credit Firm’s primary service involves leveraging consumer rights to remove derogatory accounts from credit reports by working directly with creditors and credit bureaus. Abramsky said this can be accomplished in a number of ways, including filing disputes.

Another common tactic is to confirm the credit bureaus followed proper protocols in their method of verification procedures.

“Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act allows us to request that the credit bureaus show us the procedure used to make a verification — to make sure they completed the investigation in time and they followed all the guidelines and steps appropriately,” Abramsky said.

If Credit Firm discovers that the verification process was not followed as directed, the company may be able to get the debt removed from the client’s report.

“A lot of credit repair companies out there do great work,” Abramsky said. “But we try to go a little further by having our credit consultants work directly one-on-one with our clients and establish a rapport. When you have that kind of relationship, it’s helpful for the process.”

He said clients feel better about being able to speak with someone who’s actually familiar with your credit reports and is communicating with creditors and credit bureaus on your behalf, and not someone just reading notes from a computer file.

“You can hire 50 different companies to mail letters for you, but what’s important is for that person working on your case to help you understand what’s going on,” he said.

Another differentiator for Credit Firm is that the company brings in legal experts to review clients’ cases.

“Unlike other credit repair companies, Credit Firm’s service includes a legal audit of your credit reports by a licensed attorney, who also carefully reviews every document we mail out to your creditors. This personal legal touch, along with hundreds of automated legal cross-checks by our FCRA compliance validation database, gives us the leverage to fix your credit legally and permanently.” — Credit Firm

Abramsky said the company handles all paperwork and communication with creditors, credit bureaus, collection agencies, and other entities involved in the case so the client doesn’t have to worry about it.

Credit Firm also provides a client portal on its website where customers can log in at any time and track the status of their case, including when and where letters were mailed and the most current results.

Fixing Credit is About More Than Filing Disputes

“Here’s the thing that most people miss when they start working with a credit repair company,” Abramsky said. “Most people are concerned about the negative information on their credit reports — as they should be — but it’s only 35% of the score. There’s a lot more that needs to be done than just removing negative information.”

He said Credit Firm rarely works with a client who simply needs one specific negative account deleted from a report. In most cases, the client is working toward buying a house or car or securing another type of loan.

Consumers who want to raise their score as quickly as possible should work to optimize all five factors used to calculate credit scores — payment history, credit utilization, length of credit history, new lines of credit, and credit mix, Abramsky said.

Credit Score Graphic

Consumers should make a point to work on all five factors that impact credit scores when trying to raise their scores quickly, Abramsky said.

“So, other than just working on removing the negative information, we look at the credit report as a whole,” he said. “If our clients need to pay down their credit cards, we’ll let them know to do that. If they need to establish more credit or if they’ve got too many inquiries, we can address that as well.”

Some credit repair companies have been known to advise clients to simply dispute everything on their report, Abramsky said, but a dispute is not always the best approach.

“It’s important to understand that sometimes it’s good to dispute an account and sometimes it’s not,” he said. “Sometimes it’s good to pay off an account and sometimes it’s not.”

He said if a consumer disputes a $300 balance on an account that hasn’t been reported in five years and it’s not deleted, the credit report will then update the account activity to the current year, which may cause the consumer’s credit score to drop.

“Education is the best tool we have for helping our clients improve credit scores,” Abramsky said. “You can hire anybody to send letters to credit bureaus but it’s important to understand all of the other little pieces of information to get the best results as quickly as possible.”

Other Credit Repair Ratings

Not sure if CreditFirm.net is for you? Be sure to check out our review of similar offers below. These offers were selected and rated by our team of finance experts as the best available for those with bad credit. If you decide CreditFirm.net isn't for you, one of the following could be a great alternative.

  • Since 2004, Lexington Law Firm clients have seen over 83 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.
Our Rating
★★★★★

4.9

Better Business Bureau In Business Since Monthly Cost Reputation Score
See BBB Listing 2004 $139.95 8/10
  • 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.
Our Rating
★★★★★

4.7

Better Business Bureau In Business Since Monthly Cost Reputation Score
A+ 1989 $79 9.5/10
  • 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.
Our Rating
★★★★★

4.6

Better Business Bureau In Business Since Monthly Cost Reputation Score
See BBB Listing 2012 $69.95+ 8/10
See All Credit Repair »

About the Author

Ashley Fricker

Ashley works with a team of finance experts and journalists who develop in-depth industry profiles and advice articles read by more than 15 million Americans. Her years of experience reporting on consumer credit scores and reports positions Ashley to make smart recommendations on ways to improve one’s credit and avoid predatory lending. She often serves as an expert source on financial topics for national media outlets, including CNN Money, MarketWatch, Money Matters, ABC News, Kiplinger, and NBC News. Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Information Warranty & Disclosure: Great efforts are made to maintain reliable data on all offers presented. However, users should check each provider’s official website for updated terms, details and conditions for each offer before applying or signing up. Our site maintains strict terms of service and may accept compensation for paid ads or sponsored placements in accordance with these terms. Users must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible for financial offers as per the terms presented on provider websites.

* FICO scores/credit scores are used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.