QA VERBATIM
How long will I be in the program?
Every single one of our client’s has a unique credit situation with specific credit goals. Therefore, it is difficult to predict how long a client will need to be in our services.
You should see changes at the end of the first cycle and should continue to see momentum. When momentum stops, it's time to determine the next steps.
Over 90% of our clients see their first changes in the first 90 days.
Do you work on Chexsystems?
No. Chexsystems is a separate problem based on a remaining balance being open with a bank that had an account stay overdrawn. You need to contact the bank and pay them to get off check systems. This goes the same for tenant screenings and public records searches. You would have to contact the entity with the information and discuss it with them
What is the difference between credit repair and bankruptcy?
Credit Repair and Bankruptcy are apples and oranges. Bankruptcy addresses the debt of your credit history. Credit repair addresses the damage to your credit history. You would not pick between them. Either, you have no hope of getting back on track and would opt for bankruptcy, OR if you are okay going forward and will not miss payments, and want to work on the damage behind you, then you would opt for credit repair.
What can you do that I cannot do?
There is no credit repair magic wand. Of course, you can challenge items from your credit on your own. We just do it all the time and have experience* in the laws of the FCRA. We are also A Rated with the Better Business Bureau.
Why aren’t my rent or Utilities reported?
Rent and Utilities is not borrowed money.
When does the first cycle begin?
The First Cycle begins when the First Work Fee is processed and the account goes active and challenges are released shortly after.
Can you stop a garnishment on my paycheck?
No. That is a court order. A garnishment is part of a judgment. A judge ordered that the creditor could contact your employer and have this money taken from your paycheck. The only way to stop it would be to contact the creditor or the court. If the judgment leading to the garnishment is on their report, we can challenge it, if they disagree with it.
True or False? (please explain) When the debt is removed, So is the Damage.
False. One can exist without the other. Paying the debt will mark it paid, but the damage will remain.
Do you have an attorney on staff?
Our attorneys are retained for the compliance and interpretation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We do have Paralegals, Board Certified Credit Consultants, and Fico Certified Specialists on staff that you can speak with.
How many lines of credit do we recommend to build credit?
4
What’s your success rate?
Success is a very vague term. If your question is how many of our clients have an 800 credit score, we simply do not know. We gauge success by the actual removals in our clients credit report. Over 90% of our clients see damage removed in the first 90 days.
What do you do in the first 5 days?
Create custom challenges for the damage
Building and coding your online account page
Doing a detailed analysis of your credit history
Creating a Progress report and timeline for your account page on our website.
I have collections on my history that I paid, shouldn’t those come off?
Paying a collection doesn’t mean it should be removed from your history. It should show as “paid”. Your credit report is a history of your financial life, so it does not remove items because they are paid. If you disagree with it, we should challenge it, and if we win the argument, it will be removed from your history.
What are the reasons to challenge an item on your credit report?
If you disagree with it, if there was a major life event or extenuating circumstance.
Are there accounts that get no positive credit?
Non- Traditional Credit are tradelines that traditionally did not report to your credit. Rent, utilities, insurance, and cell phone bills are a few examples. With the release of Experian Boost and companies like Paylease and Rentpay, the ability to receive positive history from these accounts is now possible.
Why does Credit Saint work in 45-day cycles?
Based on the laws of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the creditor has 30-45 days or a reasonable amount of time to respond to the bureaus regarding the dispute. In order to keep momentum and pressure, we will release new challenges every 45 days.
Why do you guys use written disputes?
We use written disputes because they are held to the highest standard of investigation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Using our method of challenging, over 90% of our clients see damage removed in the first 90 days of being in our program.
If a client has open collections, what is our position?
We can challenge it if you disagree with it and it can be removed if the credit bureaus agree with us. HOWEVER, the removal of the item is not an absolution of debt.
The creditor can still sell it to another collection company or seek legal action regardless of it being in your credit report.
Our official position regarding an open collection or open charge off
is that you should reach out to the creditor/collection company and settle it, regardless if the item is removed from your credit report. This is the only way not to have to look over your shoulder in the future.
What happens if an item comes back as verified and is not deleted?
We would revamp your argument, reword your challenge and redispute the damage using different aspects of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
When should someone open new credit?
The best time to do it is right at the beginning of our program since it is the months of history that help.
However, when going for a new line of credit, creditors look at your reports and see these negative items as a red flag.
If you have difficulty obtaining new credit, but need more lines to build your credit, secured credit cards are usually a great step. You’ll also be provided with a guide to building credit on your account with us, which will provide information to maximize your credit score.
What kind of credit score increase can I expect?
Increases are very difficult to predict, as we cannot tell in advance what items will be removed from your credit report. We also can’t tell what you are going to do on your end, such as paying your bills on time. However, if you do your part and there is no damage added on while you are in the service, you should see your score change as the damage is removed.
What makes you different from other companies?
How We Challenge ‐ We write individually customized disputes for each item we challenge. We incorporate the laws of the Fair Credit Reporting Act in your favor as these are held to a higher standard of investigation.
The aggressiveness of Our Challenges: Our middle program, Remodel, challenges 10 items in each cycle to all 3 credit bureaus at the same time. This is more than almost all of our competitor’s highest and most expensive programs. Clean Slate is revolutionary in the industry by disputing all of your damage in each cycle rather than challenging the damage in pieces.
A-Rated with the Better Business Bureau. We are accredited with the Better Business Bureau and have been in business for over a decade.
90-Day Money Back Guarantee - If nothing is removed from your credit
If a collection is removed is that it? I don’t owe the money anymore?
NO. Credit repair is not an absolution of debt. If you have a collection account, and it is removed from your history, you should still contact them and settle it, to avoid possible legal action or the selling of the debt to a new creditor that will make it return to your credit history.
If you remove something from my credit report is it gone forever?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act states that an item that is removed from your credit history due to being deemed “unverifiable” can be replaced in your history if it is verified later. This is a very rare issue to have, but because of the way the law is worded, no credit repair company can promise that every item removed is gone forever.
How should balances be treated?
Instruct clients to reduce balances on revolving credit to under 30% for good credit, and under 10% for the best credit.
Paying cards to zero does not cause damage to your score but it does not allow you to get the point value that someone with a small balance would.
Maxing out credit cards will hurt your credit.
Installment loans should be paid per their agreement. Make the required payment on time every month until the loan is paid off. The closer you get to paying off the account, your credit will consider this favorable; however once you close it, your credit may be impacted by this action.