How to choose a credit repair company (green flags vs. red flags)
Most of what goes wrong with credit repair is decided before you sign. Here are the eight dimensions that actually predict whether a company is honest — with GuidedScore's answer on each, so you can hold us to the same standard.
| What to look for | Red flag | GuidedScore | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When they charge | Only after work is delivered | Up-front or monthly-in-advance fees | Never — the service is free, no card on file |
| Guarantees | Honest about what's possible | "Guaranteed" score jumps or removals | No guarantees — we say so plainly |
| Who mails the disputes | Your letters go out in your own name | Bulk mail sent under the company's cover | We write every letter; you print, sign, and mail it yourself |
| Your logins | Never asks for bureau/bank passwords | Wants your monitoring or bank login | We never ask for any login |
| Transparency | Shows you every letter and result | Goes dark for weeks between updates | Every letter and response in your portal — and your analyst calls you |
| Licensing & bond | Licensed and bonded in your state | Can't or won't say | CSO license + surety bond in our launch state — in process |
| The waiting period | Waits out your cancellation window | "Starts working" the day you sign | We don't touch your file until it passes |
| Your rights | Gives them to you in writing first | Buries or skips them | Published on this site before you start |
When they charge
- What to look for
- Only after work is delivered
- Red flag
- Up-front or monthly-in-advance fees
- GuidedScore
- Never — the service is free, no card on file
Guarantees
- What to look for
- Honest about what's possible
- Red flag
- "Guaranteed" score jumps or removals
- GuidedScore
- No guarantees — we say so plainly
Who mails the disputes
- What to look for
- Your letters go out in your own name
- Red flag
- Bulk mail sent under the company's cover
- GuidedScore
- We write every letter; you print, sign, and mail it yourself
Your logins
- What to look for
- Never asks for bureau/bank passwords
- Red flag
- Wants your monitoring or bank login
- GuidedScore
- We never ask for any login
Transparency
- What to look for
- Shows you every letter and result
- Red flag
- Goes dark for weeks between updates
- GuidedScore
- Every letter and response in your portal — and your analyst calls you
Licensing & bond
- What to look for
- Licensed and bonded in your state
- Red flag
- Can't or won't say
- GuidedScore
- CSO license + surety bond in our launch state — in process
The waiting period
- What to look for
- Waits out your cancellation window
- Red flag
- "Starts working" the day you sign
- GuidedScore
- We don't touch your file until it passes
Your rights
- What to look for
- Gives them to you in writing first
- Red flag
- Buries or skips them
- GuidedScore
- Published on this site before you start
Why the licensing row isn't marked "good" yet
Our state CSO license and surety bond are in process, not yet issued — so we won't display a checkmark we haven't earned. When the license number is live, this page and our footer will show it. A company that claims a license it can't produce is itself a red flag.
The one that matters most: when they charge
Federal law (the Credit Repair Organizations Act) says a credit-repair company can't charge you before it performs the services it promised. That single rule filters out a huge share of bad actors, because the whole business model of a mill is collecting fees up front. If a company wants your money before it has delivered anything, that's not a preference difference — it's a legal problem. Our answer: we don't charge at all — the service is free, with no card on file. See what credit repair can and can't do for the full set of CROA rules.
Why your disputes should go out in your own name
Federal law gives you — the consumer — the right to dispute your own report, and the bureaus have to investigate a dispute that comes from you. Mass-produced mail from credit-repair companies is a pattern bureaus have learned to recognize and can treat very differently from a letter a real person signed and sent. So ask any company: who actually puts the dispute in the mail? Our answer is deliberate — your analyst writes every letter and loads it in your portal ready to print, and you sign and mail it yourself, from your own mailbox, in your own name. Then we track the deadlines, read what comes back, and call you with the next move. The dispute stays yours; the expertise is what you're paying for.
Why we don't want your passwords
Many services ask for your credit-monitoring or even bank login so they can work inside your accounts. It's convenient, and it means your most sensitive credentials are sitting in someone else's system. We never ask for a login of any kind — your reports reach us with your written permission, never with your passwords. And remember your reports themselves are free by federal law, from the official free site — a company that charges you to "access" them is charging for something you already own.
Use this as a checklist
You don't have to take our word on any of this. Ask any company you're considering — including us — these eight questions, in writing. The honest ones will answer plainly. And remember you can always do the work yourself for free; hiring help should be a choice about time and expertise, never about access someone claims you don't have.
The bottom line
An honest credit-repair company charges only after it delivers, promises nothing it can't legally do, keeps your disputes in your name, never asks for your logins, shows its work, respects your cancellation window, and hands you your rights up front. Hold every company — us included — to all eight.