What Is a Credit Lawyer, and Do I Need One?
Is your bad credit preventing you from getting a credit card, buying a home, or renting an apartment? Are you paying higher-than-average interest rates because of your poor credit score? If so, a credit lawyer may be able to help.
Credit lawyers help with credit repair solutions. Some consumers choose to handle the credit repair process on their own. However, there are times when working with a credit attorney just makes sense.
This article explains what credit lawyers do and how they can help repair your credit.
What Is Credit Repair?
Credit repair is the process of identifying and removing incorrect information from your credit report. While you can work to repair your credit with any of the consumer reporting bureaus, most consumers focus on the three main agencies: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
Repairing your credit often requires more than responsible credit management—you also may need to have inaccurate negative items removed from your credit report, such as missed payments, debt collections, repossessions and more.
You can handle the credit repair process yourself. However, depending on your specific situation and credit issues, DIY credit repair may become quite complex and time-consuming.
For this reason, many people turn to a lawyer who has experience helping people repair their credit.
What Is a Credit Lawyer?
A credit lawyer—also called a credit repair lawyer—is an attorney who’s qualified to help you repair your credit and fight debt collectors. This type of attorney can handle the credit repair process by contacting the credit reporting agencies on your behalf.
In addition to helping you remove errors from your credit report, a credit lawyer may also be able to help you address accurate negative items from your account. For instance, a credit lawyer may be able to help negotiate a deal for outstanding debt to close out the account and get it removed from your credit report. However, there are no guarantees that this method will work for any one situation specifically.
How Does Partnering With a Credit Lawyer Work?
The first step in working with a credit repair attorney is to find the right lawyer. Be sure to compare your options and find a lawyer with experience handling the types of credit issues you have.
Be sure to check the status of the lawyer’s license through the American Bar Association. It’s also recommended to check the lawyer’s status with the Better Business Bureau to ensure there are no ongoing matters. If you’re in a low-income group, you may be eligible for free legal help.
Once you’ve selected a credit attorney, there are several things your lawyer can do to help repair or rebuild your credit.
Identify Errors on Your Credit Report
Your attorney will meet with you to discuss your credit history. They’ll help you examine your credit report to identify potential errors. For instance, there may be an account you already paid in full that’s still showing a balance.
Dispute Mistakes on Your Credit Report
If you find any errors on your credit report, your lawyer can help you take care of these issues.
Your attorney will send all applicable credit agencies dispute letters along with supporting documentation, if necessary. They’ll also handle any follow-up communications until the information on your account is accurate.
Send a Goodwill Letter
Depending on your situation, a credit attorney may be able to send a goodwill letter to the creditors or credit bureaus on your behalf. In the letter, your attorney can request certain negative items be removed from your account.
For example, say you lost your job a year ago. Due to the loss of income, you had trouble paying your bills, such as your car loan or electric bill. To make ends meet, you started maxing out your credit cards. This caused your finances to spiral out of control, and you were unable to keep up with your credit card payments.
Despite having a job now and starting to make payments again, you can’t get the negative items removed from your account. Your lawyer can submit a goodwill letter to your creditor or the credit agencies explaining your situation. In some cases, the credit reporting agency will take these circumstances into account and remove the negative items.
Negotiate Debt Settlements
With your permission, your attorney can also speak to lenders on your behalf. They can negotiate a collection account settlement that may be lower than your current balance due.
Most lenders’ top priority is getting a debt paid. To make this happen, they may be willing to remove a portion, or all, of the interest payments. Your attorney can work directly with any lender you still have an outstanding balance with to negotiate a final deal.
If you have late or missed payments associated with these accounts, your attorney may not be able to have these removed from your credit history. However, paying off an outstanding balance can help improve your credit over time.
Provide Credit Repair Advice
Another important benefit a credit attorney can provide is advice on how to repair your credit. Credit lawyers are experienced in the credit repair world. After reviewing your credit history, your attorney can provide tips and advice for taking steps to improve your credit health.
Credit Lawyers vs. Credit Repair Companies
Both credit lawyers and credit repair companies help their clients take steps to repair their credit. Lawyers tend to work alone or in a law firm with several other lawyers. Typically, you can expect to receive more personalized service when working with a credit attorney.
Credit repair companies, on the other hand, tend to be larger companies that solely focus on credit repair issues. While these companies often work with many clients at the same time, it’s likely you’ll only work with one representative. These companies have immense experience helping clients repair their credit.
Both credit lawyers and credit repair companies charge a fee for their services. However, getting help to repair your credit may be well worth the extra costs.
You don’t have to settle for bad credit. Instead, you can take steps to improve your credit today. Whether you conduct DIY credit repair or work with a credit repair attorney, now is the time to take action—you can start by getting a Free Credit Report Card from Credit.com to learn the status of your credit.