I decided to use them. Now the CRA writes as if they know I'm using a "credit repair agency." How will this impact the results. Will it be harder for Lexington to due their job?
This comes from a Lexington Law Vetran. It costs enormous amounts of money and they do very little. Your thirty five dollars a month means they dispute just 4 times a year. I signed up for Lexington and they disputed all my good accounts (got my cc deleted) but they had no success with my bad accounts. I was able to do everything myself. (last deletion will be on the 16th). (this was student loan lates as well.) Be aware that when you do cancel them you must confirm it and then call your bank ASAP to stop the draft (they tried to skim another $70 dollars off me that way). I would try and fix my credit myself especially after you got that letter (which means Lexington's top secret methods and strategies are ones they've heard before). I don't think it'll make it harder to dispute but I do think you should take over the process. You can dispute and request validation from the creditors. Lexington will not.
Couldnt agree with you more. I started getting into credit repair about 3 months ago, and it is very time consuming and I didnt know if I had the time or patience to carry it out. I signed up with Lexington to take the easy way out and then talked myself out of it. With a lot of reading and studying I managed to get a total of 5 baddies off of my report in about 3 months time! My scores were in the high 400's when I started and now are in the mid 600's. You can do it. And believe me you will appreciate your good credit a lot more.
I used Lexington for a while, and I don't really have anything bad to say about them. Trust me though, they don't do anything you can't do yourself. While I was using them the post office returned one of the letters they send to the CRAs to my home. We all got a chuckle out of it here on the board. Search for the phrase "SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES" here on the board (yeah, they actually said that to a CRA, and yes, it was all in CAPS) and you'll see the humor. The average fourth grade student could have written a letter that made more sense. So, if you decide to stay with them that's fine. Do mark out all of the positive stuff on your reports though before you send them in. They have a habit of getting sloppy with disputes and disputing positive stuff.
I believe you could possibly sue Lexington under the Credit Repair Organizations Act. A credit repair company cannot charge you any money until they do as promised. They must give you a detailed contract and a notice under Federal Law which states you could do the same thing yourself for nothing. They must also give you a written notice that you have 3 days to cancel. This is called a "Cooling off" period. I am aware of these laws since I myself run a part time business repairing credit & resolving consumer disputes in my state. I follow the laws to a "T". If they did not adhere to these laws per the FTC or even your state's laws, you can get all of your money back and then some. These laws are not only civil but criminal as well. the law can be found by clicking on this link.... http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/croa/croa.htm I despise companies like these that are basically out to rip people off. That is why I do my work for free unless I get results for my clients. Since I don't want to work for free, I am very good at getting results! Tac
Lexington is a sham Lexington law firm, and any other for that matter, cnnot do anything more than you can do for yourself! Stop watsing your time and your money.
Lexington is in Full Compliance Tac's response to Lexington is a pretty common response from a competitor. Lexington is the 1200 pound gorilla in the marketplace and they are a big target for anyone wanting poke them with a stick (though I would be careful making sweeping, inaccurate, statements about Lexington. It's not always hazard-free to recklessly poke a gorilla.) Many lawyers, including corporate, FTC and state regulator lawyers, have gone through Lexington's processes and procedures with a fine-toothed comb and concluded that Lexington IS in full compliance with regulation and law. If Tac feels that they are out of compliance, then he is in an unimpressive minority. Lexington DOES NOT charge anything in advance of providing services. Lexington follows all regs regarding cancellation periods, contracts, disclaimers, etc.. It's no accident that Lexington has been doing credit repair successfullly for ten years and that Lexington is a member of the Better Business Bureau. These accomplishments were earned on the back of strict compliance with the law and by providing outstanding client support. I have been a consultant with them for almost that whole ten years and I've set in on many of those meetings where the attorneys pour over regulatory compliance. More importantly, I've set in the dozens and dozens of meetings where the Lexington staff puts their heart and soul into any and all ways to make their clients fantastically satisfied. They really do care and I have a hard time hearing uninformed pundits disparage these people as "a company who's out to rip people off." Nothing could be further from the truth. If you have an issue with the Lexington service, you need only call them to get it resolved (they will bend over backwards to make sure you are happy.) 800-341-8441 I can't disagree with the do-it-yourselfers chiming in on this thread: if you're willing to make it a hobby, credit repair is sometimes better done yourself. If you're willing to take the time to get educated and to follow through, you CAN repair your own credit. Folks like Lexington are there for those who have better hobbies than dancing with the bureaus.
Lexington is in Full Compliance By the way, all the three credit bureaus globally send the "we think you're using credit repair" mass-mail letter after they get two or more disputes (to everyone.) It's their way of trying to flush out credit repair clients. Just send the letter to Lexington - they'll know what to do. That letter amounts to a simple stall and Lexington will dispute again (which usually gets the ball rolling.) If you read back across this board, you'll see many do-it-yourself credit repair practicioners complaining that they received the same letter. Hey, look at the bright side: if credit repair didn't work, the bureaus wouldn't be complaining about it. Best of luck!
I don't really do anything more then what anyone else does. I guess I just have a talent for getting what I want accomplished. All of my clients now are by word of mouth, I do not advertise and alot of my clients come from local mortgage companies with people having bad credit wanting to get into a home. I am fully licensed and comply will all state and federal laws. I charge per tradeline and only when I get results, ie: negative tradeline to positive, or deletion of neg. tradeline. I will only do credit work with people that I can actually meet and sit down and go over their reports with. As per Federal law I explain to them that they don't need me if they really feel they can do this on their own. I tell them everything I am doing they can do on their own. I explain to them I use federal and state laws to erase or delete inaccurate information. I tell them my results are much better because I do not spam the bureaus, my deletions are not likely to ever re-appear back on their credit report, unlike alot of credit repair companies. I tell them I deal with the whole picture and not just the CRA. My fees depend alot on what has to be done and how much there is. Again, I charge when I get a result....when the results come back from the CRA or a UDF or letter is sent from an OC or CA I then demand payment for that work performed. If no payment, I then do not continue further until paid. This way I do not get complete results and give a client a clean credit report only to screwed in the end. If and when I feel it is time for my client to sue a CA,CRA or OC I can advise them on what steps need to be taken to file a successful small claims suit. I go over everything with them and provide them with a very thorough case file for them to prove their case. I am not an attorney therefore I cannot represent them in court. I will then help with collection on the judgement and settlement negotiations. I collect a percentage of any successful suit. I also help with consumer disputes with companies, etc... My background is not unlike some of the people on this board, I had terrible credit and wanted to change that. I went with a local credit guru and paid him to work on my credit reports. I got to thinking...what does this guy know that I don't know?? Why can't I do this myself? He was getting lousy results and some positive tradelines deleted. I told him I didn't need his service any longer and wanted my money back. That when he said basically...Screw you, there are no refunds. I contacted my attorney who made one phone call to him and said if a check was not received in her office by the end of the week, we would pursue criminal charges against him. Got the check later that week! He did not follow any laws whatsoever. It was quite easy to get my money back then. I follow all laws with my credit repair business. I am currently a Police Officer and about 10 years ago I worked for a law firm as a para legal. I've gotten excellent results with my and my wife's credit reports. I have also helped clean reports for family members. I have filed suit against many companies within the past 2 years. I have sued in excess of 30 times. I have made quite a profitable income filing legit lawsuits. I am about to make another couple grand this week off of Cross Country Bank who contacted me yesterday to settle my suit. In closing almost everything I am doing can be learned right here and by researching the web. I also learned as much as I could about state and federal laws and civil procedures. I have spent hundreds of dollars on law books and go to law seminars when I can. I would advise anyone in the same postion as me to do what I've done. Tac
Lexington is in Full Compliance I have experience from using Lexington and honestly I did more than they did for my credit in one month than they did in almost ten months. Do you people really like that 1200 pound gorilla analogy? Lexington did not cancel my account when they were supposed to twice. They were notified in mail, by phone and e-mail. I was asked to send additional information and then got e-mails saying I sent unnecessay information and to only send credit reports. They then managed to dispute and delete some of my good accounts. The 1200 lb gorilla thing is accurate I must admit- they approached my credit repair like a 1200lb angry gorilla in a china shop.
Jayson, How can lexington charge a monthly fee when federal law clearly states you cannot charge up front fees? Sounds like illegal to me?? SEC. 2451. REGULATION OF CREDIT REPAIR ORGANIZATIONS C. 404. PROHIBITED PRACTICES (a) In General.--No person may-- (b) Payment in Advance.--No credit repair organization may charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration for the performance of any service which the credit repair organization has agreed to perform for any consumer before such service is fully performed. Nothing in my post stated Lexington was doing anything illegal, I stated what the laws are and if Lexington was doing anything illegal they could possibly be sued by consumers. If your getting results and are happy with Lexington then by all means continue to use them. My research on Lexington would contradict anything good coming from using them. Please advise. Tac PS...I've fought many Gorillas and won.
Because they charge for LAST MONTH'S WORK, Mr. Lexington Competitor. They don't charge for the next month's work. They send an itemized listing of what they did the previous month along with the $35 invoice. They do bill a $75 setup fee after setting up the account at the beginning, and they send an itemized list of what was done with that invoice after the fact as well. As a former Lexington client, I can at least vouch that I never was presented a bill for anything that they promised to do in the future. As I've said elsewhere I used Lexington for a few months in 2001 when I first began my credit repair journey, and they did succeed in removing a few negatives. I shortly discovered that I could do a more targeted and expeditious job doing it myself, so I recommend that consumers consider learning to do it themselves. I do agree with Jayson that if you're going to do it yourself, though, you will need to devote yourself to the job and be good with follow-through, etc., or else the job won't get done. Doc P.S. This thread is starting to sound like a "let's bash Lexington so I can promote my own credit repair service" advertisement. I hope that's not what's going on here.
I am not trying to "promote" my business or try and be a "Lexington Competitor". In fact I won't even offer to do work for anyone on this board or the web. I have enough work now as it is and I meet everyone I work with any how. If a person is happy with Lexington....Doc, Jayson & other happy and satisfied Lexington Customers , then by all means continue to pay them your hard earned money and use their service to get results. I just have another question, does Lexington make available to you copies of any letters they send on your behalf. I mean when a person or company is represnting themself as you, I would want to know what is being said or written on my behalf. Woudln't you? I supply any letter I've written on behalf of a person I'm working for just for the asking. Tac
I'm surprised to see doc giving tac a hard time.. I didn't get the impresison tac was knocking Lex in order to plug his business. He was quite up front that he only works with local clients, and i got the impression that the only reason he brought it up was to add some credibility to what he was saying. Have I used Lex? no. but I was going to a few years ago before I came to my senses. When I asked them questions in regards to dealing with CA's and OC's, they said "NOPE" - they only send CRA disputes. Anyone can do that, it takes no special wording or knowledge. But everyone here knows that CRA disputes are only one tool out of many, and it's the most basic and simple one at that. I did mine on my own and a friend used lex. I had better success in just a few months then he did in 1.5 years! What's a "LEX consultant"?? My take on this company was some lawyer just sub'ed out credit repair to a bunch of normal joes, and now I'm even more sure that the law firm affiliation is merely a marketing gimick. Seems like if you pay Lex, in the end they're just farming the work out to someone like Jayson (just a suspicion)... I'd work with guys like tac or bill (yes I know, you don't do credit repair) before I ever considered speaking to Lex.
Jason, I'm not giving anybody "a hard time." I'm speaking my mind. I think tac was just sloppy in his comments. By accusing Lexington of accepting payment up front and violating Federal law without apparently any knowledge whatsoever of how they do business, he was just way out of line. I'm surprised you're not commenting about that kind of slander (which, incidentally, is against the law). Doc
