Lexington Law Review
Lexington Law is a credit repair app and service offering affordable access to credit repair at a low monthly cost. It was founded in 2004 by John C. Health as the directing attorney and he continues to serve in that role today.
Lexington Law reached 1 million total signups in 2010, and today it is one of the most widely used online credit repair services with over 500,000 active clients. Through the use of paralegals and attorneys who specialize in credit repair, Lexington Law helps consumers improve and repair credit through a variety of methods.
Three plans are available, starting at $89.95 per month and going up to $129.95 per month depending on the level of service needed. Registering for a monthly membership is required in order to use Lexington Law.
Lexington Law may seem like an enticing option for credit repair. It is lower in cost than hiring a credit repair attorney, but it is more expensive than handling your own credit repair. Like any online legal service, there are pros and cons to consider.
Should you register for Lexington Law for credit repair, use a different service, or handle credit repair on your own?
Should You Use Lexington Law?
Lexington Law may be a good option for those who do not have the time to repair their credit on their own. It’s a good solution for those with the monthly budget and who are okay with a third party working to remove negative items on their credit report. There are some disadvantages to consider that could affect your decision to use LexingtonLaw:
Pros:
- A convenient way to get the credit repair process started
- Long track record of success in removing negative items
- Lower in cost than hiring a credit repair attorney
- Provides a free credit consultation
- Popular and useful smartphone app included
- Credit monitoring included in two plans
- No upfront setup charge
- No long term contracts are required
Cons:
- No money back guarantee if negative items are not removed
- Not available in North Carolina or Oregon
- Subject to consumer complaints in the past
- Fees are on the higher end for online legal services
Lexington Law can be a good option for those who don’t have the time to learn credit repair and with limited time and/or a limited budget. Unlike some competitors, upfront service charges are not required. A popular and easy to use smartphone app is utilized for the service along with a web portal.
The service first targets some of the easiest items to remove from a credit report, using the appropriate challenges and letters. Their team of lawyers and credit repair experts have the experience to know what types of challenges work for certain negative items. The cost is also lower than hiring a credit repair attorney. A free credit consultation is included but it is limited to just a basic review.
However, a major downside is that credit improvements are not guaranteed. In addition their service is not available in North Carolina or Oregon. It’s also priced a little higher than some of its competitors. Lexington Law has also been the subject of a few notable consumer and legal complaints in the past, including 7 entries in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint database.
How Does Lexington Law Work?
When starting the process at Lexington Law, typically you will typically register for a consultation in which you’re provided a free credit score, credit report summary and some repair recommendations.
Or you can choose to skip the consultation and go right to the membership signup. It takes just a few minutes to sign up for a membership and get the process started.
After you register for a membership, you supply your information and Lexington Law begins a four step process to repair your credit:
- Lexington Law creates a Credit Report Analysis after obtaining your reports. The first set of questionable negative items is then targeted for removal.
- Lexington Law sends correspondence to the credit reporting bureaus to challenge any inaccurate negative items on your report.
- Negative items that require additional correspondence are then worked on with an ongoing process.
- Your credit report is monitored 24/7 on an ongoing basis through the portal and app.
The app is highly rated, available for both Android and Apple devices and perhaps one of the top reasons to utilize the service. Those who are inclined to keep track of their credit repair process and their credit report via a mobile app might prefer Lexington Law for that reason alone. The app provides credit monitoring at the Concord Premier and Premier Plus levels, but not at the lowest Concord Standard level.
LexingtonLaw mentions that the process takes an average of 6 months based on average client usage of their service. They also mention that there is no way to predict how long it will take for their clients to achieve the results they are wanting - for some it may take less time and for others it may take longer than 6 months.
Can You Speak to a Real Attorney at Lexington Law?
You do not speak to an attorney directly at Lexington Law - attorney consultations and services are not included with the memberships. Instead, their attorneys are involved with guiding the strategy behind Lexington Law’s credit repair process. The company has responsive customer support professionals who are available to answer any quest
What Does Lexington Law Cost?
Lexington Law offers three different levels of service
The Concord Standard level is the lowest level of membership at $89.95 per month and includes only the Bureau challenges and Creditor Interventions. The Concord Premier level at $109.95 provides a few additional services including alerts on credit updates, a ReportWatch for credit monitoring, InquiryAssist, and credit score analysis.
Credit interventions are types of letters sent to lenders or collection agencies in order to settle for item removal or otherwise eliminate negative items.
Examples include debt validation letters or good will letters - debt validation letters require the creditor to prove the validity of the debt that is being reported on your credit report and sometimes a simple validation letter can result in an item removal.
With the InquiryAssist option at the Concord Premier level, hard inquiries are disputed and a credit score analysis is provided.
Finally the highest level of service, PremierPlus at $129.95 includes everything mentioned above and cease and desist letters, a FICO score tracker, personal finance tools and identity protection as added services.
At the lowest Concord Standard level, the basic credit repair services are included and may be sufficient for many users - those who also want credit monitoring and add-on services such as cease and desist letters for stopping collection calls may want a higher level.
It should be noted that cease and desist letters may also stop collection calls but force creditors to pursue a lawsuit if they run out of ways to contact the debt holder.
Competitors
Lexington Law has numerous competitors in the online credit repair space, providing potential customers with several options to consider.
Other options include TheCreditPros with a $119 setup fee and $69 to $149 per month for various packages, The Credit People with a $19 setup fee and a $79 or $419 six month flat rate, Credit Saint with a setup fee of $99 to $195 and a monthly fee between $79 and $119 and many others.
Every service is substantially different with the included features at each level - for example Credit Saint limits the disputes to up to 5 per month at their basic plan while providing unlimited disputes at their highest plan.
Sky Blue is a flexible subscription between $79 and $119 per month and offers a 90 day money back guarantee and refunds if no negative items are removed. It also allows members to pause their subscription and resume when needed.
Some of these competitors are priced a little lower than Lexington Law but may be preferred due to their more flexible refund guarantees, different membership options or a relative lack of a negative consumer complaint history.
Recommendations
With such a variety of credit repair service options to choose from, Lexington Law can be a good fit for some, but it’s recommended to explore all the options out there, look at the services included with each membership level, and then make a decision on what is right for you.
Lexington Law has the advantages of numerous success stories in helping people remove negative items from their credit but does not offer any kind of refund guarantee or money back guarantee.
It also has a well designed app that many users enjoy, and it does not have any setup charges, although its monthly fee is slightly higher than some competitors.
It provides a useful range of services on all of its subscription levels and can be a good option for someone looking to initiate their credit repair process with minimal effort and then track it on their mobile device.
