The Credit People Review: Can You Really Improve Your Credit in 60 Days?

The Credit People plans: fees and services

Plan name	Services included	Price (as of July 30, 2024)
Standard Plan	Free credit reports and scores Unlimited challenges Before and after credit scores for all 3 bureaus All 3 credit bureaus included and challenged as needed	$99 per month (first you can try it for $19 for 7 days; if you want to continue, you’ll be billed the $99/month rate)
Premium Monthly Plan	Unlimited challenges Before and after credit scores for all 3 bureaus All 3 credit bureaus included and challenged as needed Monthly updates on all 3 credit reports and scores Creditor interventions Escalated disputes and validation	$119 per month
Premium Flat Rate	Same as premium monthly plan: Unlimited challenges Before and after credit scores for all 3 bureaus All 3 credit bureaus included and challenged as needed Monthly updates on all 3 credit reports and scores Creditor interventions Escalated disputes and validation	$599 for 6 months of service

An overview of The Credit People

The Credit People is a credit repair company that was founded in 2001 to serve people who have derogatory marks on their credit report, which bring down their credit score. Negative items regarding unsettled debt or other credit issues can haunt you for a long time, making it harder to qualify for car loans, rent an apartment, or get a reasonable interest rate on a credit card.

The Credit People examines your credit report for issues like late payments, charge-offs, foreclosures, and more, then taking steps to get unfair or incorrect items removed. Since its inception, the company has reportedly helped more than 100,000 people improve their credit scores.

You could see results within 60 days, possibly raising your scores by 50 to 100 or more points, though The Credit People doesn’t guarantee a specific amount of improvement. But if you’re planning on taking out any new debt in the near future, it’s crucial to get your credit score as high as you can to have the best chance of approval and low interest rates.

The company reported that 78% of its customers were approved for car loans after using its services, 71% were approved for home loans, 81% were approved for new credit, and 74% were approved for refinancing.

As an example of how credit repair might work for you, just imagine how seemingly small interest rate differences could impact your finances for the next 30 years if you took out a $240,000 mortgage today:

Mortgage interest rate	Total interest over 30 years
6.5%	$306,106
7.0%	$334,821
7.25%	$349,400

These are just hypothetical situations, but you can see how credit improvements, especially on such a major loan, could save you tens of thousands of dollars over time. That’s why it may be really important to improve your credit now. Not only could it give you a better chance at low interest rates, it could make you more likely to qualify for a loan in the first place.¹

What credit repair services does The Credit People offer?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides protections that allow you as an individual to dispute negative items on your credit report that are inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable, or misleading. You can dispute these items directly with reporting agencies. Any items that cannot be verified must be deleted.

I’ve been fortunate not to have ever been a victim of identity theft or fraudulent charges on my credit report, but something like that can be devastating. While you can dispute credit report errors independently, it can be time-consuming and confusing and all too easy to give up.

If your credit is hovering in the “fair” range of 580-669, you could benefit from raising your score, and if you’re even lower in the “poor” range of 350-579, there’s obviously even more room for improvement.

That’s where credit repair companies come into the picture. Instead of filing the disputes yourself (which frankly sounds really intimidating to me), you can hire a professional service like The Credit People to manage the dispute process for you. I believe most people can handle credit repair on their own and the cost is rather steep for The Credit People, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a valid option for some people who have a lot of mistakes to deal with on their credit report.

The Credit People works to remove the following types of items from your credit history:

• Late payments
• Charge-offs
• Foreclosures
• Judgments
• Repossessions
• Closed accounts
• Bankruptcies
• Negative settlements
• Liens
• Collections

You should be aware that The Credit People has had greater success with some items than others. For example, in its FAQ section, the company says late payments are the most common negative item to be removed from credit reports. On the other hand, repossessions and foreclosures are more difficult to remove, and The Credit People advise you not to expect them to be able to remove a bankruptcy since they are public record.

When you sign up for credit repair services with The Credit People, you can choose between two monthly plans and a flat rate membership. They offer transparent pricing and promise no hidden fees. Here are the service levels offered by The Credit People:

• Standard monthly plan: One-time $19 setup fee to try it for 7 days, then $99 per month
• Premium monthly plan: $119 per month (includes more features than the standard monthly plan)
• Flat-rate Premium membership: $599 for six months (same features as Premium monthly plan, but with a discount for paying as a six-month lump sum)

Once you sign up, you’ll receive a welcome email and phone call from The Credit People. You’ll also get access to an online account to track your progress and view your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. In addition, as a customer, you’ll be able to access your credit reports for free anytime.

The Credit People will immediately begin working on improving your credit for you. Its services include:

• Disputing questionable accounts: The Credit People will review your credit reports and dispute any questionable accounts, such as accounts that may not belong to you or fraudulent accounts that someone may have opened under your name.
• Removing late payments: The company will negotiate with your creditors to delete late payments from your credit reports.
• Debt validation: The Credit People will work on debt validation with your creditors to ensure that any outstanding debt listed on your credit report is valid and belongs to you.
• Creditor communications: The Credit People will handle all creditor communications, helping you save time.

What The Credit People could improve

• No identity monitoring or account alerts: The Credit People doesn’t offer account monitoring or account alerts, so you’d have to use another service if you need assistance in protecting yourself from identity theft.
• Complex credit issues may be too difficult: The Credit People is useful for minor credit issues. If you have a history of more complex credit problems, such as foreclosures, repossessions, or bankruptcies, the company may not be as effective. The percentage of successful removals is relatively low in these areas.

In general, The Credit People offers a legitimate service — helping people get their credit report back on track — but they can’t guarantee a particular level of success. The fact is that you have the right to access and dispute information on your credit report yourself, so you could save money by taking time to call creditors and credit reporting bureaus to straighten things out.

When credit repair may be right for you

To decide whether working with The Credit People is a good choice for you, first examine your current credit situation. You can check your credit report for free at AnnualCreditReport.com, seeing what all three credit reporting bureaus include in your credit history.

If you have negative items on your credit report

One of the main reasons to sign up with The Credit People is to remove negative items from your credit report. This includes late payments, charge-offs, repossessions, tax liens, identity theft or fraud issues, and more. Sometimes they stay on your report longer than they should.

I believe I had one late payment to my student loan servicer back in the day, and that could have caused problems down the line with accessing credit. The Credit People can contact the credit bureaus to dispute those charges and issues.

If handling credit disputes on your own sounds overwhelming

You may not feel equipped to call the credit bureaus to dispute credit report errors yourself. It could take a lot of time or feel intimidating, and if you’re prone to procrastination, you could find that credit repair gets shifted to the back burner. In that case, you may be better off spending a little money to engage a company to dispute credit issues on your behalf. (But on the other hand, don’t be afraid to take charge of your finances and challenge negative marks yourself!)

If you need to get a loan or access credit

When my husband and I applied for a loan to fix our home’s foundation (kind of a necessity), we had to make sure our credit reports didn’t have anything to hold us back. And luckily, we were in good shape.

If you’re thinking of taking out a new mortgage or auto loan, you want your credit report to be strong. But if you’ve checked the typical required credit scores with lenders and yours doesn’t measure up, it’s a good time to do damage control.

Getting someone to clean up your credit report, if you really could raise your score by 50 to 100 points as The Credit People claim, could pay off by getting you approved for a new loan (and possibly getting a lower interest rate too).

What customers are saying about The Credit People

The Credit People is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau and is not included in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau database of complaints.

In the few customer reviews left with the BBB by customers, some users complained they didn’t see results after several months with the service or were dissatisfied with company responsiveness to questions and issues. With such a small number of complaints, it’s hard to say for sure what the customer experience is like, and the company did post responses with its explanation of each situation.

It is key to understand what a credit repair company can offer — and what it can’t. The Credit People promises to work with you, but it is promising your general satisfaction, not that your credit score will definitely increase by 50 or 100 points. So these customers' complaints certainly may be valid, but there are likely some who misunderstood what The Credit People’s job is.

The Credit People customer service

The Credit People’s customer support is available by phone at 866-382-3410. You can also email any questions to questions@TheCreditPeople.com. The Credit People doesn't offer online chat services, but customers can manage their accounts on The Credit People's website.

Alternatives to The Credit People

The Credit People is just one among multiple credit repair companies, some of which offer different levels of service or more robust features. Here are a couple of the top contenders:

Credit Saint

Credit Saint’s top tier of service is a bit pricier than The Credit People’s, but it is a highly ranked credit repair company with a 90-day money-back guarantee that at least some negative information from your credit report will be removed. There’s an initial “work fee” with Credit Saint of either $99 or $195 in addition to the monthly payments, which range from $79.99 to $139.99 per month.

You can track your credit score with any of the three tiers Credit Saint offers. The company has an A rating with the Better Business Bureau and is BBB accredited. As a comparison, The Credit People’s BBB rating is a C+, so that metric may be something to consider.

Safeport Law

If you prefer to work with attorneys to dispute credit report inaccuracies, you can use Safeport Law for its Credit Cleanse program. It has one plan that costs $129.99 a month, plus an initial fee of $129.00 to get started. As with The Credit People, the company reviews your credit report, analyzes and tracks your credit score, and makes challenges with all three credit bureaus.

Safeport Law pledges that if your credit report sees no changes in the first 90 days (and you’ve been actively working the program), you’re entitled to a full refund. Plus, the company has an A rating with the BBB (again, beating out The Credit People’s C+ rating).

DIY credit repair

Finally, it’s important to realize that credit repair agencies are providing a service, but most of what they do is handle an unpleasant task so you don’t have to. That’s not to say you might not benefit from using The Credit People or another credit repair service, but that you could also endeavor to fix up your credit report on your own.

Everyone has easy access to their own credit reports: you can check your credit report each week from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. That means you can watch for anything that might be considered a negative mark against you. Then, you can dispute those negative items yourself. It might not be fun, but consider how much time and effort you’d put forth to handle the process yourself versus the cost of paying a third party to assist you.

FAQs about The Credit People

Bottom line

It’s tough to get by in this society without a solid credit score. Working on how to manage your money helps a lot with improving your credit, but sometimes you need help getting rid of negative marks on your credit report. The Credit People can dispute credit issues for you and work directly with your creditors, saving you precious time. It’s slightly more budget-friendly than other credit repair companies out there.

However, other credit repair services may be more robust, offering extra features such as identity protection and credit report alerts. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive service or simply comparing what’s available in the world of credit repair, check out our picks for the best credit repair companies.

Disclaimer: All rates and fees are accurate as of May 11, 2024.