Tier One Credit
Is This Your Business?Author: Kaitlyn Short
Tier One Credit is an attorney-backed credit repair service that helps consumers utilize a legal process to have negative and erroneous information removed from various credit reports. Consumer rights laws protect consumers in the event that mistakes show up on credit reports; however, most consumers do not know how to navigate the process in order to have these negative items removed.
Negative items on a credit report drastically decrease credit scores, making it difficult or even impossible to qualify for particular loans. Additionally, erroneous negative items can make loans that a consumer qualifies for infinitely more expensive because the consumer appears to be more of a risk.
By removing these negative and false items on credit reports, credit scores will increase opening doors for loans and saving consumers thousands of dollars throughout the duration of the loan with a more favorable interest rate.
While Tier One Credit helps consumers improve their credit scores, the company also pairs consumers with a variety of mortgage and other financial operations to ensure a positive relationship and experience moving forward. Tier One Credit has offered its services since 2004 and has serviced thousands of consumers in that time.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Legal Backing
- Streamlined Process
- Free Credit Review
Legal Backing
While some credit repair agencies employ in-house legal representation to work on client cases, not all credit repair agencies have an attorney on staff. Even the credit repair companies that do have an attorney helping clients fight negative items on credit reports, not many rely on the legal expertise of these professionals to attack the consumer deletion process.
This is where Tier One Credit differentiates itself from the rest of the industry. The company utilizes its legal expertise and knowledge to remove negative items on client credit reports while simultaneously improving credit scores. The legal backing allows Tier One Credit to use the legal process instead of the traditional consumer dispute program.
Streamlined Process
Traditional credit repair companies utilize a “challenging” process where they submit credit repair challenges on behalf of their clients to the credit bureaus. If it is determined that a negative item is erroneous in this dispute process, it is then removed. Some credit repair companies will charge per dispute or deletion while other charge per item removal.
Tier One Credit found a different approach to having items deleted which could potentially be more affordable and inexpensive in some cases. The proprietary legal process Tier One Credit uses allows a consumer credit lawyer to sue and fight the bureaus and debt collectors on behalf of their clients. Using a legal process is different from the process most credit repair agencies utilize but Tier One Credit has figured out how to streamline it and make it work for consumers.
Free Credit Review
Determining what work, if any, can be done on behalf of a consumer is oftentimes a charged service. Credit repair companies will charge a consultation or upfront fee just to dive into a case and determine what work can be done. This can be particularly strenuous for clients that are already struggling financially.
Instead of charging an upfront fee or forcing consumers to pay an hourly rate to dive into a credit repair case, Tier One Credit offers prospective clients the opportunity to utilize its free credit review service. This service will allow prospective clients to see what work can be done on their behalf and if the Tier One Credit team has legal grounds to move forward. This is a no-risk and complimentary service even though most credit repair companies will charge for this same work.
The Bad
- Undisclosed Payment Agreement/Structure
- Unknown Service Area
- Program Timeliness
Undisclosed Payment Agreement/Structure
A major concern for most prospective clients looking into credit repair is how much the service is going to cost. After all, those seeking out credit repair are oftentimes trying to save money on a desired loan or are currently unable to qualify for a particular loan. Paying hundreds or thousands of dollars on credit repair may be too steep of an upfront price for a number of prospective clients.
As a result, most credit repair agencies do disclose the cost for its services or program. These details are important to prospective clients so providing details regarding upfront or setup costs, monthly payments, or pricing per deletion is vital information.
Unfortunately for those interested in the Tier One Credit service, it is unclear exactly how the company charges for its services. There is a legal process the company utilizes so it is possible the company takes a piece of what is won in the legal realm, but the reality is that information is undisclosed. That makes it impossible to determine the affordability of the Tier One Credit service as a whole.
Unknown Service Area
Credit repair is legal in all U.S. states, however each state can have varying laws that require particular licenses in order to provide credit repair services. Some states are more strict about exactly who can charge for credit repair, so a number of the “national” credit repair providers do not offer services in those states.
While there are providers that offer credit repair in all states, few do. Most credit repair agencies offer services in a specific geographical area. These service areas are then generally publicly disclosed so prospective consumers can determine whether or not they qualify for a particular provider. Again, Tier One Credit has failed to publicly disclose this common information making it difficult to determine who can utilize the company for its services based on location.
Program Timeliness
Another common concern among prospective credit repair clients is how long the entire process is going to take. While there is no way to emphatically state how long the traditional dispute and removal process will take, a number of credit repair companies have offered services long enough that they can provide realistic average deletion times. Promises or guarantees for deletion timeliness should be a red flag, but general timelines are common throughout the industry.
Unfortunately for those interested in Tier One Credit, there is no information regarding the program timeliness or how long a consumer can reasonably expect their case to take. Since Tier One Credit utilizes a more legal process, it is also unclear if that adds time to the entire dispute process as well.
The Bottom Line
Tier One Credit provides consumers with the experience and knowledge needed to strategically repair credit scores and make improvements to reports. The entire Tier One Credit process hinges on the fact that the company employs in-house attorneys that utilize a more legal approach to having credit scores improved.
Rather than challenging the traditional detention way, Tier One Credit provides a streamlined legal process to its clients. Those still on the fence about credit repair or the company in general can utilize the free credit review service and determine the scope of work ahead of time.
Despite offering a quality service to its former clients, there are limitations and unknowns surrounding the Tier One Credit program that may cause a little bit of concern for prospective consumers. The payment structure for work with Tier One Credit is undisclosed and not publicly known which varies from the rest of the industry.
It is also unclear what the geographical service area is for Tier One Credit solutions. Lastly, since Tier One Credit utilizes a legal process to have items removed, it is unclear how long this process takes in comparison to the item challenging structure most credit repair agencies utilize.
Clients that are more concerned with the legality of credit repair and wanting to lean on that system of deletion should consider Tier One Credit. Those looking for a more traditional approach will want to consider a different provider.
