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If you’re searching for a company to help you with credit repair, Credit Saint is usually one of the first you’ll encounter. They’re one of the most well-known and well-established credit repair organizations in the US. But will this company actually be able to fix your credit, and how do their services stack up against the competition?
Quick review
Credit Saint (also known as Credit Saint, LLC or Credit Saint Credit Restoration) is a popular credit repair and credit monitoring company. Although they’re based in Oakland, New Jersey, they offer their services to residents of most states in the US.
Overall, we’re fans of how Credit Saint operates. Credit Saint arguably has the best reputation of all the major credit repair companies, and they operate more ethically than many of their competitors. However, they are on the pricy side, and, as with all credit repair companies, it’s possible that their efforts to fix your credit won’t actually be successful.
This isn’t their fault—it’s just the nature of the credit repair industry. But if you hire them, you should do so in the knowledge that there are no guarantees in credit repair.
Is Credit Saint legitimate or a scam?
Credit Saint is a legitimate company, not a scam. Credit Saint is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with an A rating. They have a fairly high customer rating of 3.68/5 as of September, 2022, and relatively few customer complaints compared to their peers in the credit repair industry. 1
On Credit Saint’s FAQ page, they’re upfront that, while they can help you repair your credit, you don’t need to hire them—it’s possible to repair your credit entirely by yourself. Not all credit repair companies are open about this, and it’s a fairly strong signal that Credit Saint will deal with you in good faith.
How Credit Saint works
Credit Saint works the same way that all credit repair companies do—they’ll review your credit reports, contact the credit bureaus that produce them, and dispute derogatory marks that are dragging your credit score down.
When you hire Credit Saint, you’ll follow this process:
- Arrange a free consultation: You can sign up for a consultation on their website. During your consultation, a Credit Saint representative will review your credit history, ask you questions about your goals, and describe the types of services they can offer you and what results you can expect.
- Sign up for a credit repair plan: Next, compare the different credit repair packages the company offers and choose the best fit.
- Challenge negative items on your credit report: During your first 45 days of enrollment, a credit repair professional will “challenge” the credit bureaus over negative items on your credit report to get them removed.
- Track your progress: At regular intervals, you’ll get new copies of your credit reports where you’ll be able to see the results of the program. You can monitor your progress by logging in to Credit Saint’s online portal.
- Repeat until satisfied: Credit Saint will then submit new “challenges” to fight the negative marks in your credit history until your credit report is clean or you cancel your subscription.
What services does Credit Saint offer and how much do they cost?
Credit Saint will try to remove negative marks from your credit report while keeping you updated on their progress and providing you with updated credit reports every 45 days.
They offer monthly subscription plans (rather than using a pay-per-delete pricing model), and the exact amount you’ll pay to have your credit repaired depends on the extent of services you require.
You have a choice between three different credit repair packages: 2
Credit Saint Pricing Options
| Package | Credit Polish | Credit Remodel | Clean Slate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $79.99/month + $99.99 setup fee | $99.99/month + $99.99 setup fee | $119.99/month + $195.99 setup fee |
| Intended for | Mildly damaged credit | Moderately damaged credit | Severely damaged credit |
| Services included | - Limited challenges to the 3 credit bureaus - Credit score analysis - Score tracker - Creditor interventions | - Limited challenges to the 3 credit bureaus - Credit score analysis - Score tracker - Creditor interventions - Hard inquiry disputes | - Unlimited challenges to the 3 credit bureaus - Credit score analysis - Score tracker - Creditor interventions - Hard inquiry disputes |
Breaking down Credit Saint’s services
The language that credit repair companies use to describe their services can sometimes be a bit opaque, and Credit Saint is no exception. This lack of transparency is a small black mark against them; there’s no good reason for them not to outline their services on a publicly accessible page on their website.
Here’s what you’re actually getting when you hire Credit Saint: 3
Challenges to the credit bureaus
Credit Saint will dispute items on your credit report with the credit bureaus. Unlike some companies, which take a scattershot approach, they’ll “customize” their disputes and focus on items that they think they’ll actually be able to get removed (i.e., that may be erroneous).
Credit Saint notes that in their two cheaper service tiers, the number of disputes they’ll send is “limited.” They don’t explain what that means, but customer reviews indicate that with their lowest tier, they’ll send up to 5 challenges per 45-day “dispute cycle”; with their middle tier, they’ll send 10, and with their most expensive, they’ll send an unlimited number (determined by how many negative items you have).
Credit score tracker and score analysis
Credit Saint provides an online portal with a dashboard that you can use to track the improvement (or lack thereof) in your credit score, and credit monitoring services with Credit Squad.
One of Credit Saint’s consultants will also break down the factors affecting your credit and outline steps you may be able to take on your own to fix your score.
One customer review claims that Credit Saint cautioned them away from buying tradelines to bolster their credit history and recommended that they look into secured credit cards instead, which is good advice. If you’re interested in taking steps to fix your credit on your own, Credit Saint’s expertise might be a significant help.
Hard inquiry disputes
With their more expensive service tiers, Credit Saint will dispute questionable hard inquiries on your credit report in addition to more conventional negative marks (such as late payments). Hard inquiries take several points off your credit score, so this is a plus, although it’s unlikely that getting a few inquiries removed will make a truly significant difference.
Creditor interventions
Credit Saint doesn’t file disputes with creditors (just with the credit bureaus). However, they will negotiate with your creditors in an attempt to get them to voluntarily stop reporting negative items (essentially sending goodwill deletion letters on your behalf).
What negative items can Credit Saint remove from your credit report?
Like most other credit repair companies, Credit Saint will be able to remove any information that shouldn’t be on your credit report, e.g., genuine errors where a creditor misreported a debt or the credit bureaus confused you with someone else.
They may also be able to negotiate with your creditors to delete or modify other items. However, note that there’s no guarantee of success (that’s always the case when trying to delete legitimate negative marks).
Credit Saint claims to be able to remove the following items from consumer credit reports:
- Late payments
- Collections
- Charge-offs
- Hard inquiries
- Repossessions
- Foreclosures
- Judgments
- Bankruptcies
Other price considerations
When evaluating the cost of credit repair and comparing quotes from different companies, don’t forget to look beyond the number on the price tag.
The actual amount you’ll end up paying Credit Saint depends on how long it takes them to get negative items erased from your credit report. This depends on several factors:
- Number of items you want removed
- Types of negative marks on your credit report
- Amount of time the derogatory marks have been on your credit report
- Severity of the damage to your credit
There’s no way to exactly predict how long credit repair will take (or if it will be successful at all), but you should be prepared for it to take at least several months. Budget accordingly.
What we like about Credit Saint
Credit Saint has several strengths:
Solid reputation
The company’s long track record of 15+ years and solid reputation makes them a safe choice for anyone who’s new to credit repair or just wants to know they’re in capable hands. Some credit repair companies behave unethically, which isn’t likely with Credit Saint.
Flexible payment options
Credit Saint’s selection of three different payment plans makes their services affordable to a broader range of customers and helps you avoid paying for services you don’t need. That said, even their cheapest service is still fairly pricey compared to some of their competitors.
Money-back guarantee
Not many credit repair companies are so confident that they’ll offer a full refund if they can’t remove any negative items from your credit history.
That said, this guarantee only applies within the first 90 days, and credit repair can (and often does) take longer than that. If you don’t meet with quick results, decide to continue subscribing past that point, and then want to claim the refund later, you won’t be able to.
Where Credit Saint falls short
Despite Credit Saint’s merits, the company has a few shortcomings worth mentioning.
High setup fees
Credit Saint’s “initial work fees” (or setup fees) range from $99–$195, which is pretty steep compared to its competitors.
Although you have the option to pay a smaller initial fee by choosing a more basic credit repair package (and you can get a refund if they fail to improve your credit), it’s still a big financial commitment to make right off the bat.
In fact, Credit Saint’s initial fees may actually be questionably legal (although the practice is very common). Credit repair companies are banned from charging upfront for their services, but many get around this by charging a setup fee, which falls into a gray area in the legality of credit repair.
No mobile app
Although Credit Saint has a range of services available online, they haven’t yet developed a mobile app that allows users to conveniently track their credit scores, credit reports, and progress. This puts them a bit behind competitors like Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com.
Lack of transparency
Generally, Credit Saint sets the gold standard for ethics in the credit repair industry, which makes it a bit disappointing that they don’t clearly explain their services on their website.
They’ll outline them when you have your initial consultation (before you agree to pay), but there’s still no good reason for them not to go into more detail on their website for people to see before they begin the signup process.
Alternatives to Credit Saint
If you’ve decided that Credit Saint isn’t the best fit or you just want to explore your other options, then look no further. Below are other ways you can get your credit back in shape.
Other credit repair companies
Below are Credit Saint’s top competitors that you can also consider hiring to repair your credit:
- Lexington Law
- CreditRepair.com
- Sky Blue Credit Repair
- The Credit People
- Ovation Credit Repair
- The Credit Pros
- CreditFirm.net
DIY credit repair
As Credit Saint notes themselves, you don’t have to sign up for any credit repair service at all if you don’t want to. It’s possible to dispute errors on your credit report and remove negative items from your credit report by yourself.
As credit repair companies go, Credit Saint is a solid option. However, credit repair companies don’t actually have any special power to remove negative marks from your credit history.
What they really do is save you time and energy if you don’t want to bother with the hassle of dealing with the credit bureaus (and potentially your creditors and debt collectors). However, you’re just as capable of fixing your credit on your own.
Credit Saint FAQs
Want to know more about Credit Saint? We’ve answered some of the most common questions people ask about them.
How do I contact Credit Saint?
You can contact Credit Saint by phone, mail, email, or fax using the contact information below:
PO Box 110
Oakland, NJ 07436
Phone number: 1 (877) 637-2673
Fax: 1 (888) 400-4679
Email: [email protected]
You can also get in contact with Credit Saint through their social media pages:
If you already have an account with Credit Saint, you can also log in through their online portal to view your account information and track your credit repair progress.
Does Credit Saint really work?
Yes, Credit Saint can really repair your credit. They’ve successfully improved the credit scores of many consumers.
With that said, while Credit Saint’s methods can work, they aren’t guaranteed to work. As they admit themselves, there’s a chance they won’t meet with success—your odds depend heavily on the details of your credit history, particularly on how many of your negative marks are erroneous or legitimate.
During your initial consultation, Credit Saint will try to determine how responsive your credit file will be to their methods so that you can proceed with realistic expectations. If you’re in doubt, their refund and cancellation policy should give you some peace of mind.
Where can I find Credit Saint customer reviews?
If you’re wondering what actual customers have to say about Credit Saint, then you can read their reviews and complaints on the following websites:
How do I cancel my Credit Saint subscription?
To cancel your service with Credit Saint, simply call your service provider by phone. You need to complete the cancellation process by phone so that a Credit Saint representative can verify your identity.
