Last reviewed: 13 September 2026

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Warning signs to watch for before you sign

This isn't a replacement for our standard — it's the same checks, in the language you'd actually notice them in, before you've signed anything or handed over a card number.

The checklist

1. Asked to pay before any work is doneA lawful credit repair company can't charge its main fee until the promised result — a removed item, a settled debt — actually happens. "Setup fee," "processing fee," and "first month" charged upfront are the same red flag with a different name. See our advance-fee rule explainer.
2. Promises a specific score increase, or guarantees removal of accurate negative itemsNo company can guarantee how a bureau or creditor will respond to a dispute, and no one can legally remove accurate negative information before it ages off on its own. A specific number ("we'll raise your score 100 points") or an unconditional guarantee is a promise no legitimate company makes.
3. Uses the phrase "new credit identity," or offers to sell or generate a CPNThere's no such thing as a legal fresh-start number. See our CPN scams explainer for why this specific pitch is a federal crime, not a workaround.
4. No physical address, or the address is a UPS Store / PO boxA real company has a real, checkable location. A mailbox-only address is close to the same red flag as no address at all.
5. Won't put its fees in writing, or fees "depend" on unstated factorsA lawful company can tell you its flat fee schedule before you sign anything. "Call for pricing" is a stalling tactic, not a business model.
6. Can't show state registration or bonding where your state requires itMost states require credit-services organizations to register, and many require a surety bond. A company that can't, or won't, produce this on request is failing a check that costs a legitimate company nothing to pass.
7. Pressures you not to contact the credit bureaus, your creditors, or a nonprofit counselor yourselfEvery dispute right a paid company uses on your behalf is one you already have for free. A company that discourages you from checking that, or from getting a second opinion, is protecting its pitch, not your credit.
8. Won't say what it's actually disputing, or on what basisA lawful company can tell you which items it's disputing and why: inaccurate, unverifiable, outdated. "Trust our process" without specifics is the same blank check as "call for pricing."
9. No mention of your three-day right to cancelThe Credit Repair Organizations Act gives you a mandatory three-business-day window to cancel any credit repair contract, in writing, with no penalty (15 U.S.C. § 1679e). A contract that doesn't say so plainly is already noncompliant.
10. You can't find any public complaint or enforcement record on the company at allA company that's been operating for any real length of time is checkable in the CFPB's public Consumer Complaint Database and in FTC or state enforcement records. Zero findable public footprint is either a brand-new company or one that's hard to trace on purpose — worth confirming which before you pay.

A companion, not a substitute

This page exists to be skimmable before you're on a call with a salesperson. Our standard is the fuller version — the one we actually check companies against in the Register, with the specific statute or public record behind every point.