LEXINGTON LAW VS. WHITE, JACOBS & ASSOCIATES
There are obvious differences between credit repair companies like Lexington Law and the national credit restoration organization White, Jacobs & Associates (“WJA”). When comparing marketing strategies, attorney involvement, program lengths, and constructing a game plan with you to pick the right weapons to hit your targets, those differences in service and results stand out starkly and will give you more insight and personal power to pick the people that will best help you reach those goals.
LEXINGTON LAW MARKETING VS. WORD-OF-MOUTH TESTIMONIALS Numerous consumers read the marketing materials companies like Lexington Law send them or put on their web site. Based on that information alone, many decide to move forward with a company. The problem that arises is the puff-marketing material the “Lexington Laws” out there are furnishing may not be reflective of the actual consumer experience with the company, the vast majority of results gotten, or the information may be totally false or bogus. Lexington Law, for instance, has a lot of really impressive marketing materials and testimonials, but when you go on-line you discover a lot of different stories. Here is one we found when searching for “Lexington Law complaints” on the internet: “I had a friend who actually used the Lexington Law firm. And yes they got her credit cleaned but six months later she tried to get a house and all the things that were cleared off her credit were right back on there.” It seems very often items removed by Lexington Law get re-reported 6 months or a year down the line because the disputes are only reaching the credit bureaus and they are not directed at the original creditor or third-party collection agencies individually. Instead of advertising, WJA relies on the word-of-mouth reviews of its’ thousands of clients who have seen their scores soar by having judgments/ tax liens/ collections removed, qualified for home mortgage lending, and posted reviews on Google+/ Yelp / Facebook / Avvo.com, and directly on the WJA website. WJA is a referral-based organization where the focus is on YOU.
ATTORNEY INVOLVEMENT Generally, credit repair companies do not have an actual attorney attached to and working directly associated with their program. Lexington Law is simply owned by an attorney and networks with attorneys in other states. They do not customize “dispute letters,” audits, or demand letters – they send out boilerplate language, imprecise form letters that do not trigger a thorough investigation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act requiring a sub-surface investigation of more than the simple information reporting on the face of the credit report. Lexington Law limits the amount of “dispute letters” sent out (8 on their ‘Platinum’ program) and receive marginal results as they repeatedly pursue previously validated items and prolong their program. White, Jacobs has multiple attorneys on staff who are involved with every audit/demand sent to all 3 bureaus, the original creditors, any third party collection agency, public records, attorneys general States (typically child support, but can apply more broadly), and original medical facilities. This method ensures no re-reporting of items already removed under one of the federal consumer protection laws (FCRA, FDCPA, FCBA, HIPAA, etc.). WJA guarantees items deleted remain deleted…if they should ever re-report, regardless of how far down the road that may be, WJA and its’ attorneys will attack it immediately at no charge in order to restore the deletion.
PROGRAM LENGTH Lexington Law has no set time frame for the length of their program or the realistic expectation of results – the consumer becomes a ‘member’ of Lexington Law’s service and the consumer simply pays $100/mo in perpetuity until the consumer decides they’ve had enough and leaves the program (read: “no contracts!”). White, Jacobs & Associates program lasts a maximum of 180 days however if the customization of your program should need to extend past the 180 days you will not be charged. Typically, we start receiving results within 30-45 days (which is the lag time the creditors and bureaus are allowed for a response by law) and our average amount of time for clients to successfully reach the FHA (640) lending threshold is 90 days. WJA is fully compliant with FTC standards and Chapter 393 of the Texas Finance Code, limiting work on a consumer’s credit to no more than 6 months.
LEXINGTON LAW VS. WHITE, JACOBS & ASSOCIATES – MORTGAGE LENDER RELATIONSHIPS
White, Jacobs & Associates works hand-in-hand with trusted mortgage professionals, loan officers, realtors, CPAs, and financial planners across the country, establishing personal relationships. WJA has earned their trust with our results and our relationship. It allows us to help you find the lender in your area who WE trust to take care of YOU and your family’s needs. For example, when a client’s main goal is to get their family into a new home or refinance, once your scores qualify you for your loan and WJA has prepped you to meet the other lending requirements (as with FHA loans), WJA re-connects you with your loan officer so you can hit the ground running and lock in the loan that eluded you initially. If parties agree, we are happy to attach the mortgage professional to the email/login portal for the client so that both parties receive the most up-to-date deletion reports, which leads to quicker turn-around times for closing loans and getting the family into their new home.
GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND
In addition to removing inaccurate items from a client’s credit reports due to violations of Fair Credit Reporting Act, EOSCAR laws, and HIPAA, WJA helps you build new credit by helping you establish new and appropriate trade lines (revolving accounts, e.g. credit cards, installment accounts that will balance out your credit portfolio, and educating you on the most effective use of those lines of credit, as credit tools).