Is Credit Repair Still Regulated After the CFPB Cuts?.

Yes. As of November 2026, credit repair is still regulated: the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) remain federal law, and the FTC and state attorneys general can still enforce them. The CFPB’s reduced operations changed how much enforcement happens. They did not change what credit repair companies are allowed to do.

If you are deciding whether to pay someone or dispute errors yourself, the rules still bind the companies you are weighing. They also give you the dispute right directly, for free.

CROA and the FCRA still regulate credit repair, CFPB cuts or not

The CFPB cuts changed staffing, not statutes. CROA still requires credit repair companies to give a written contract, required disclosures and a three-business-day cancellation right, and it bars payment before services are performed. The FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule still cover deceptive practices and fees charged through telemarketing.

Your dispute right sits in a different statute, and it carries a clock. If you dispute the completeness or accuracy of an item in your file, the FCRA requires the bureau to reinvestigate free of charge before the end of a 30-day period that begins when it receives your dispute notice (U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2024). That period can be extended by up to 15 additional days if the bureau receives information from you during the 30 days that is relevant to the reinvestigation (U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2024).

Who enforces credit repair rules now that the CFPB has cut back?

The FTC enforces CROA and still investigates deceptive credit repair practices. In August 2026 it announced a federal case against a network of credit repair companies accused of illegal advance fees and deceptive promises. State attorneys general can investigate and bring their own enforcement actions, and state regulators may require registration, licensing, bonding or notifications.

The CFPB keeps its statutory consumer-protection responsibilities, with reduced operations. The Government Accountability Office reported in January 2026 that the CFPB had taken steps to reduce its operations, including closing examinations and terminating enforcement cases.

The complaint record shows how much credit reporting now dominates the database. Our analysis of the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database found that August 2026 alone recorded 666,842 complaints, more than the 444,213 recorded in all of 2020. Those figures were recorded in the CFPB’s public Consumer Complaint Database. They are consumer submissions, not verified wrongdoing, and the CFPB says its portal is not a measure of the market. In our analysis, credit reporting went from 63.9% of complaints in 2020 to 90.5% in the twelve months to August 2026.

What can credit repair companies still not do, even with lighter enforcement?

A company cannot promise guaranteed credit score increases. It cannot use false identity theft claims to remove legitimate accounts. It also cannot avoid CROA by calling itself a credit consulting or credit education company if its actual services fall under the law.

Collecting payment before legally permitted services have been performed is also off the table, as is any misleading promise about removing negative credit information.

Do states like California add their own credit repair rules to federal law?

Yes. States can add rules on top of CROA. California’s Credit Services Act has its own registration, bond, contract and disclosure requirements, and the California Department of Justice keeps a public list of registered credit services organizations. A registration certificate does not mean the state has approved a company’s practices.

On the bond, California law says no credit services organization shall conduct business in the state unless it has first obtained a surety bond in the principal amount of $100,000 issued by an admitted surety (California Code, CIV 1789.18). Registration is also separate from compliance with federal CROA.

Do you need a company to dispute errors on your credit reports?

No. The FCRA lets you dispute errors with each of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion yourself, and the bureaus and federal agencies publish the steps.

One reviewer of another tool describes report data that did not match what they expected. On Credit Karma’s Trustpilot page, Namaste O. left a one-star review on July 8, 2026 that reads: “I got a notification saying they linked my husband’s car loan in with my credit. Nothing my husband or I wanted or would have approved. No trust left for credit karma.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “How do I dispute an error on my credit report?” gives this procedure:

1. Contact information for you, including your complete name, address, and telephone number.
2. Credit report confirmation number, if available.
3. Each error you want fixed, including the account number for any account you may be disputing.
4. Clear explanation of why you are disputing the information.
5. Request that the information be removed or corrected.
6. A copy of the portion of your credit report that contains the disputed items, with the disputed items circled or highlighted.
7. Copies (not originals) of documents that support your position.
8. Optionally, send the dispute letter by certified mail and ask for a return receipt, so you have a record that it was received.
9. Submit the dispute to the credit reporting company (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) online, by mail, or by phone, using the instructions for that company.
10. Keep copies of your dispute letter and the documents you send with it.
11. The credit reporting company must investigate, forward the dispute and relevant information to the furnisher, and report the results back to you.
12. If you also dispute with the furnisher, send the dispute to the furnisher’s address on your consumer report or to the address it specifies for credit reporting disputes, in writing, using certified mail. The furnisher generally must investigate and respond within 30 days of receiving the dispute.
13. If the furnisher’s investigation shows wrong information or information that cannot be verified, the furnisher must update or remove it and notify all credit reporting companies, which must then update your reports.
14. If the furnisher determines the information is accurate, you can contact the credit reporting companies again and ask them to include a statement explaining the dispute in your reports.

Which credit report items can you dispute under the FCRA?

You can dispute any item in your file whose completeness or accuracy you question, and the bureau must reinvestigate it. Negative items also age out. A credit reporting company generally can report most negative information, meaning late payments, collections and charge-offs, for seven years (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026).

For accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss, the FCRA’s seven years run from the start of the delinquency (Fair Credit Reporting Act, Revised 2026 (FTC), §605, 2026). Information about a lawsuit or a judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026).

Two exceptions lift those time limits. They do not apply to a credit report used in connection with a credit transaction involving, or reasonably expected to involve, a principal amount of $150,000 or more (Fair Credit Reporting Act, Federal Trade Commission, 2026). They also do not apply to a credit report used in connection with the employment of any individual at an annual salary that equals, or may reasonably be expected to equal, $75,000 or more (Fair Credit Reporting Act, Federal Trade Commission, 2026).

Accurate, current information can stay on a report for the periods the FCRA allows. A dispute asks a bureau to investigate, and the bureau decides.

Which credit repair option fits you, and what does each cost?

Published prices run from free to $139.95 a month. The table sets each company’s price, what that price buys, bureau reach and Trustpilot score side by side, copied row for row.

Every price is that company’s own published rate, as its own site states it. Trustpilot scores and review counts as published.

Lexington Law holds a 3.2 on Trustpilot from 624 reviews, and 77 of its 131 most recent 1 and 2 star reviews raise paying for months with nothing changed. A one-star review of Lexington Law on Trustpilot, posted June 14, 2026 by Rodriguez.andyluis R., reads: “I paid for their services and never saw real results or meaningful changes in my credit.”

Dovly’s Trustpilot score is 4.6 from 715 reviews. Four of its 10 most recent 1 and 2 star reviews raise the same theme. In a one-star Trustpilot review of Dovly dated September 16, 2026, George T. wrote: “I have been a paying customer for a year. My score is still the same as the day I signed up.”

The Credit People’s published Trustpilot score is 1.7 from 18 reviews.

How CreditRefresh drafts FCRA dispute letters you review and sign

CreditRefresh is software you control. It reads your credit reports and flags items that look inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable or too old to be legally reported. For each flagged item the AI drafts a tailored, print-ready FCRA letter with your name, and each letter cites the specific FCRA rights it stands on. It drafts disputes for all three bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

The right to dispute is free. The work is the hard part, and the software does that work.

You review and approve every letter before anything is sent, and you decide whether to mail it yourself or use RushMail, the affiliated mailing partner, for a small per-letter fee. That fee is the only optional cost.

CreditRefresh is included at no additional cost with Refresh Monitoring, a credit-monitoring subscription at a flat $49.99 a month. There is no setup fee, no per-dispute charge and no contract, and you can cancel anytime. An active Refresh Monitoring subscription is required, because the dispute tool is not sold on its own.

The bureaus determine dispute outcomes, and we do not promise a score. We are not a law firm, and our letters are not legal advice.

Members who work the full program and see no bureau score rise above where they started can claim back every Refresh Monitoring payment under our 100% money-back guarantee. It is a refund promise, never a score promise, and the conditions are at creditrefresh.ai/guarantee.

FAQ

How do I check whether a credit repair company is registered in California?

The California Department of Justice maintains a registration list for credit services organizations. Registration is separate from federal CROA compliance.

Can a credit repair company charge me before it does any work?

Under CROA, a company must not collect payment before legally permitted services have been performed. That bar covers payment collected before legally permitted services have been performed.

How long do I have to cancel a credit repair contract?

CROA gives you a three-business-day cancellation right. A company covered by the law has to give you that right.

What should a credit repair contract and disclosure include?

CROA covers contracts, disclosures, advertising and advance fees. It requires a written contract and the required consumer disclosures.

What should I do if a company promises to raise my credit score?

Treat the promise as a red flag, because a company cannot legally promise guaranteed credit score increases. It also cannot make misleading promises about removing negative credit information, and it cannot legally dispute accurate information simply because it is negative.

What happens after I mail a dispute letter to a credit bureau?

Under FCRA Section 611, the bureau must investigate within 30 days, 45 days in some cases. It forwards the dispute and evidence to the furnisher, and deletes or corrects anything unverified. In CreditRefresh, dispute tracking records every letter and the date it went out, and tracks bureau responses against that window. A second round can go out after 30-plus days.

What does the CreditRefresh money-back guarantee cover?

Members who work the full twelve-month program and never see a bureau score rise above where it started can claim back every Refresh Monitoring payment. The refund is triggered only if none of the three bureau scores was ever higher than on the day of enrollment, and eligibility is based solely on the scores shown in the member’s Refresh Monitoring dashboard. Claims are filed by emailing support@creditrefresh.ai with the subject line “Guarantee claim” during the 30-day window, and the full conditions are at creditrefresh.ai/guarantee.

Can I mail my CreditRefresh dispute letters myself?

Yes. You can print and mail each approved letter yourself, or have RushMail, the mailing partner, send it for a small per-letter fee. The fee applies only if you choose RushMail over mailing the letters yourself.

CreditRefresh drafts an FCRA dispute letter for each report item that looks inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable or too old to report, and you review and sign every one before it goes out. Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee.

Draft your own credit report dispute letters →