Yes, The Credit People is a real, long-running credit-repair company that sends dispute letters on your behalf, but its Trustpilot reviews are all one-star, with complaints centered on monthly fees and slow results. Read the reviews by platform, check the monthly price, and decide whether you want a firm to write and send your letters or software you control.
If you have paid for a service before and watched your report stay the same, the question is probably less “is it real?” and more “what am I actually buying each month, and who sends what in my name?”
The Credit People is legit, but its Trustpilot reviews are all one-star
The Credit People describes itself as a done-for-you credit-repair company with 15+ years in business that works all three bureaus on your behalf. Its Trustpilot page shows a TrustScore of 1.7 across 18 reviews, all 18 one-star, as published on Trustpilot. Its own site claims 4.7 across 271+ reviews.
The law that governs this industry is the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA, 1996). It bars credit-repair companies from charging before services are performed, from making untrue or misleading statements, and from advising consumers to make false claims (Credit Repair Organizations Act, 1996). Its reviews on Trustpilot and BBB are where you can check how customers describe the service against that standard.
What should you watch out for with The Credit People?
The Credit People’s most recent 1 and 2 star reviews on Trustpilot, all 18 of them, put “Paid for months, nothing changed” first at 12 of 18. “Promised a result that did not happen” appears in 4 of 18, “Nobody answers” in 3 of 18, “Disputes that only reach part of the file” in 2 of 18, and “Billing continued or refunds refused” in 1 of 18.
A one-star Trustpilot review of The Credit People from September 8, 2025, reads: “Throughout the two months I have been with The Credit People, I get very little feedback from them.”
If you are paying monthly, one point matters for what any firm can do. The CFPB states: “You generally cannot have negative information removed from your credit report if it is accurate.” (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Is it possible to remove accurate but negative information from my credit report?, 2026). A dispute asks a bureau to investigate inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable items, and the bureau decides.
How much does The Credit People cost per month?
The Credit People charges $99 a month for Standard and $119 a month for Premium, or $599 for six months of Premium on a flat rate.
According to its website, every tier includes all three bureaus, unlimited challenges, before-and-after scores on all three, monthly report refreshes, creditor interventions, and escalated disputes and validations. Billing is described as “pay as you go, satisfaction guaranteed,” and no contract or cancellation term is published.
Who writes and signs the dispute letters at The Credit People?
The firm drafts and sends the disputes for you. You do not draft, sign or mail the letters, so what goes to the bureaus is the firm’s work, not yours.
According to its website, all three credit reporting agencies are disputed “without limitation,” and after each dispute cycle any unresolved item goes out in validation requests. You do not see or approve the individual letters. Its homepage points to a free phone consultation.
Can you dispute credit report errors yourself for free?
Yes, you have the right to dispute inaccurate items directly with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion at no cost. The CFPB says: “You have the legal right to dispute inaccurate information directly with both the credit reporting companies and the companies that furnish your information to the credit reporting companies. To fully protect your rights, you should always dispute credit report inaccuracies with both. They must conduct a reasonable investigation, and fix mistakes as needed, usually within 30 days, at no cost to you.”
The published procedure, from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2026), runs in this order:
- Send your dispute to the credit reporting company (Equifax, Experian, and/or TransUnion) in writing, explaining what you think is wrong and why, and include copies of documents that support your dispute. You can use the CFPB’s instructions and template letter as a guide.
- If you mail a dispute, include: your complete name, address, and telephone number; the credit report confirmation number, if available; each error you want fixed, including the account number for any disputed account; a clear explanation of why you are disputing the information; a request that the information be removed or corrected; a copy of the portion of your credit report containing the disputed items, with those items circled or highlighted; and copies (not originals) of documents supporting your position.
- You can send your dispute letter by certified mail and ask for a return receipt, so you have a record that it was received.
- Contact the credit reporting company online, by mail, or by phone. For Equifax: dispute online, or call (866) 349-5191. For Experian: dispute online or get mail instructions, or call (888) 397-3742. For TransUnion: dispute at dispute.transunion.com, or call (800) 916-8800 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-11 p.m. ET, Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. ET).
- Keep copies of your dispute letter and the documents you send with it.
- The credit reporting company must investigate your dispute, forward the dispute and all relevant information you provided to the company that provided the information, and report the results back to you. It is not required to investigate disputes it reasonably determines are frivolous or irrelevant, such as disputes that do not specify what information is being disputed; if it makes that determination, it must send you a notice explaining why within five business days.
- Next, dispute the information directly with the company that provided it to the credit reporting company (a “furnisher,” such as your bank, landlord, or credit card company). Send the dispute in writing, using certified mail, to the address on your consumer report or an address the furnisher specifies for credit reporting disputes. You can use the CFPB’s template as a guide.
- The furnisher generally must investigate and respond within 30 days of receiving the dispute.
What credit-dispute options cost and which bureaus they reach
Options range from a free monitoring tool that reaches only TransUnion to a $139.95-a-month attorney-handled firm; the table sets each price and bureau reach side by side for a reader weighing The Credit People.
| Tool | What you pay | What that buys | Bureaus | Trustpilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CreditRefresh | $49.99 a month via Refresh Monitoring; no setup fee; letters self-mailed free or RushMail per-letter fee | Software you control; AI drafts letters, you review and sign; bundled with Refresh Monitoring subscription | All three | 4.6 (22 reviews) |
| Dispute Beast | Free tool; Beast Credit Monitoring from $49.99/m; Sprint Mail extra per letter, or free self-mail | Software the user controls (DIY AI app), bundled with paid monitoring required | All three | 4.2 (2091 reviews) |
| The Credit People | $99/month Standard; $119/month Premium; $599 for 6 months Premium Flat Rate; mailing fee not published | Firm drafts and sends disputes for you; you do not draft, sign or mail letters; includes unlimited challenges and monthly report refreshes | All three | 1.7 (18 reviews) |
| Lexington Law | $139.95/month, invoiced at end of each service period; 50% off first payment for veterans and active military | Attorney-handled disputes by the firm, not software you control; attorney case setup after a free assessment | All three | 3.2 (624 reviews) |
| Credit Karma | Free (monetized through lender referrals and ads) | Monitoring and lender offers; Direct Dispute reaches TransUnion only, does not draft or mail letters | TransUnion | 1.1 (915 reviews) |
Every price is that company’s own published rate, as its own site states it. Trustpilot scores and review counts as published.
CreditRefresh: software you control, at $49.99 a month
CreditRefresh reads your reports, flags items that look inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable or too old to be legally reported, and drafts an FCRA dispute letter for each one. It is the only tool that takes a consumer from report scan to letter generation to mailing in three steps, with nothing to learn and no training session, for a flat $49.99 a month. Unlike passive monitoring apps such as Credit Karma, which only file disputes with one bureau, we draft letters for all three.
Skip the paperwork. Start your dispute.
CreditRefresh drafts your FCRA dispute letter and tracks the 30-day investigation window. You review, approve, and send. You stay in control.
Get StartedCreditRefresh is included with Refresh Monitoring at $49.99 a month, with no setup fee, no per-dispute charge and no contract, and you can cancel anytime. You mail the letters yourself or use RushMail for a small per-letter fee. Every letter is reviewed and signed by you before anything is sent.
Rory Dixon gave us five stars on Trustpilot on September 20, 2026: “Found errors that I was unaware of in a very short time”
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, a refund promise and never a score promise. CreditRefresh is not a law firm and its letters are not legal advice, and no result is promised.
FAQ
Can a credit repair company charge you before it does any work?
No. The Federal Trade Commission says: “The Act bars companies offering credit repair services from demanding advance payment, requires that credit repair contracts be in writing, and gives consumers certain contract cancellation rights.” (Federal Trade Commission, Credit Repair Organizations Act).
How long do negative items stay on a credit report?
Most negative items, including collections and charge-offs, can be reported for seven years; for those accounts the seven years begin 180 days after the delinquency began. Bankruptcy cases under title 11 run 10 years from the order for relief or adjudication (Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 605, 15 U.S.C. 1681c).
What should you check before signing with a credit repair company?
Check that it will tell you the truth about its services, give you three days to cancel without penalty, and wait to collect payment until the promised services are fully performed. The Federal Trade Commission states that businesses and individuals subject to CROA must do these things (Federal Trade Commission, Stopping business opportunity and credit repair scams in their tracks, 2025). Ask for the terms in writing before you pay anything.
How do you find out whether an item on your report is actually wrong?
Pull your reports at AnnualCreditReport.com, or call (877) 322-8228. You can view them online for free once a week from one, two or all three of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Read each of the five sections of each report: header and identifying information, public record information, collection agency account information, credit account information, and inquiries. Check for identity errors, incorrect account status and incorrect balances or limits, then write down what you need to dispute (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2026).
CreditRefresh drafts an FCRA dispute letter for each item that looks inaccurate, incomplete, unverifiable or too old, and you review and sign it before it goes out. Backed by a 100% money-back guarantee.