Linda Shorr and Regal Resolve claim to offer credit repair services but...
I hired Linda Shorr (Senior Consultant for Regal Resolve) to repair a few items on my credit report. I have read many books and talked to other professionals and many warned of those that merely send out a form letter. This is an expensive and potentially damaging way of repairing your credit.
The proper method is time consuming and rarely causes harm.
Linda claimed that her services were customized and that no form letters are used. I insisted on this and asked this question several times to ensure I wasn't hiring someone to send out a form letter with fill in the blanks (I could do that myself for the cost of a few stamps).
I had invested probably 15-20 hours in compiling reports and contact information to assist in removing a few items. Then one day I checked my credit and realized that a few items in good standing had been removed. Items in good standing should obviously never be removed. They should be left alone.
I had suspicions at this point that maybe this was an automated system and form letters (templates) were being sent out by an automated system.
I requested that Linda send me a copy of the letter that was sent out requesting to remove the items in good standing (I don't see how a person could have missed this in a letter - requesting to remove an item in good standing?).
She didn't respond so I sent 4 follow up emails; each spaced about one week apart. No response until the 4th email where she clearly stated that they "we do not send out copies of letters".
My only reason to believe they wouldn't send out copies of letters is because they don't want to expose the fact that they use form letters or templates. If the service was difficult and required expertise then I don't see why they would have issues providing me with copies of correspondence; especially if it was such a blunder.
While her follow up was good, the service was not. Sending out templates will always get about a third or a half of negative items removed. However, in most circumstances these items will end up re-appearing on your credit report in several months.
One other small contention - Linda requested that I sign up for a line of credit through some obscure credit card company where you can only purchase inflated products from their online storefront. No problem here if I am not going to use the credit line, however, she did send me to a link that had a / lindashorr URL. This obviously means she is receiving a kickback from the credit provider. She again did not disclose this. However, here follow up was excellent and she was persistent in asking if I had signed up for the credit line.
My suggestion if you are going to hire a credit repair specialist would be to hire someone based on a referral from a professional, such as an attorney, financial adviser, or accountant. And I wouldn't spend your hard earned money with Linda Shorr or Regal Resolve.
The bottome line:
I wasted about 25 hours in total
I wasted my hard earned money for a service I could have done myself
I wasted 6 months of time with little results
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