Do you name other credit shops?

No. Traditional-agency notes come from CROA, a federal statute — not a claim about any named company.

Are score results guaranteed?

No. The case studies shown are examples, not a promise. Results vary. Not legal advice.

Honest comparison · no disparagement

DIY, done-for-you, or a traditional agency — here's what actually differs.

Same federal rights apply no matter which path you pick. Here's a factual, feature-based look at price, who does the work, how deep the legal grounding goes, and what results can look like, using labeled examples from our own case studies, not claims about any specific competitor.

Finely Cred prices come from our price list; outcome figures are examples from our case studies. The traditional-agency column states what the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), 15 U.S.C. § 1679 et seq., requires of any company. It makes no claim about any named company.

At a glance

Snapshot, not the full picture

Pure DIY

Finely Cred DFY

Traditional agency

Typical price model

One-time fixed fee (e.g. $297 credit-restore starter, $297 debt-defense kit)

Personal restore is billed per round, only after that round's letters are mailed ($250–$1,250 per round, 3 to 8 rounds); debt & legal tiers are shown before you buy ($997–$2,497)

Often a recurring monthly fee — confirm the exact schedule in the written contract CROA requires

Who executes the work

You — using templates, playbooks, and a deadline tracker inside the platform

A case manager/specialist drafts and coordinates each step; you review and approve

Varies by provider — CROA requires the contract to say who does what before you sign

Legal grounding per letter/step

Same federal rights apply (FCRA/FDCPA) — you are responsible for citing them correctly

Every letter and doctrine article cites the underlying statute and passes an internal compliance review before publishing

Ask any provider for their compliance process and citation sources in writing

Example outcomes shown

No comparable public data set — results depend entirely on your own execution

Example: avg. +145 pts across 5 example personal-credit case studies

Finely Cred has no data on other providers. Ask any company, including us, what its results are based on before signing

Advance-fee & cancellation protection

Pay once for tools — no ongoing contract to cancel

Credit repair is never charged up front: each round is billed after its letters are mailed and logged

CROA bars charging before work is performed (15 U.S.C. § 1679b) and gives you 3 business days to cancel (§ 1679e)

Go deeper on one dimension

Pick a topic

Pure DIY

You do it yourself

Pure DIY tools are sold as a single one-time fee — for example the Credit Starter kit ($297) or the Debt Kill DIY Kit ($297). You pay once and keep the templates, deadline tracker, and playbooks.

Finely Cred DFY

We do it with you

Finely Cred's done-for-you personal restore is billed per round, only after that round's work is done: when its letters are mailed and logged, the round's invoice appears beside its proof ($250–$1,250 per round, 3 to 8 rounds). Nothing is charged up front, and credit repair is not financed. Fast track available: same total, done sooner. Debt & legal done-for-you tiers are shown on /pricing before checkout ($997–$2,497).

Traditional agency

Legacy credit-repair companies

Credit repair services are governed by a federal law (CROA) that requires clear contracts, honest disclosures, and a right to cancel. Federal law prohibits credit repair companies from charging you before the work is actually done, or making misleading promises about results.

Example outcomes — Finely Cred DFY, personal credit

Examples, not a promise

Across 5 example personal-credit case studies, the average score change is +145 points. These figures are examples, to show what this work can look like.

Marcus T. — Miami, FL

From charged-off chaos to a 671 in four months

Example · 528 → 67116 weeks

Renee K. — Columbus, OH

Untangling identity-theft accounts bureau by bureau

Example · 542 → 69820 weeks

David O. — Phoenix, AZ

Medical collections cleared, score up 144 points

Example · 561 → 70512 weeks

Examples only. Results vary. Individual outcomes depend on your unique credit profile, income, documentation, and cooperation with the process. This is not legal advice. Finely Cred does not maintain a comparable data set for pure DIY outcomes or for any other provider.

DIY, done-for-you, or a traditional agency — here's what actually differs.

At a glance

Go deeper on one dimension

Example outcomes — Finely Cred DFY, personal credit

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