FTC Goes After 33 "Credit Repair" Agencies
Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced plans to target 33 credit repair agencies who violated both the FTC Act and the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). According to an FTC press release, the agencies deceived customers by promising to remove accurate, negative information from their credit reports. The agencies also accepted advance payment for their services. Both actions violate the CROA.
The FTC launched what they're calling "Operation Clean Sweep" after receiving thousands of complaints from consumers like you. That's why it's so important to report unscupulous credit businesses. If the FTC receives enough complaints, they'll possibily file a lawsuit that could recover some, if not all, of your losses.
Credit repair organizations make some lofty promises, but truthfully, they're unable to act on those promises. You cannot legally remove accurate information from your credit report unless the reporting time limit has expired. If these companies promise otherwise, they're violating federal law. On top of that, credit repair companies can't do anything to improve your credit that you can't do yourself. You're better off researching credit repair, saving some money, and doing it yourself.
Credit Repair Resources:
Members of the National Association of Credit Services Organizations do not make these types of claims.
I don’t think I agree that “You’re better off … doing it yourself.” Would you say the same about preparing your tax returns? Yeah, you can do it yourself, but a lot of us would rather leave it up to the professionals. Problem is, the FTC often gets involved afte it’s too late!
A credit repair company can be a great help, but some are definitely scams. I would check with the Credit Repair Companies Watchdog – ECRA
Take control of your own credit and read Debtbeat.
People need to educate themselves more. Its easy to repair credit yourself. Its only a letter and/or proof of inaccuracies. That’s free. But people would rather pay for an offer of a quick fix which can’t happen even if you did it yourself
Regarding the statement “… credit repair companies can’t do anything to improve your credit that you can’t do yourself…” that’s entirely true. But we hire people to do all kinds of things we can do for ourselves – like cutting our grass, raking our yard, shoveling snow, fixing our roof, washing our car etc.
It’s unfortunate that there are so many scammers in the credit repair profession. But there are also crooked politicians, policemen, lawyers, and others. It’s unfair to paint an entire industry with the “same brush” because of the actions of the “bad apples.”
If you would rather repair your own credit, then by all means do so. But if you would rather avoid the work and frustration of dealing with the credit bureaus, there’s no reason not to get professional help – just make sure you DO YOUR HOMEWORK! You can get some good tips at http://creditrepaircompanies101.blogspot.com