I always like to read reports of government crackdowns on unscrupulous businesses. On March 17, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced charges against seven credit repair companies. Not only did the companies deceive consumers by promising to remove legitimately reported information from credit reports, they also accepted advance payment for services, which violates the Credit Repair Organizations Act. The FTC says the companies charged as much as $2,000 for services and required $300 upfront for their "services." The companies may be forced to pay restitution to its customers.
Back in October, the FTC brought charges against a whopping 33 credit repair companies.
These charges serve as a reminder that credit repair companies are often dishonest and seldom produce any results. In the end, you're out of your money and your credit still needs repairing.
Correct me if I'm wrong: I'd love to hear from consumers (not credit repair companies!) who've hired credit repair companies and had positive results. Submit a review of the credit repair company you used.
very nice
good they deserve it
I agree, these companies are pretty shady, but I have heard of a new one that is honest, legitimate, and very successful. It’s called Preferred Credit Repair.
they are pretty dishonest, however there is company called pursue,Overtake and Recover Services, that is honest dependable and has helped me when i have went to several other credit repair companies, they also helped me settle a 3500.00 account for 800.00. I had 29 accounts 24 were removed and i paid out in settlements the other 5. it only took 4months, and none of the items have returned its been a year since i used there services..
stop posting scams. thanks
PREFERRED CREDIT REPAIR are a bunch of scam artists. Do yourself a favor and steer clear. Very dishonest.
Like any other business, there are reputable companies and then there are the rip-off artists that give all the others a bad name. If you need the help of a reputable credit repair company check with the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance (ECRA)
Preferred Credit Repair is not only an honest company but goes above and beyond to help its clients. They did more for me in the first two weeks then the previous company I worked with did for me in six months. They also created a personal financial portfolio to help me budget and make sure I never get in the same situation again.
Yes, of course there are some scam artists in the credit repair business. But why is it the whole industry gets a “bad rap” while little is said about the practices of the credit bureaus, who make billions selling credit reports that are filled with errors?
Why doesn’t the FTC go after them? Could it have anything to do with their high-paid lobbyists in Washington? Think about it!
There are many reputable credit repair companies and they perform a badly needed service for consumers. Definitely DO be cautious, do your “homework” and ask for references. But don’t make the mistake of smearing all such companies because of the actions of a few.
Who do you think is more likely to look out for your interests? An honest credit repair professional, or the credit bureaus?
Here’s an excellent blog post on avoiding credit repair scams.
Hi,
Thanks for writing such an interesting article. It’s really good to know about the credit repair in such a detail. In finding a loan, the lender usually only processes applicants that have great credit score only. People with bad credit will find it very difficult to get their loan applications approved. We may already know that payday loan or cash advance loan is the only type of loan that could process loan applications from people with bad credit. But payday loan my not able to help every situation such as we need a loan that more than $ 1,500. So we need to get another loan. If we have bad credit score we need to find a credit repair service so our credit score can become better.
Do not wait longer, you should try to visit Skybluecredit.com, this is the smart solution for everyone. Credit repair tips are also provided very helpful feedback so that this becomes useful for you in making a decision to try to re-develop your business.
Thanks,
Sarah Clark
RestoreCredit1st.com– The Website of How To Restore Credit On The Internet. Who is RestoreCredit1st.com and what are Credit Restoration Services? Simply put RestoreCredit1st.com is the best online website dedicated to providing credit restoration services. We help you find the best ways to restore credit as well as how to find personal credit reports you need.
At RestoreCredit1st.com we have researched the Credit Repair service offers as well as used the credit reporting and repair offers. We are dedicated to providing you with excellent customer service online. RestoreCredit1st.com encourages & promotes the responsible use of Credit Restore and cash advances by complying with the best practices of major trade organizations.
A good credit score is important in life as it can help you pay bills that may suddenly come due or there may be an emergency which forces people to apply for a payday loan to pay off the emergency bill.
These companies are a RIPOFF period! If you can’t pay your creditcard bills on time, just wait about three months without paying a payment and they will call you or send you an offer in the mail reducing your total amount owed. The only problem with this debt is that once you pay they WILL cut you off! They will tell you that you will be in good standing ofcourse you will they will get something and not a bankruptcy…so just don’t pay the damage to your credit is done..you can’t undo it….the best thing to do is max the darn things out and wait for them to contact to settle. Hiring a credit repair company is a RIPOFF. If you can’t personally call and work out a deal just WAIT it doesn no more damage to your FICO then to try to pay. I and my wife went hungry literally to pay these jokers our hard earned money, we wanted to do the right thing and pay our debt but the CC companies are outrageous wanting to raise interest rates and rob the consumer. Just my two cents! Charlotte NC
Coments that extol the virtues of specific companies are so obviously self-serving and transparent…written usually by the loving mothers of the credit repair company owner.
Hey Jim from Charlotte. Great advice telling people who discover once they are in over their head, to wait 3 months instead of contacting their creditors RIGHT AWAY once there’s a problem paying.
Or better yet, you said ‘wait a little longer’ till your FICO score has bottomed out. That makes as much sense as putting off a dentist appointment for a toothache until all of your teeth fall out.
Falling behind on payments and allowing them to go into collections hurts credit your score.
Most of us here are interested in improving our credit score, due to circumstances in the past, or elements that were out of our control (ex. divorces, medical bills, or erroneous information) You can approach this with the 3 agencies yourself, or enlist the help from a reputable company.
This is very intelligent of you. Many reputable credit repair businesses are also bound to do such dirty tactics, and we as consumers should have knowledge and be aware of such scams. Consumers should learn about credit repair business before pursuing to it so that they may avoid those deceptions.
I work for a reputable credit repair company. We have 0 complaints with the Credit Services Organization of Texas. We have been featured in the September 2010 issue of Money Magazine, credit sources for AOL and Yahoo Finance and other great credentials. Check out the website at newstartfc.com or google wayne sanford credit.
I have worked with Wayne Sanford at New Start Financial and it was a ripoff.
He took my money and nothing ever changed on my credit. When I asked him why he said “the credit bureau were blowing him off”.
There are way better ways to waste money, I would have rather flushed it down the toilet than just give it away to someone.
Isn’t it funny how the good posts are probably credit repair companies and the ones who yell and bitch/complain are the ones who probably:
stopped paying their bills
never listened to what they were suppose to do
take zero responsibility for their own screwups
take no effort to understand what someone tries to teah them…
don’t you just love consumers……