You’re up to your eyeballs in debt, and getting lots of calls from collection agencies. You’re starting to feel desperate about making it all go away, and have even thought about bankruptcy as a possibility. Then you see an ad or get a flier in the mail from a credit repair company claiming that, for a fee, they can erase your bad credit and give you a new credit identity. Sound too good to be true? It is.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on credit repair websites that promise consumers they can restore their creditworthiness for a fee. Over 180 websites have been put on notice that their credit repair claims may violate state and federal laws. According to the FTC, many credit repair operations “guarantee” that they can remove negative information from consumers’ credit reports, even if the negative information is accurate and timely. Sorry to rain on your parade — it isn’t true. The FTC has also identified over 60 credit repair operations that sell instructions on how to substitute a false social security number for your current number and create a new credit identity. Doing so violates federal law. The truth is:
The last thing you want to do is worsen your financial situation by choosing credit or debt repair “help” that wastes your time and puts you further behind on your debts. If you decide to look into a credit repair offer, beware of the following warning signs offered by the FTC:
Under the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies can’t require you to pay until they’ve completed the services you contracted for. You also have the right to cancel your contract with a credit repair company within three days of the day you sign it. Federal law also requires a credit repair company to provide you with information about your legal rights and what you can do to improve your credit rating yourself, including the following:
Any contract you sign with a credit repair service must include the payment terms for services (including the total cost), a detailed description of all services to be performed, how long it should take to get results, any guarantees and the company’s name and business address.
The reality is that no one can make accurate negative information disappear from your credit report.Only the passage of time — seven years for most information, 10 years for bankruptcy information — can accomplish that.
If you have been subjected to any of these illegal practices, please contact our office.
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