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Trying to Find a Legitimate Credit Repair Provider
- By Stuart Hunter
- Published Friday 20th 2009
- Money and Finance
- Unrated
Stuart Hunter
Providing credit repair services since 1991, Lexington Law has helped over 500,000 clients legally take on their credit. Last year alone, Lexington Law helped clients remove over 600,000 negative items from their credit reports.
View all articles by Stuart Hunter
The Federal Trade Commission is charged with the enforcement of consumer protection law and has the responsibility of protecting you and me from unscrupulous companies that steal our business through false claims, exaggerations, illegal services, and improper disclosure. With regards to , practices like these became so common that a federal law was passed to outline how credit repair companies can operate. The Credit Repair Organization Act (CROA) was passed to protect consumers and provide them with recourse if they are victimized by a dishonest credit repair organization.
When researching credit repair services, there are some key indicators alerting you to stay clear. According to the FTC, avoid credit repair services that:
Request Payment in Advance - Credit repair companies should not require payment they have worked on your case. Under the CROA, these credit repair companies cannot require payment until they have completed the services promised.
Do Not Disclose Your Consumer Rights - Trustworthy credit repair firms will inform you that you have a right to order one free copy of your credit reports each year from each of the credit bureaus, and that you are able to dispute questionable items on your own , free of charge. If you are not provided with this information, specifically in the form of a CROA required disclosure titled "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law", you should probably look elsewhere.
Advocate Using a New Credit Identity - Some shady credit repair clinics will actually go so far as to advise you to create a new credit identity by creating and using an Employer Identification Number (EIN) in place of your Social Security number on credit applications. This is a serious crime and if any credit repair company suggests this as an option, run the other way.
Lie About Services They Can Provide - Beware of credit repair providers that guarantee to remove negative and accurate items, such as late payments and foreclosures, from your credit reports. No one can guarantee that items will be removed, particularly if the items are true.
When researching credit repair services, there are some key indicators alerting you to stay clear. According to the FTC, avoid credit repair services that:
Request Payment in Advance - Credit repair companies should not require payment they have worked on your case. Under the CROA, these credit repair companies cannot require payment until they have completed the services promised.
Do Not Disclose Your Consumer Rights - Trustworthy credit repair firms will inform you that you have a right to order one free copy of your credit reports each year from each of the credit bureaus, and that you are able to dispute questionable items on your own , free of charge. If you are not provided with this information, specifically in the form of a CROA required disclosure titled "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law", you should probably look elsewhere.
Advocate Using a New Credit Identity - Some shady credit repair clinics will actually go so far as to advise you to create a new credit identity by creating and using an Employer Identification Number (EIN) in place of your Social Security number on credit applications. This is a serious crime and if any credit repair company suggests this as an option, run the other way.
Lie About Services They Can Provide - Beware of credit repair providers that guarantee to remove negative and accurate items, such as late payments and foreclosures, from your credit reports. No one can guarantee that items will be removed, particularly if the items are true.