Education
March 30, 2010
Credit Repair
Stall Letters
The FTC and Credit Restoration Companies
It is your legal right to dispute items on your credit report. S&R Credit Restoration, LLC exercises your legal rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act, Truth in Lending Act, and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, as well as other applicable Federal statutes. S&R Credit Restoration helps consumers with credit reports that contain information that is inaccurate, misleading, incomplete or unverifiable.
Be cautious of any company that claims it can improve or remove items on your credit reports that are 100% accurate and correct; they may be violating Federal Statutes. We recommend that you stay away from services that recommend that you attempt to obtain a new/alternate social security number, attempt to create a consumer credit profile under a EIN, or create “fake” credit profiles by intentionally reporting false data. These tactics can be illegal and/or unethical and, if caught, can result in significant personal liability.
Based on the laws that the Fair Credit Reporting Act has set, it is legal for credit bureaus to send out letters to notify consumers of a response to a dispute or other information (such as informing someone that the bureau is not going to investigate or re-investigate an item). They also can stall the process by requesting personal information such as your identity for validation purposes. The credit bureaus write these vague and sometimes confusing letters, mostly with the intent of stalling consumers, hoping that the dispute will not be pursued. They also send these letters out hoping to scare consumers away. If they state legal terms or ask for a lot of documentation they hope you will feel defeated and not pursue the issue any further. This is commonplace and happens to the majority of consumers who send disputes to the credit bureaus; however, persistence will eventually warrant a response. At S&R Credit Restoration, we know how the bureaus operate and we are tenacious in our efforts to accomplish the results you are seeking and remove the inaccurate information from your credit report.
The FTC and Credit Restoration Companies
The FTC’s concerns regarding credit repair agencies address the unethical individuals who have taken advantage of the rising demand of credit restoration by posing as credit repair companies on the Internet or via telemarketing, making promises they either couldn’t keep or never intended to keep, and/or charging fees up-front and then vanishing after providing minimal and inadequate services – if any services at all. Several of these agencies encourage consumers to use unethical and even illegal tactics to clean their credit reports. In some cases, credit repair agencies attempt to disguise themselves as credible law firms to falsely persuade you that you have retained licensed professionals. In an attempt to discourage these unscrupulous credit repair opportunists, the government has imposed strict regulations on credit repair agencies. Overall, these regulations are a positive step towards protecting consumers from disreputable credit repair agencies. Unfortunately, disreputable credit repair agencies continue to exist on the Internet awaiting to be discovered by regulatory agencies and extinguished. To avoid their scams, you, as a potential consumer, should be wary of any credit repair agency that won’t provide their complete address (beyond a Post Office Box), fully identify who they are (including a verifiable identity), or demand large fees in advance of services rendered. Consumers should avoid credit repair agencies that guarantee credit report results or guarantee the ability to remove a bankruptcy from your credit report. Their methods are usually unethical and/or even illegal and may subject you to personal liability.
Remember, it is your legal right to dispute inaccuracies on your credit report. Deal only with companies that are up-front about their fees and willingly share information with you. Be wary of any credit restoration service provider that appears to be a law firm, yet fails to provide the full name(s) of its attorneys or to clearly identify the state(s) in which they are licensed to practice. (A closer look may reveal that these service providers are merely credit repair agencies in disguise.) For more information on what to look for in credit report repair companies, and what to avoid, visit S&R Credit Restoration’s Educational Center, or view FTC Issues.
If you believe that you have been the victim of unethical, misleading and/or deceptive behavior by a credit repair agency or law firm providing credit restoration services, or any credit repair agency or law firm you have engaged has performed illegal or unethical acts in an attempt to restore your credit, you should report them to the FTC immediately and/or notify the State Bar Association in the law firm’s respective state. Your cooperation in this regard will assist the FTC and respective State Bar Associations to find and eliminate the unscrupulous predators in an effort to provide a safer, fraud-free experience for everyone.
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