FTC, Postal Service Snare Credit Repair Scammers

The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and eight state law enforcement agencies today announced a crackdown on 20 operations that deceptively claim they can remove negative information from consumers’ credit reports – even if that information is accurate and timely.

“Credit repair schemes are a big problem for consumers,” said Eileen Harrington, Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Credit repair promoters generally charge hundreds of dollars, but don’t deliver on their claims. The fact is, they can’t. No one can legally remove accurate and timely information from your credit report.”

The FTC began coordinating “Project Credit Despair” last year in response to thousands of consumer complaints, which it shared with the USPIS, the State of Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions, and other state law enforcement agencies. The cases involved companies throughout the nation, many of which promised to remove accurate and timely information from consumers’ credit reports, and typically charged hundreds of dollars in advance for the service.

According to the FTC, Bad Credit B Gone, LLC and its principal, Joseph A. Graziola III, made promises such as “the credit you always dreamed of!” and “If we fail to remove any negative credit from your reports, we’ll give you a refund plus $100.” Referring to “charge-offs, collections, tax liens, bankruptcies, repossessions, student loans, child support, late payments, and judgments,” they claimed, “On average, 80 percent of the derogatory information is deleted off your credit report within . . . three months.” The Philadelphia-based company charged $500 per individual and $700 per couple for its services, half of which was due up-front.

The FTC charged Bad Credit B Gone with violating the FTC Act by making false or misleading statements, such as claiming they can improve most consumers’ credit reports substantially and permanently by removing negative information that is accurate and not obsolete. The defendants also allegedly violated the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) by requiring advance payment for credit repair services and by making false or misleading statements. The FTC is seeking to bar them permanently from further violations, to require them to return money to consumers, and to give up their ill-gotten gains.

“We have two goals with this announcement,” Harrington said. “One is very specific. It is to stop Bad Credit B Gone’s deceptive practices, and force them to return their ill-gotten gains to consumers. The other is broad. It is to put other credit repair firms on notice that we are on the beat, and it is to alert consumers that there is absolutely no reason to pay for credit repair – ever. Despite their claims, there is nothing that any credit repair firm can do for you for a fee that you cannot do for yourself at little or no cost.”

posted by Consumer Help Web Editorial Team at 8:29 AM |