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Credit Repair Scams: The Warning Signs

Feb 5th, 2011
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“Credit problems? No problem!”

“We can erase your bad credit — 100% guaranteed.”

“Create a new credit identity — legally.”

“We can remove bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and bad loans from your credit file forever!”

Do yourself a favor and save some money, too. Don’t believe these statements. Only time, a conscious effort, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your credit report.

This article explains how you can improve your creditworthiness but you have to remember that it can take time.  If you stick to a plan you can repair your credit and get your life back to normal. Take it one step at a time and make sure that you are not planning to do anything illegal.

The Scam

Everyday, there are companies nationwide that appeal to consumers with poor credit histories. They promise, for a fee, to clean up your credit report so you can get a car loan, a home mortgage, insurance, or even a job. The truth is, they can’t deliver. After you pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees, these companies do nothing to improve your credit report; most simply vanish with your money.

The Warning Signs

If you decide to respond to a credit repair offer, look for these tell-tale signs of a scam:

companies that want you to pay for credit repair services before they provide any services.

companies that do not tell you your legal rights and what you can do for yourself for free.

companies that recommend that you not contact a credit reporting company directly.

companies that suggest that you try to invent a “new” credit identity — and then, a new credit report — by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security number.

companies that advise you to dispute all information in your credit report or take any action that seems illegal, like creating a new credit identity. If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you may be subject to prosecution.

You could be charged and prosecuted for mail or wire fraud if you use the mail or telephone to apply for credit and provide false information. It’s a federal crime to lie on a loan or credit application, to misrepresent your Social Security number, and to obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses.

Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot require you to pay until they have completed the services they have promised.

 http://www.credit-repair.moneybizhome.com

http://www.moneybizhome.com
Oli works full time as a Market Analyst.He graduated in Management.He can help you to grow your computer consulting.

http://www.computer-pc-tips.moneybizhome.com/


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Information on Credit Repair Scams & Solutions to Find the Best Company for You

Jan 29th, 2011
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credit repair companies

In a world where credit is everything and the information contained in your credit report is carefully analyzed, many people are seeking ways to repair their credit. In this current era credit repair companies are getting a lot of negative feedback and are being labeled as scams. It is defiantly true that some credit repair companies do seek to scam consumers but isn’t this true with any industry? No matter what the service is there will be people looking to take advantage of consumers to make a quick buck. It is important when making the decision to hire any service to do research on them. A very good website to do this is the better business bureau. Here consumers can see how long a business has been around for and various complaints made against them.

Some Key things that will help determine if a company is looking to scam you:

- Companies that guarantee to remove negative information from your credit report and increase your credit score- Nobody can gaurantee you they can remove accurate negative tradelines from your credit report.

- Companies that ask you to create an employee ID # for a new credit identity- This is called File Segregation and is illegal and the innocent consumer can be held responsiblie for committing a felony.

- Companies that charge you fees prior to providing any services- By law a credit repair company cannot charge consumers until they have performed the service

- Companies that do not advise you of your legal rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act-A company should advise you that anyone can dispute tradelines on thier credit report themselves.

The strongest argument against credit repair companies is that they charge you for something you can do yourself. Yes this is true but once again this is true for many other types of services. For instance many people pay to have their lawn mowed or have their house cleaned. Can they do this themselves? Of course! We pay for the convenience and in most cases since these companies provide these services regularly and have built experience, they usually  perform the service more effective and efficient than the average person could.

Having an established law firm represent you  can achieve you results with better success rates than many other companies. The advantage of sending dispute letters to the credit bureaus with a law firms letterhead is the bureaus tend to take your request more seriously when they receive correspondence from an attorney, This will generally give consumers a faster response time. This is something consumers cannot do themselves unless of course they are in fact an attorney. This is basically why enlisting the services of a law firm proves to be much more beneficial to consumers than doing it themselves or hiring a credit repair company that’s not run by attorneys. There are many reputable credit repair companies out there with good intentions, however only a handful can actually get consumers the same results as a law firm.

If you are serious about improving your credit score and deleting incorrect or unverifiable items on your credit report contact CreditLawGroup today for a free consultation! (800)-508-0041. We provide cost effective legal representation and can help protect your rights and remove inaccurate, outdated, unverifiable, incorrect and other erroneous items from your credit report.

The CreditLawGroup.com website of Smith & Gromann, P.A. is a multistate law firm whose practice is limited to federal consumer and banking law under which the credit reporting system operates. The firm provides cost efficient legal representation in disputing inaccurate, incorrect or unverifiable information contained on credit reports from the three major credit bureaus, Equifax®, Experian® and TransUnion® and their affiliates. The firm also provides legal representation to victims of identity theft. Visit http://www.creditlawgroup.com for more information.


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Credit Repair: Avoiding Scams!

Jan 18th, 2011
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The Credit Repair Professional

The credit repair business requires a clear grasp of the interaction of many factors. Credit bureaus, creditors, and collectors are each regulated under their own set of federal laws. There are state laws that may supercede the federal laws. In the background of all of this activity is Fair Isaac and Company that formulates your FICO Score based on the makeup of the information on your report. Credit repair professionals must have a working knowledge of all of these factors and more.

And the Not-So-Professional

True credit repair professionals provide an incredibly valuable service. But there are also those that misrepresent themselves and the services they offer. These deceptive practices will waste your money, and in some cases leave you worse off than ever. Here is our list of the top offences…

Authorized User Alert

Some so-called credit repair companies have been brokering “authorized user” status on credit card accounts. This involves making the customer an authorized user on someone else’s credit card to boost the customers FICO score. This is not illegal, but you should be aware that Fair Isaac and Company, in response to this practice, has eliminated authorized user benefits from the new FICO scoring model. According to Fair Isaac, one of the three credit bureaus will begin using the new scoring model in September 2007. The other two credit bureaus will adopt the new model by mid-2008.

The New Identity Trap

There is a busy little credit repair sub-culture that offers to help you establish a new identity by applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) which they suggest that you use in place of your Social Security Number. This amazes us! And it is a serious crime that could put you in prison. Steer clear.

Promises Promises

Watch out for companies that guarantee results such as a specific increase in your credit scores in a specific period of time. Professional, reputable credit repair companies can produce dramatic results! But given the fact that there is no way to predict the responsiveness of the credit bureaus, creditors, or collectors it is inappropriate to make such promises, and a sure sign of bad business.

The One-Dimensional Credit Repair Problem

Beware of credit repair companies that offer credit bureau disputes, and nothing more. They are most likely using software that simply pumps out dispute letters – repeatedly. This one dimensional approach to credit repair is certain to produce disappointment. Effective credit repair requires the skill to challenge the bureaus, creditors, and collectors alike; all with the knowledge and understanding of the legislation that governs them, and a grasp of how each change in your report can affect your FICO scores.

Power Corrupts

I’m going to stray a bit from the category of credit repair scams and touch on two of the more egregious offenders in the credit reporting industry. Many people mistake size for honesty. Power can corrupt, and the journey to the dark side is often led by corporate attorneys who constantly test the limits of consumer’s tolerance. Credit repair can be tricky enough, but getting hoodwinked by the credit bureaus can be downright discouraging. Here are offenders that we encounter on a daily basis.

False Credit

Every day untold numbers of consumers go to TransUnion’s “True Credit” website and pay for what they believe to be their credit scores. What they get are deceptively named “TrueCredit” scores which vary significantly from the FICO scores used by lenders. Here is the (almost impossible to find) small print from the TransUnion website. “TrueCredit is not connected in any way with Fair, Isaac and Company; the credit score provided here is not a so-called FICO score. The credit scores of TransUnion may not be identical in every respect to any consumer credit scores produced by any other company.”

Not Free Credit Report

Are you starting your credit repair effort? You can get all three of your credit reports for free, one time per year, from AnnualCreditReport.com. Don’t be fooled by Experian’s freecreditreport.com website! Here is the fine print: “When you order your free report here, you will begin your free trial membership in Triple AdvantageSM Credit Monitoring. If you don’t cancel your membership within the 30-day trial period, you will be billed .95 for each month that you continue your membership.” And it may not be so easy to cancel. The Office of the Attorney General of Florida lists the following issues in their investigation of Experian: “Deceptive advertising, misleading domain name, and failure to honor cancellations in violation of Chapter 501, Part II, Florida Statutes (Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act).”

Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Jim Kemish is the president and founder of Power Mortgage, a Florida mortgage company based in Delray Beach, Florida. Power Mortgage Corp was established in 1989 and serves the states of Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Jim is also the President of Sky Blue Credit, a national credit repair business.


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Credit Repair Scams And What To Look Out For

Jan 17th, 2011
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It is an unfortunate truth that the credit repair industry as a whole has taken a lot of heat because of the actions of several unethical and (sometimes) illegal credit repair organizations.  The Federal Trade Commission has worked with various states\’ attorneys general to shut-down those credit repair companies that operate outside of legal procedure.  When choosing a company to help repair your credit, it is imperative that you look for an established company, which has passed the review of the FTC, Attorneys General, and the Better Business Bureau.  In addition, there are other things you can look for to help you make a good decision about your credit repair.

Things to look out for before hiring a credit repair organization:

* Offering to \”create a new identity\”
* Claims that they can remove debts, liens, and bankruptcies from your credit report
* Claim to remove accurate negative information from your credit report
* Not up front about what you can do legally on your own
* Asking for money up front before services are rendered (which may violate \’right of rescission\’ laws
* Make outrageous guarantees about how quickly or effectively they can remove items on your report

What does a true credit repair firm do that makes them a legitimate company?

* Can only help remove inaccurate information on your credit report
* Provide comprehensive consulting on how to be a better consumer
* Have established relationships with creditors and the big three credit bueaus
* Be up front about the cost, only require a relatively small startup fee, and offer services risk free with a \”cancel at any time\” policy
* The startup cost follows state mandated \”right of rescission\” periods in which they do not actually charge your credit card until after the period has ended
* Have successfully served many clients, with a relatively small number of complaints from customers, and proof of their services provided.
* Never trust a guarantee that we can \”clean up your credit\” and make sure the company is up front about the fact that credit repair is typically a 3-6 month process and can even last 1 full year
* Be transparent about what they do and how you can actually repair your own credit without their services
* Ensure they are not on the FTC watch list or in their database of credit repair scams

Even the most compliant, transparent and industry leading comapanies are sometimes powerless to help certain credit situations facing consumers.  There are many credit organizations that make false claims, and because of this some customers may have inaccurate information about what can legally be done to help them repair their credit.  If a credit repair company cannot help you, it is their duty to give you advice on how to best handle your situation, and not sign you up for additional services that you don\’t need.

The act of credit repair is legal and it is within the rights of the consumer to pursue the removal of inaccurate credit repair information through any legally-acceptable channel available to them.  Keep in mind, however, that involvement with any illegal credit repair scheme could result in you receiving punishment for your involvement.  Most commonly, credit repair scams are brought up on charges of mail or wire fraud, or the federal crime of falsely reporting information to the IRS or credit organizations.  These accusations are not taken lightly, and it is not worth the risk of being involved in a credit repair scam to repair your credit when perfectly legal and acceptable solutions are available.

If you believe you may already have been a victim of a fraudulent credit repair company, do not hesitate to report the case to the Attorney General in your state, to file a claim with the Better Business Bureau, or visit www.fraud.org and report your experience there.

This information is provided by Veracity Credit Consultants, a leading innovator in the field of credit score repair. Check them out online at http://www.VeracityCredit.com


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Credit Repair Scams – What Consumers Need to Know

Jan 6th, 2011
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credit repair companies

‘ll grant that there are some good credit repair companies out there. It’s the same as with most businesses, there are decent ones and bad ones. However, since credit repair companies deal with people who are a bit vulnerable and down on their luck, they tend to attract the “used car salesman” type of people to do their sales. This is unfortunate , of course, because credit repair really does work and it is terrible when people get taken advantage of by an unscrupulous service provider. Too often their objective is more to make money instead of trying to help you.

Some time ago when I was doing some research for a company I was creating, I actually called a couple credit repair companies to see how I would be treated. I didn’t need credit repair, but I wanted to see how the companies worked. I posed as a person needing credit repair and gave them a made-up (but realistic) story about my situation.  At first the guy was nice, but as I told him more about my unfortunate (made-up) situation, he started to get a bit rude to the point where he was basically calling me an idiot. It was almost comical on one hand. On the other hand it was pretty sad, as I am sure I’m not the first person who was maltreated by this guy hoping first to make a buck rather than hoping to help out his caller.

Now, I’m certainly not saying that people should not earn a profit for providing a service. But I can tell you from experience that if you set out first to make money, you won’t do as well as you would if you set out to help people. Isn’t that the golden rule of the service industry? I think so.

So how do you weed out so-called credit repair services? How can you tell who to work with? Here are some general tips that should help you pick through the bunch:

Work with someone local so you can actually meet them and make sure you are comfortable with them as a person.
Work with someone local that has established a name.
Work with someone local so that you can have one-on-one contact with them if need be.
Be ware of incredible claims – if they are making claims of being able to get things removed like large debts that you really owe, you might want to go elsewhere. If they are really only trying to ‘sell’ you on their service, then you might want to look elsewhere.
If they are going to charge you more than 0 – 0, you should look elsewhere. Credit repair is not very difficult. Most companies use credit repair software to generate the credit repair letters and it takes them very little time. It is mostly data entry that dumps into form letters that they mail out or ask you to mail out.
Consider doing self credit repair, which is nothing more than doing what credit repair companies would do, but at no cost to you.

Best of luck!

 

Matthew Wierzbinski is the owner of http://CreditBlossom.com, which offers both written and video instructions on how to repair your own credit. It also offers the public free use of its amazing credit repair letter generating tool, the free and easy Credit Repair Letter Wizâ„¢, which can be found at http://creditblossom.com/Content/LetterGeneratingTool.aspx.

 


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