The FTC or Federal Trade Commission works on behalf of consumers throughout the United States for more than 90 years. They gather and publish consumer information to educate and inform them. They also investigate consumer complaints of fraud and unfair business practices.
Some credit repair agencies have been charged with making fraudulent claims and you should be aware of this. Some companies might claim to repair your credit in a short period of time and the FTC says this is illegal.
As with any company in business, you must use care in the claims you make. It is no different with credit repair agencies, as one company knows. Operating under the name of the national credit repair agency, the FTC slapped a charge of “engaging in fraudulent credit repair activities” against it in 2003.
The national credit repair agency claimed they could remove any information from a consumers credit report with a sophisticated software system they owned. According to the FTC complaint, the agency did not have a special system and by making this and other false claims they were able to entice more than 183,000 consumers to spend more than $53 million on credit repair services.
Most credit reports are accurate and verified by the credit bureau but mistakes can happen. But as a consumer you have a right to dispute any inaccurate or unverifiable information and no agency should suggest you dispute information that is accurate.
Credit bureaus have thirty days to investigate any disputed information you have.
Choose a reputable company that is associated with a law firm if you need a credit repair specialist or agency. They will know of many legal methods to use to improve your credit score.
Companies with fraudulent intent will use illegal methods like using employer identification numbers, making false statements on credit applications and file segregation. Be a wise consumer and steer clear of these agencies.
To make a complaint against an agency or company, make sure to visit the FTC website.
Of course the first course of action is to order your credit report. Under The Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to a free credit report from each of the top three credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion every twelve months.
You can get your free report at annualcreditreport.com or call for it at 1-877-322-8228. Or write to Annual Credit Report Request Service, PO Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
You will receive it much faster if you order it online. It will take fifteen days or even more if you phone in or order by mail.
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