The latest credit repair companies to get sued by the FTC and the CFPB since 2019:

May 2022 – FTC v Financial Education Services (“FES”)

FES is a large multilevel marketing company that sold credit repair services.  It was sued and shut down in May of 2022 by the Federal Trade Commission.  The FTC has accused FES of collecting money from the consumer in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule which prohibits credit repair companies from collecting any money from consumers before completing the credit repair services if the credit repair company uses the telephone in connection with selling its services.

The FTC has also accused FES of failing to give consumers written agreements in violation of the Credit Repair Organization Act and of lying to consumers and agents about what FES could accomplish for them in their credit repair programs.  The FTC has shut FES down and frozen the assets of the company, its related companies, and its owners.  That lawsuit continues.

FES was previously sued by the Georgia Attorney General back in 2019 for very similar things.  FES was forced to pay a $1.9 million judgment.

March 2022 – USA v Turbo Solutions

This is an interesting case as it was brought by the United States Attorneys’ office directly and not through the CFPB or the FTC.  The U. S. Attorney has accused Turbo Solutions and its owner, Alexander Miller of directing consumers to file fraudulent affidavits of identity theft to delete negative items on their credit reports.   If true, this is bad.  The government has shut down Turbo Solutions and its various entities and frozen their assets.

September 2021 – CFPB v Credit Repair Cloud

Credit Repair Cloud provides DIY software for people who want to get into the credit repair business.  The CFPB has accused CRC’s users of violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule and by extension, Credit Repair Cloud.

May 2019 – CFPB v Lexington Law

Lexington Law sounds like a law firm, but it acts as a credit repair company.  It charges monthly fees which the CFPB believes violates the Telemarketing Sales Rule. CFPB has also accused Lexington Law of some nefarious sales tactics including having some of its affiliates lie to consumers to get them to sign up for Lexington Law’s credit repair services.  That case is poised to go to trial in 2022.

There is just a smattering of the high-profile cases that the government has brought against credit repair companies.  There are, unfortunately, many people who hold themselves out as credit repair professionals that fly under the radar of government enforcement, but routinely fleece consumers out of their hard-earned money by making false promises.

If a Credit Repair Company makes any of these promises to you….RUN AWAY!

“We can remove everything negative on your credit report.”

This is simply untrue.  Even if you are a victim of identity theft, there is no guarantee that anyone can remove anything from your credit reports.  No one can remove legitimately reporting negative information from a credit report.  If that were true, then credit reports would be worthless.

You should also note that some credit repair companies dispute everything that is reporting negatively on someone’s credit report.  There are two problems with this; 1.  It’s illegal for you or your credit repair agent to lie to the credit bureaus.  That violates the Credit Repair Organization Act. 2.  The credit bureaus know that if someone has more than 1 negative item reporting on their credit report, the chances are very small that all of these items are improperly reported.  They ain’t stupid.

“We can improve your credit score to the high 700s within 90 days.”

You should know that no one can honestly tell you what your credit score is going to be in the absence of negative information. First, credit scores are fluid as they can change daily.  Secondly, credit scores are influenced by several factors including the amount of available credit you carry, timely made payments, and credit mix.  Moreover, not only is not possible to tell someone what will happen to their credit score but it’s not possible to advise as to any time frame.  Statements like this are just plain lies.

“We have proprietary dispute letters that force the credit bureaus to remove negative information on your credit reports.”

This is a total lie.  There is no magic to removing inaccurately reporting information on a credit report.  One simply has to write a letter and identity one’s self and the inaccuracy correctly.  Attach supporting documents to prove that the item is inaccurate.  That’s all.  Some sleazy people who claim to do credit report work will lie about having the silver bullet of credit dispute letters, but they are simply lying.

“We can remove bankruptcies from your credit report.”

Mostly not true.  I say mostly because we are working on a lawsuit now where a bad guy pretended to be our client and attempted to file bankruptcy in his name.  The bad guy did not have the correct social security number but the bankruptcy still reached our client’s credit report.  Short of this scenario, no it’s not possible to remove a bankruptcy reporting on a credit report even if the consumer never completed the bankruptcy plan and even if the bankruptcy was ultimately dismissed. Bankruptcies can stay on a credit report for up to 10 years.  It’s a public record.

Legitimate Credit Repair Law Firms (not Lexington Law as it’s not a credit repair law firm) are truly the only legitimate way to fix your credit.

Credit repair law firms are truly the only legitimate way to get your credit report cleaned up from inaccurate or obsolete information for several reasons:

• A reputable credit repair law firm will only dispute items on your credit report for which there is a legal basis. Moreover, because the good credit repair law firms stay on top of the law, they may find things on your credit reports that could be hurting your credit score that credit repair companies may not even know about.  This is what comes from staying current on the law and reading the latest case law.
• Reputable credit repair law firms do not charge you any monthly fees. You should know that even though a company may call itself a credit repair law firm, it may be acting as a credit repair company.  For example, Lexington Law is the largest credit repair company in the United States.  It does not function as a law firm but as a credit repair company.  Some people find this duplicitous.
• A credit repair law firm will only send 1 dispute letter to the credit bureaus. If the credit bureaus do not fix the problem, the law firm will sue the credit bureau on your behalf to get the problem fixed.  At the end of the case, the law firm should have collected enough money to pay its fees and pay you damages.
• This is the fastest way to remove an inaccurately reporting negative item or items from your credit report without having to write letters, month after month.
• Credit repair is highly regulated in most states and illegal altogether in Georgia. Lawyers are licensed to practice law in the states in which they obtain a law license.  They can enforce your rights, as a consumer, wherever the lawyer is licensed to practice.

Conclusion – Ohio   

If you are trying to legitimately clean up your credit report from inaccurately reporting information, you should see a Credit Repair Law firm.  Come visit us at Law Offices of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C. or call us at (216) 358-0591  or email us at Gary@crlam.com  We are happy to look at your credit reports for free and give you our opinion as to how we can help.

Join our 3 for Free program and we will send out up to 3 dispute letters for you for free.  You can also join our Auto Pilot program and we will pull your credit reports for free every two months to make sure that they stay free of inaccurately reporting information.  Call us today.

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Most Ohio consumers probably don’t give too much thought to their Social Security Cards – until they lose them. Then, knowing what everyone knows about the threat of identity theft, panic sets in. It’s absolutely true that your Social Security number is the key to your identity. Unfortunately, in the wrong hands, Social Security cards can wreck credit reports and ruin credit scores. So, when Ohioans realize that these precious identifiers are no longer in their possession, they must act immediately.

First and foremost, if your Social Security card is nowhere to be found, contact the Social Security Administration and request a new card. You can do this by visiting the Office of the Inspector General website, https://oig.ssa.gov/report-fraud-waste-or-abuse/what-cant-oig-investigate. You can also call them at 1-800-772-1213.

Next, Ohio consumers should take the following steps to guard themselves against identity theft:

Request security alerts from the three major credit reporting agencies.

Technically, you can alert one credit bureau and rely on that agency to relay your information to the other two. However, to play it safe, contact all three credit bureaus at request security alerts. Initial security alerts on credit reports last for 90 days. They let creditors know that you are a potential victim of identity theft. Therefore, if anyone (including you) applies for credit in your name, lenders should take extra steps to verify your identity.

Obtain copies of your credit reports.

When placing the security alerts with the credit reporting agencies, request copies of your credit reports. Even if you haven’t misplaced your Social Security card, it’s a good idea to look over all three of your credit reports at least every 12 months. You can always request credit reports from the credit bureaus, or you can get them at www.annualcreditreport.com.

Carefully review your credit reports for signs of fraud.

While reviewing your credit reports, make a note of any suspicious looking item. Of course, you are primarily looking for bogus charges and fraudulent accounts. At the same time, though, you should also take this opportunity to find errors on your credit reports. In reality, a lot of Minnesotans have inaccuracies on their credit reports that are not tied to identity theft. So, circle ANYTHING that doesn’t look quite right.

Dispute all unauthorized or fraudulent items AND mistakes.

Once you identify incorrect or bogus credit report items, you should write two dispute letters for every item you want removed. Mail one letter to the creditor associated with the item, and send the other to the credit reporting agency that published the credit report. After receiving your dispute letters, the lenders and credit bureaus have 30 days in which to investigate your claims and send back their responses.

Regrettably, dealing with creditors and the credit bureaus isn’t always easy. This is why Ohioans should consider a better and more efficient way to handle credit report disputes. Instead of handling the process yourself, you can get an experienced credit attorney to help for free. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we clean up credit reports at no cost to consumers, so you can get better credit without paying a dime out of pocket.

The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit

Don’t let identity theft damage or errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At the Law Offices of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C., we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? The law allows us to collect our fees and costs from the defendants in any successful action.  This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.

Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (216) 358-0591 or sending him a message through our contact page.

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Are you a student at Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati, Sinclair Community College, or one of the other excellent schools in the Buckeye State? If so, there’s a good chance that you’ve over-drafted your checking account or been late with a credit card bill at least once. That is, if the results of a recent study conducted by personal finance site NerdWallet are accurate. Unfortunately, if you’re a repeat offender, all of these overdraft fees and late payment penalties can add up.

Think about it. Instead of using this money to pay unnecessary fees, you could be putting it into a savings account for use after college. You could even put the cash toward your student loans so that you won’t go into default like so many Ohio college graduates. Also, late credit card payments can hurt your credit score. Even worse, if you default on a credit card and the account goes to debt collections, your credit score will plummet. So, if you’re struggling to keep up with payments, take immediate action to get back on track. No one wants to start their post-graduation life with bad credit.

In its 2016 study, NerdWallet found that the average college student overdrafts their checking account more than twice a year. According to the same study, one out of every three college students has paid a credit card bill late at least once. Typically, overdraft fees and late payment penalties are about $35 per offence. So, considering that there were around 11 million students enrolled in college in 2016, it’s possible that around $722 million was spent on fees last year. That’s crazy.

Ohio college students may be super smart, but they’re still making the same credit and financial mistakes that students in other states are making. Luckily, there are some simple tips to follow if you want to avoid these common banking and credit card pitfalls.

First of all, you should always know how much money is in your checking account, and never, ever, ever spend more than you have. Most checking account holders can check their statements online with their phones for free. So, it’s a good idea to start your day by having a look at your bank account. This will also help you to catch fraudulent transactions if you are the victim of identity theft. For extra protection, many banks and credit unions offer their customers low-balance text alerts. After signing up for this service, you’ll get a message every time your checking account balance hits “the danger zone.”

Using Credit Cards as Credit Building Tools

As an Ohio college student, you should always approach credit cards with caution. This isn’t to say, though, that you should avoid using them altogether. After all, using credit responsibly is the only way to build good credit. Emphasis, of course should be placed on the word responsibly. Ideally, you should never charge more than you can afford to pay off every month. Carrying credit card balances over from month to month means having to pay interest charges and puts you in danger of building up debt. Keeping your balances low is also important. If, at any time, you’re using more than 50% of your available credit, your credit score can drop even if you’re making every payment on time.

A good strategy for credit card use is to pick an expense that you have every month – like putting gas in your car. Pay for this one thing with your credit card, than pay off the balance each month. This way, you’re not spending extra money in order to build up your credit score.

Speaking of your credit score, all Ohio college students should get into the habit of regularly checking their credit reports. Again, this will help you to catch fraudulent credit activity that might be the result of identity theft. In addition, checking your credit reports will give you the opportunity to find errors that might be unnecessarily hurting your credit score. Does it surprise you that there might be mistakes on your credit reports? Don’t feel bad. Most Ohioans don’t know that about 80% of consumer credit reports contain inaccuracies of some type.

The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit

When it comes to removing errors from your credit reports, the disputing process can seem complicated and time-consuming, especially if you’ve never dealt with the credit bureaus before. The good news is that Ohio consumers can get a FREE credit repair lawyer to help them through every step of the process.

Don’t let identity theft or errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At the Law Offices of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C., we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? The law allows us to collect our fees and costs from the defendants in any successful action. This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.

Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (888)293-2882 or sending him a message through our contact page.

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