7 Ways to Spot a Credit Repair Scam

Being desperate for better credit can leave you vulnerable to the many credit repair scams that exist today. Dozens of shady companies and con artists thrive on people with bad credit so they can offer their latest credit repair scam. Many of these scams are illegal and can have you arrested and facing fraud charges. Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of.

In a future post we’ll discuss the different types of scams being conducted in the marketplace. For today, let’s begin our discussion by identifying several different ways you could be on the verge of getting ripped off by a “so-called” credit repair company.

1. You aren’t given a copy of the “Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law” letting you know your rights to obtain a credit report and dispute inaccurate credit report information.
2. You aren’t given a copy of the contract to view before you’re asked to sign it.
3. The contract doesn’t contain the following information:
   • The amount you are being charged
   • Details about the services that will be performed on your behalf
   • The date by which the services will be performed (or the time period required to perform the services)
   • The name and business address of the credit repair company
   • A statement letting you know you can cancel the contract within 3 days if you’re not comfortable with it
4. You’re asked for payment before the company does anything. It’s against the law for any credit repair company to ask you to pay them anything before they’ve done any work.
5. The company promises or guarantees to remove information from your credit report, even the items that are accurate.
6. The company promises to create or asks you to create, a “new” identity with a new social security number or federal employer identification number (EIN).
7. You’re asked to sign a form waiving your rights under the Credit Repair Organizations Act.

Any of these warning signs should be a huge red flag to any company you might be considering doing business with. If you’re ever in doubt, feel free to call our office and get advice from one of our professionals. Whether you do business with us or not, we still want you to be safe.

Wishing you the best of luck.