Legal Compliance Center

The CROA (15 U.S.C. § 1679 et seq.) is a federal law that protects consumers from deceptive practices by credit repair organizations. Under the CROA:

• ✓Credit repair organizations cannot make false or misleading claims about their services.
• ✓They cannot charge fees in advance for credit repair services before such services are fully performed.
• ✓Consumers must receive a written contract detailing the services, total cost, and timeframe.
• ✓Consumers have a three-day right to cancel the contract without penalty.
• ✓Organizations must provide a copy of the 'Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law' before signing.

The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule may apply depending on how services are marketed. The TSR prohibits:

• ✓Advance fees for telemarketed credit repair services are prohibited.
• ✓Sellers and telemarketers must make truthful, non-misleading representations.
• ✓Specific disclosure requirements must be met during telemarketing calls.
• ✓Consumers must be informed of their cancellation rights.

The Federal Trade Commission provides guidance to consumers regarding credit repair:

• •Be cautious of any company that guarantees specific results or score increases.
• •You have the right to dispute inaccurate information on your credit report for free.
• •Accurate, verifiable negative information cannot be legally removed before it naturally ages off.
• •You can request a free copy of your credit report annually from each major bureau at AnnualCreditReport.com.
• •Legitimate credit repair organizations provide written contracts and honor cancellation rights.