The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently settled a lawsuit it had brought against the credit repair company BoostMyScore.net for fraudulent representations and violations of federal regulations.   Credit repair scams are very common as scammers take advantage of people with debt problems and promise to fix their credit and clear their credit reports of adverse information for up front fees.

Your credit report is one of the most important documents in your financial life.  The information in your credit report as maintained by the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian is used to calculate your credit score.  This is used by financial institutions to evaluate your creditworthiness and can affect your ability to get a credit card, mortgage loan or a car loan.  It also can affect the rate that you will be charged on such loans.  In addition, your credit score is used in many states by companies in making hiring decisions and landlords consider credit scores when determining whether or not to rent an apartment or home to someone.

The FTC  had alleged that BoostMyScore.net guaranteed victims of its scam that in return for fees of between $325 and $4,000 they could improve a consumer’s credit scores by as much as 120 points in six weeks by “piggybacking” on a stranger’s good credit report in order to raise the consumer’s own credit report.  In addition to making unsupported promises about their services, BoostMyScore.net also charged their customers upfront for their credit repair services which violates the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA),

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Don’t fall prey to scammers operating phony credit repair companies and never pay an upfront fee to one of these companies.  Advance fees for credit repair companies that operate for profit are banned by the Credit Repair Organizations Act.  Negative information on your credit report remains on your credit report for seven years and bankruptcies for ten years.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is just trying to scam you.  Many of the scam credit repair companies use illegal tactics such as applying for a federal employer ID to use as your Social Security number when applying for credit.  This is illegal. If you need real credit counseling you can go to this section of the Department of Justice’s website where it lists agencies approved to assist consumers with debt problems. https://www.justice.gov/ust/list-credit-counseling-agencies-approved-pursuant-11-usc-111    You also may consider contacting companies that are affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at this link https://www.nfcc.org/

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