The Federal Trade Commission has charged the operators of a credit repair company with making false statements to credit bureaus about information in consumers’ credit reports, and illegally collecting fees from consumers before performing any services.
The FTC’s complaint against RMCN Credit Services Inc. and the married couple who own it (Doug & Julie Parker) alleges that they advertised a six-month program to improve consumers’ credit reports. Supposedly the defendants falsified statements to credit bureaus contesting the accuracy of negative data in consumers’ credit reports. In communications to credit bureaus, which RMCN did not divulge to consumers, the firm routinely disputed all negative information in the reports, regardless of accuracy. RMCN then repeatedly sent these deceptive dispute letters to credit bureaus, even though they received comprehensive billing histories verifying the accuracy of the information, or signed contracts from creditors proving the validity of the accounts.
In the complaint, RMCN allegedly misrepresented to consumers that federal law permits the company to dispute accurate credit report information, and that credit bureaus are required to delete information from credit reports unless they can prove it is accurate. In the company’s words, credit bureaus must “prove it or remove it.” RMCN charged a retainer fee of up to $2,000 before providing any service.
The defendants are charged with violating the Credit Repair Organizations Act by making untrue or misleading statements to credit bureaus about consumers’ credit worthiness, and by charging fees for credit repair services before they were fully performed.
Please be aware as a consumer that by law you cannot be charged up front for credit repair or a loan modification!
