People who are working hard to improve their credit can feel trapped. Some companies take advantage of this stressful situation by selling consumers the promise of credit repair services. However, these services charge a fee and do not deliver on those promises.
The CFPB sued companies operating under the names Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com. Both companies are among the largest credit repair companies in the United States that promise to repair or improve people’s credit. The court ruled that the companies violated the law. As part of the legal ruling in the case, the two companies were banned from using telemarketing to sell their credit repair services for ten years.
Some Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com customers can cancel service without penalty
Thousands of Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com customers received email notifications informing them that they can cancel their credit repair services without penalty and outlining the steps to take. The emails included a website link and phone number that customers can use to cancel their accounts, as well as the following information:
Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com remind you that, as outlined in the contractual agreement included in this message, you have the right to terminate your credit repair services at any time for any reason (or no reason).
Check your inbox, check your email, and take action now to protect yourself from illegal fees imposed by Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com.
You have the right to see the results before paying
Under federal law, when a business uses telemarketing to sell its credit repair services, it must meet certain requirements before it can charge for its services. First, the company must provide its promised results on time. Second, it must provide you with a consumer report showing those results, and that report must be issued six months after you get the promised results. Only then can the company bill you or accept payment.
You don’t have to pay a company to repair or improve your credit
You can dispute errors on your credit report for free. You do not have to pay a credit repair company to do this for you.
The first step you should take is to get your free credit reports from the three major national credit reporting companies at annualcreditreport.com. You can watch them online for free each week. Review them and find errors. Then use sample messages, videos, and FAQs to solve your problems.
Errors can be investigated and resolved, but a credit repair company cannot legally remove information from your report if the information is accurate and current. If errors on your credit report are not your problem, the CFPB has some tips on building and maintaining a good credit score.
what can you do:
- Check out our guides and online tools to learn how to dispute inaccurate information on your credit report and improve your credit score.
- Send us complaints about financial products and services online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).
- If you currently work or have worked for a company that has violated the federal consumer financial protection laws, please write to whistleblower@cfpb.gov and tell us what you know.
