Before you pay anybody
Ten rights you already have
These are not our terms and they are not a promise we are making. They are federal law. They apply to every company in this industry, including this one, and they are the things to hold whoever you hire to.
Each one below says what the law gives you, what it obliges us to do, and what it looks like when somebody is breaking it.
R-01 Nobody may take your money first
CROA 15 U.S.C. 1679b(b)What the law gives you
No credit repair organisation may charge or receive any payment for a service until that service has been fully performed. Not a deposit, not a setup fee, not a first month.
What it obliges us to do
We invoice per item, after that item has an outcome in writing. There is no card on file and no monthly charge to forget about.
What a breach looks like
Anyone asking for money before they have done anything is breaking federal law in front of you.
R-02 You get your rights in writing, first
CROA 15 U.S.C. 1679cWhat the law gives you
Before any contract, you must receive a separate written statement called Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law. Separate means its own document, not a paragraph inside something else.
What it obliges us to do
You get it by email before we send you anything to sign, and we keep the record of when you got it.
What a breach looks like
A contract arriving without it, or the disclosure buried as a clause on page four.
R-03 Three business days to walk away
CROA 15 U.S.C. 1679eWhat the law gives you
You may cancel without penalty or obligation until midnight of the third business day after you sign. You do not have to give a reason and you owe nothing.
What it obliges us to do
Nothing is sent during those three days. Every letter waits. If you cancel, the whole thing is voided and there is no invoice.
What a breach looks like
Pressure to sign today, or a cancellation form that is missing, or supplied only once.
R-04 The contract has to say what you are buying
CROA 15 U.S.C. 1679dWhat the law gives you
The written contract must state the terms of payment, a full description of the services, the estimated date by which they will be performed, our name and business address, and your right to cancel.
What it obliges us to do
If any of those is missing, the contract is not valid. Ours is one page and you can read it in five minutes.
What a breach looks like
A contract with no estimated performance date. It is the term most often left out.
R-05 Nobody may tell you to lie
CROA 15 U.S.C. 1679b(a)What the law gives you
It is illegal to advise you to make an untrue statement to a credit agency, or to alter your identity to break the link to your file.
What it obliges us to do
We will not do it and we will not help. If somebody has offered you a new credit identity or a CPN, that is fraud and you would be the one holding it.
What a breach looks like
The words "credit privacy number", "new file", or "we can make it disappear".
R-06 Thirty days, and it is their clock, not yours
FCRA 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)(A)What the law gives you
The agency must complete its reinvestigation within 30 days of receiving your dispute. That extends to 45 days if you supply additional relevant information during the period.
What it obliges us to do
We send so the arrival date is provable, we count from that date, and we tell you the due date on the day it starts.
What a breach looks like
Anyone counting from the day they wrote the letter rather than the day it arrived.
R-07 You can ask how they checked
FCRA 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(7)What the law gives you
If an item comes back verified, you may request a description of the procedure used to determine its accuracy, including the name and address of the company they contacted. They have 15 days.
What it obliges us to do
We will tell you honestly whether it is worth asking on your item, because often it is not.
What a breach looks like
A verification that arrives the same week it was sent. That is a database match, not an investigation.
R-08 You can put your own words on the file
FCRA 15 U.S.C. 1681i(b)What the law gives you
If the dispute is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may file a statement of the dispute. The agency may limit it to one hundred words.
What it obliges us to do
We help you write the hundred words and we do not charge for it.
What a breach looks like
Being told this option does not exist. It does, and it is free.
R-09 Your report is free, from the source
FCRA 15 U.S.C. 1681j(a)What the law gives you
You are entitled to a free file disclosure from each nationwide agency, at annualcreditreport.com. That is the statutory site and it is the only one you need.
What it obliges us to do
We will never charge you for pulling a report and we will never send you to a paid one. If you have not got yours yet, get it before you call us.
What a breach looks like
Any site that wants a card number for a free report.
R-10 It comes off on a schedule, not on request
FCRA 15 U.S.C. 1681cWhat the law gives you
Most negative information must be removed after seven years, and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy after ten. That happens on its own, whatever anybody charges you.
What it obliges us to do
On the free review we will tell you if an item is close to ageing off, in which case you should keep your money.
What a breach looks like
Being sold a dispute on an item that was going to drop off next month anyway.
If somebody has broken one of these
All three of these are free, you can do all three yourself, and none of them requires you to hire anybody. If a company has taken money from you before doing the work, start today.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Takes complaints about credit repair companies and about the reporting agencies themselves. Companies have to respond. Free.
Your state attorney general
Most states regulate credit repair on top of the federal rules, and advance fees are the thing they act on. Free.
A consumer lawyer
CROA allows you to recover what you paid, plus damages and costs. Many consumer lawyers take these on contingency, so ask before you assume you cannot afford one.