Operation Clean Sweep

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reacting to thousands of complaints across the country by consumers about credit repair companies. As a result, the FTC (along with 24 state agencies in 22 states) launched Operation Clean Sweep.

The FTC is charging 33 companies with violating the FTC Act and the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). The FTC states that these companies made false claims they could remove accurate information from their credit reports. The agency also alleged that the defendants violated the CROA by charging an advance fee for credit repair services.

Here is the list of 33 companies that are being charged with violating the CROA.

1. Advantage Credit Repair, LLC
2. Nationwide Credit Services, Inc.
3. Clean Credit Report Services, Inc.
4. Successful Credit Service Corporation
5. Hargrave & Associates Financial Solutions
6. American Credit Experts
7. RCA Credit Services, LLC
8. Good Credit Company
   
9. Payneless Credit Repair, LLC
10. Lee Harrison Credit Restoration
11. Sherrye Mance and Tiffany Morris
12. Absolute/Advanced Credit Services
13. Credit Advisors
14. Executive Financial Credit Services
15. Federal Debt Relief Systems
16. Financial Link Services
17. 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score - NOT THE 720 CREDIT GURU!!!
18. Integrity Credit Fix, Inc.
19. My Purchase Power, LLC
20. Enterprise Technology Group, Inc. doing business as Ameritrust Financial Card
21. New Leaf Associates, LLC
22. Financial Freedom Resources, Inc.
23. American Credit
24. Credit Counseling of the First Coast
25. United Credit Adjusters, Inc.
26. i3 Solutions
27. Warren and Associates
28. Bigger & Better Business Solutions
29. Affordable Computer Mobile Repair
30. Clean Credit Report Services, Inc.
31. Life Changing Credit Repair Services
32. The Credit Physician
33. Creditmax Financial, LLC

Operation Clean Sweep also includes three FTC cases announced earlier this year: Home Buyers Consulting Network, Inc., Payneless Credit Repair, LLC, and Lee Harrison Credit Restoration.

How can you avoid turning credit repair into credit despair? Here are a few suggestions from the FTC:

• Avoid any company that wants you to pay for credit repair services before they provide any services. It is against the law.
• Avoid any credit repair company that will not tell you your legal rights and what you can do, yourself, for free.
• Avoid any credit repair company that tells you not to contact a credit reporting company directly.
• Avoid any credit repair company that advises you to dispute all of the information in your credit report.
• Avoid any company that suggests creating a 'new' credit identity - and then, a new credit report - by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security number. That is against the law.

If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you also may be subject to prosecution.