| The American Bankers Association (ABA) has reported that the Federal Trade Commission has warned 180 credit repair Web sites to clean up their acts, putting the companies on notice that their credit repair claims may violate state and federal laws.
This action was taken after the FTC, the Department of Justice and 47 other federal, state and local law enforcement and consumer protection agencies surfed the Web looking for illegal scams that promise consumers their creditworthiness can be restored for a fee.
Ten state attorneys generals, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and six of its Neighborhood Financial Care Centers along with 29 Better Business Bureaus participated in an Internet surf day. The went looking for credit repair ads that appeared to make deceptive advertising claims or promote illegal schemes according to the ABA. Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire’s office did not respond to inquiries as to its participation.
Many of the credit repair firms “guarantee” they can remove negative information from a consumers credit report, even if the information is accurate. According to the FTC, that isn’t so.
Claiming it’s perfectly legal, more than 60 of the credit repair operations identified also sell instructions telling consumers how to substitute a false Social Security number for their current one and “start fresh” with a new credit identity. This too is illegal says the FTC.
According to Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, accurate and timely negative information cannot be removed from a credit report in an effort to repair it, that only time and a personal debt repayment plan will improve a credit report.
The FTC has established an e-mail box at creditrepair@ftc.gov where credit repair organizations and consumers can send questions or comments. | 
