The cleaning of your credit reports was written into law as part of the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This practice of cleaning your credit reports is 100% legal; therefore you should exercise your rights to protect yourself from the credit bureaus and fraudulent claims from creditors.
CREDIT REPAIR ORGANIZATIONS''
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the 'Credit Repair Organizations Act'.
SEC. 402. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Consumers have a vital interest in establishing and maintaining their credit worthiness and credit standing in order to obtain and use credit. As a result, consumers who have experienced credit problems may seek assistance from credit repair organizations which offer to improve the credit standing of such consumers.
(2) Certain advertising and business practices of some companies engaged in the business of credit repair services have worked a financial hardship upon consumers, particularly those of limited economic means and who are inexperienced in credit matters.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are--
(1) to ensure that prospective buyers of the services of credit repair organizations are provided with the information necessary to make an informed decision regarding the purchase of such services; and
(2) to protect the public from unfair or deceptive advertising and business practices by credit repair organizations.
SEC. 403. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title, the following definitions apply:
(1) Consumer. -- The term 'consumer' means an individual.
(2) Consumer credit transaction. -- The term 'consumer credit transaction' means any transaction in which credit is offered or extended to an individual for personal, family, or household purposes.
(3) Credit repair organization. -- The term 'credit repair organization'--
(A) means any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails to sell, provide, or perform (or represent that such person can or will sell, provide, or perform) any service, in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration, for the express or implied purpose of--
(i) improving any consumer's credit record, credit history, or credit rating; or
(ii) providing advice or assistance to any consumer with regard to any activity or service described in clause (i); and
(B) does not include--
(i) any nonprofit organization which is exempt from taxation under section 501
(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(ii) any creditor (as defined in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act),with respect to any consumer, to the extent the creditor is assisting the consumer to restructure any debt owed by the consumer to the creditor; or
(iii) any depository institution (as that term is defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) or any Federal or State credit union (as those terms are defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act), or any affiliate or subsidiary of such a depository institution or credit union.
(4) Credit.--The term 'credit' has the meaning given to such term in section 103(e) of this Act.
