How I Came to do Credit Repair for Free
Back when I was the CEO of a debt-buying company (and later as a senior executive of a regional debt collection law firm on the East Coast) we never messed much with credit reporting. Here’s why — because it was too dangerous!
Our companies were well-aware of the extra burden that would be required administratively to regularly and accurately report the status of every account properly to the credit bureaus, and, since our primary methods of collection were telephone calls, lawsuits, and a “kill ’em with kindness” philosophy, we didn’t see a worthwhile advantage to also leveraging the credit report in order to provoke payment.
“Furnisher Liability” — Ack!
Another thing we were worried about was “furnisher liability.” The furnisher is the company that provides the information to the Credit Reporting Agencies (the “Big Three” are Equifax, Transunion, and Experian) and the Agencies just compile that data from all the furnishers and maintain the reports which they then sell to lenders so that they can evaluate the risks and set prices on personal loans.
Federal and State Credit Reporting Laws — Super Complicated!
The federal law (and there are some state laws) that governs credit reporting is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). It’s a big law, it’s a confusing law, it contradicts itself in some places, and it’s had hundreds of varied and sometimes weird interpretations in the federal courts that have decided cases under it since it became law in 1970. It’s also had a number of congressional revisions since then and a whole bunch of “interpretations” have been issued by the Federal Trade Commission.
Generally speaking, the furnishers aren’t on the hook as much as the Credit Reporting Agencies, but they can still get stung with a lawsuit if theyknowingly fail to furnish accurate information, fail to actually investigate a dispute when it’s received from the consumer via the Credit Reporting Agencies, or fail to report to the Agencies that an account is disputed when they’ve been informed of such by the consumer.
What Happened When I Switched Sides…
When I switched sides and went from being a debt collection executive to being a Consumer Protection Attorney, I wasn’t surprised that my clients, in addition to wanting to stop debt collection harassment, also wanted to deal with their credit reports and improve their FICO scores.
What I WAS surprised about was that there was so little accurate, credible, actionable information about the best possible way to clean up credit. The books on the subject were packed with irrelevant information and were inconsistent, and sometimes the advice they were giving was outdated by as much as 10 years! (For example, you can’t just carpet bomb the agencies with vague disputes and hope to get anywhere anymore — that’sso 2005.)
“Crazy Man” Tries to Explain:
Trying to explain the twists and turns of the FCRA to my clients and, in particular, the difference between strict liability, negligence and willfulness, plus the usual Credit Reporting Agency legal defense of following “reasonable procedures to assure the maximum possible accuracy,” made me sound like a CRAZY man (because it is) and wasn’t helping anyone!
I realized that I was going to have to provide a product that was simple, easy to use, effective at getting legitimate credit reporting disputes resolvedby the Credit Reporting Agencies, AND which would create and preserve the right kind of evidence in the event that the Agencies’ automated systems and third-world outsourced business processes didn’t do the right thing.
“Credit Repair Services” that “Don’t Do Legal” — Whaaaaat?
I had heard from too many clients that their “credit repair service” to whom they had paid sometimes over $1000, had just simply run out of gas and just “didn’t do legal” when it came to getting a legitimate credit reporting dispute solved. Even from companies with the word “legal” or “law” in their names! (What’s worse, is that the “credit repair service” system of blanketing the Agencies with vague and non-specific disputes had caused their clients to be labeled “frivolous” and as a result, the Agencies now ignored their complaints.)
The Missing Link
So, I went looking for this product that I could license or recommend to and guess what? It didn’t exist. At first I thought “maybe I’ll write a book,” but who wants to plow through 200 pages with a bunch of explanations and a massive appendix of forms at the back? Nobody, not even me. I read those books and they were tough to digest! What you really need when you’re disputing is someone to spoon feed you (that’s right, the Credit Reporting Agencies are free to ignore disputes from anyone but the consumer — and they often do!) exactly what you need to do in any given situation (and there are many) and make it as simple and effective as possible all the while setting up a future legal case if it becomes necessary.
Idea Sex
I was reading a book by James Altucher at the time called “Choose Yourself.” In it, he described his daily practice of having “idea sex.” Wait — it’s not necessarily what you think! Idea sex is when you think up a whole bunch of ideas (some and/or many of which are completely stupid) and then you mate those ideas together to see what happens. Do you get a Labradoodle, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, or just an ugly monster that can’t survive? In this case, I mated the idea of adaptive and responsive legally-inspired credit repair program with an electronic Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform and came up with a winner!
“The Machine” is Born!
I immediately set to work, and in a shorter period of days than I thought possible — mostly because I would wake up at 3am and be unable to resist working on it — created The Ultimate Credit Clean Up Machine. It does everything it’s supposed to do. It’s is a sophisticated and legally-informed credit report analysis and dispute program with simplified instructions, links, and electronic forms.
And It “Thinks!”
The best part is that it’s responsive to the user and tailored to their circumstances and situation. The links and forms are delivered by email. The subscriber simply clicks certain links in the email to report what is happening and The Ultimate Credit Clean Up Machine interprets those and sends new and different forms depending on the subscriber’s particular circumstance. The Ultimate Credit Clean Up Machine engages the subscriber over time with reminders and warnings and manages the entire credit clean up process from first obtaining the reports all the way to a successful outcome — even if it takes three months or more.
The Ultimate Credit Clean Up Machine is so effective because itincorporates the Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements in the way that other “credit repair services” and credit repair books do not. Finally, if the subscriber is unsuccessful in removing any legitimately disputed items, they have the option to have their potential legal case evaluated for free (and The Machine has created a high-quality stack of evidence along the way) and may qualify for no-money-down legal representation.
How Free?
The price. How did I arrive at FREE? It was just simply the right thing to do. I’m NOT in the business of charging people money to send low-quality dispute letters on their behalf — I want people to be empowered to make the best possible run at cleaning up their credit using the best possible knowledge and techniques available. I AM in the business of being a lawyer, and, when somebody gets to the point of needing one, I hope they’ll consider me.
Above all, being an attorney is about serving one’s community and sharing knowledge in order to improve people’s lives. I’ll spend a whole family reunion talking about someone’s legal problem (for free of course!) if that will help ease their mind. So, The Ultimate Credit Clean Up Machine is my opportunity to serve you, your family, and your prosperity!
