The Credit "Advice or Assistance" World Players

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players.”
-William Shakespeare

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE: There are five (5) main categories of companies/people offering “credit advice” or “credit services,” such as “credit repair” and/or “credit counseling” and/or bankruptcy and/or “debt negotiation,” i.e the players . What is important to know is that two (2) types are legal and competent under the laws that govern our country.

A PCACC or Professional Consumer Advocate Credit Counselor:
First Stone^® Credit Counseling™ (FSCC™), as required by law, is a U.S. Treasury approved professional Consumer Advocate Credit “Cleanup” organization, with an IRS 501(c)(3) certification. First Stone^® therefore operates effectively and legally under the credit laws of the United States as well as all the states, and is headquartered in the Dallas, Texas area. FSCC’s primary objective is to help consumers to find credit trouble relief, as soon as possible by cleaning up their credit files, thus restoring their good name, and helping them to stay “credit trouble-free” through education so they can fully reach their financial and personal life’s goals.

 All Those Other Consumer Credit Counseling Companies (Our competitors):
In our opinion, most are actually “collection-agencies-in-disguise." Collecting money for creditors can be lucrative, but, it is extremely hazardous to any consumer’s credit health if they find them…

 Those “Credit Repair” Clinics:
The Federal Trade Commission said it best when their director of consumer protection, Ms. Jodie Bernstein, essentially stated “the FTC has never seen a legitimate credit repair company…” However, the biggest peril a consumer may face when hiring a “credit repair clinic” is that the sole tactic these organizations and/or individuals rely on is sending unsupported or “frivolous disputes” to the Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs, i.e., “credit bureaus”), with the hope that it will fool them into removing negative information. Credit bureaus, while not "rocket scientists”, are more savvy than that, usually picking up on this technique and then flagging a consumer's file so that any future contacts will be scrutinized for having hired a “credit repair clinic” whether valid or not. Additionally, Federal and State laws say that credit repair clinics must operate totally free, in other words, they cannot charge any up front fees for their services. They must complete all the work (even if it takes years) before they can legally receive any payment from you. Anything else is a criminal act, so says The Credit Repair Organizations Act and The Federal Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, and various DTPA laws state. All violate these rules.

 Debt Negotiators (are really “Credit Repair Clinics” in Disguise):
Debt negotiators are the latest on the scene. They claim they are legal since they don't claim to improve anyone's credit record, credit history or credit rating. In fact, some say the consumer will actually be worse off (and if they do make any of these claims they break the CROA law). However, they strongly insinuate that paying off your debts for 50 cents on the dollar or so will get you out of credit trouble. Blindly sending someone you don't know some money (no matter the percentage of a dollar owed) in advance to settle a debt ... well, really... how smart does that sound?

 Debt Consolidators (most translate to "bankruptcy attorneys"):
Many bankruptcy attorneys advertise they perform “debt consolidation” under USC Title 11. However, this is not true debt consolidation as most people would think of it. It will also destroy your credit worthiness for the next seven (7) to ten (10) years, quite possibly longer, because often creditors remain vindictive against those that file bankruptcy.

NOTE: FSCC™ does have the expertise to do true after bankruptcy credit file clean-up... FAST!

 BEWARE OF THE FOLLOWING (here are others you must avoid!)
Anyone claiming that they will give you a new identity for credit purposes. This is fraud and a criminal act! For example: car dealers who advertise that buying their car will rebuild your credit file. It's just not true and many do not even report to the CRAs.

Particularly beware of credit card companies that offer a card which also includes a “pay off” for a certain collection item. This is always a scam. Don't fall for this deception.