Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

Re: Terms of Use Agreement

I am declining to answer your question because state bar rules prohibit a lawyer from advising a person on how to commit a crime.

Credit repair/restoration is generally illegal in Georgia. The following is quoted from the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs website at http://consumer.georgia.gov/00/article/0,2086,5426814_39039081_39271650,00.html :

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Questionable Credit Repair Offers

You have seen plenty of ads full of promises like these:

�Credit problems? No problem!�

�We can erase your bad credit--100% guaranteed.�

�Create a new credit identity legally.�

�We can remove bankruptcies, liens, judgments and bad loans from your credit file forever!�

Unfortunately, these companies cannot live up to their promises. Even after you pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in up-front fees, your credit will be no better. No one can remove correct information from your credit report, even if it negatively reflects on you. It is illegal and a misdemeanor to operate a credit-repair services company of this type under Georgia law.

If you decide to respond to a credit repair offer, beware of companies that:

Want you to pay for services up front;

Do not tell you your legal rights or what you can do for yourself at no cost;

Recommend that you not contact the credit bureaus directly;

Suggest you get new credit by using someone else�s Social Security number or by applying for an Employer Identification Number; or

Advise you to dispute all information on your credit report.

The Social Security Act prohibits misrepresentation of your Social Security number, and the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act makes it a federal crime to knowingly use another person�s identification with dishonest intent. Further, it is a federal crime to make false statements on a credit application or to obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Services under false pretenses. You will be prosecuted by the federal government for these crimes.

Federal law also imposes certain limitations on credit repair companies. They may not:

Make false claims about their services.

Charge you until they have completed the promised services.

Perform any services until you have signed a written contract and a three-day waiting period has passed, during which you can cancel your contract with no fees.

Other practices that may violate the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act include:

Promising to remove negative but accurate information from your credit report.

Offering to establish a new credit identity for you, an illegal practice known as �file segregation.�

Encouraging you to stop making payments to your creditors.

Telling you to ignore the IRS, collection letters or other legal documents.