The groups seek modernization of a 1996 federal law to prevent credit repair firm scams.
05/11/2023 8:15 A.M.
1.5 minute read
ACA International is among several organizations calling on House Financial Services Committee leaders to introduce bipartisan legislation that would prevent credit repair scams.
In a letter (PDF) to Committee Chair U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., and Ranking Member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., ACA, the American Bankers Association, American Financial Services Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Consumer Data Industry Association, Credit Union National Association, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, National Bankers Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, specifically asked for modernization of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), which was passed in 1996.
“Amending the CROA would help to prevent credit repair firms from inducing consumers to pay for services that are not provided and from clogging dispute systems with false claims,” the letter states.
It also notes that regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, have warned that credit repair organizations present risks to consumers trying to improve their finances through potentially misleading language.
States have tackled the credit repair issue through legislation.
For example, in Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed a bill to regulate credit repair companies that will take effect in July, ACA previously reported.
In addition to regulating credit repair companies, the new law creates transparency for consumers by adding prohibited acts to the Credit Services Organization Act.
It was an extensive focus of the Washington Collectors Association’s advocacy this legislative session, ACA previously reported.
Similar legislation in California, also a focus of advocacy by the California Association of Collectors, with amendments to the state’s Credit Services Act of 1984, became law in 2022, ACA previously reported.
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