The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has brought charges against the New Jersey-based National Credit Management Group (NCMG) as part of “Operation Eraser”, a federal-state crackdown on fraudulent credit repair firms.  Also charged with violating the FTC Act and the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) are NCMG principals Glen Buzzetti and Joseph Ferguson.

NCMG, doing business as 1-800-YES-CREDIT, Buzzetti and Ferguson are charged with making deceptive claims about their ability to improve consumers’ credit records and get them credit cards, by charging advance fees for these services, violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule by making unauthorized bank account debits, obtaining advance fees for “guaranteed” credit cards, and failing to disclose the true costs of their services.

The proposed settlement would permanently ban Buzzetti and Ferguson from most credit-related business, would ban them from check debiting, and would require that they pay $350,000 in redress.  National Credit Management Group was shut down in April.

NCMG advertised on TV and radio, soliciting consumers to call 1-800-YES-CREDIT to receive an unsecured credit card, offering a credit analysis, and suggesting they would help consumers improve their credit ratings, in return for an up-front fee of $95.  Further, they obtained consumers’ checking account numbers and made unauthorized withdrawals.

Operation Eraser, initiated in March, has targeted 31 companies that promised to restore consumers’ creditworthiness, removing negative information from their credit reports (whether the negative information was accurate or not), sometimes charging fees over $1000.

Copies of the NCMG settlement, information about Operation Eraser, and other publications concerning consumer credit issues are available from the FTC on their web site (www.ftc.gov), by writing the FTC Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580, or by calling 202-FTC-HELP (202-382-43567).