Vision Credit Education, Inc.

A credit repair scheme operating in North Carolina has been charged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for violations of federal law. Home Buyers Consulting Network (HBCN) faced a civil judgment of $573,000 and $40,000 in restitution.

The penalties were mostly suspended after HBCN claimed it was financially destitute. The complaint was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC.

HBCN was charged with violations of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), which prohibits companies for charging for credit repair prior to the services actually being rendered. HBCN was reportedly charging an upfront fee of at least $99 before credit repair services were initiated. Clients were also charged a monthly fee of $49 or a weekly fee of $19.

Additionally, the FTC claims that HBCN made false assertions about their ability to remove accurate credit items from consumer credit reports. The service was often bundled with a home buying consulting service for a $399 advance payment.

Charges were filed against Douglas Anderson Moore, who is the CEO of HBCN. The HBCN marketed services under a number of websites, including goodcredit.com and 0downhomebuyers.com. HBCN also went by the Good Credit Company and Home Buyers Network.

Consumers should be reminded that credit repair organizations generally cannot do anything that consumers cannot do on their own. It is simply an overpriced service that you can easily do on your own. Nonprofit organizations like Vision Credit Education can show you how to repair your own credit for free.

Remember that legitimate and correct information cannot be removed. You can however dispute information that is inaccurate on your credit report.