The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint against a scheme calling itself “America’s Premier Debt Consolidation Company” for violating the FTC Act and the FTC’s “Telemarketing Sales Rule”.

According to the complaint,the defendants have violated the FTC Act and the TSR by falsely claiming that they are a nonprofit entity; that the only cost for their services is a monthly administrative fee that is less than $49 and/or that there is no application fee; that their services will result in estimated savings of a specified amount, typically several thousand dollars; and that their services will reduce the consumer’s monthly payment or total debt, or will improve their credit rating. In fact, the complaint states, in addition to a monthly administrative fee, the defendants charge a fee equal to the monthly payment, which is collected from the consumer’s first payment; they overstate the estimated savings, if any; their services do not necessarily reduce the consumer’s monthly payment or total debt; and they do not provide any service to improve, or prevent deterioration of, a customer’s credit record, history, or rating.

The defendants used recorded messages delivered to answering machines stating “We are a nonprofit agency that can consolidate your credit cards, lower your monthly payments dramatically, and reduce your interest rates down to as low as 1.5 percent.”

The defendants also use mail and Web sites (www.expressconsolidation.org and www.expressconsolidation.com) to get consumers to contact them, the complaint alleges.

The defendants are attorney Randall L. Leshin, P.A., d/b/a Express Consolidation, Express Consolidation Inc., and Consumer Credit Consolidation Inc. and its president, Maureen A. Gaviola. The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Capital Acquisitons and Management Corp (CAMCO) and affiliated companies will pay $1 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that their debt collection practices violated Federal law.

The FTC charged CAMCO with threatening and harassing consumers over old and unenforceable debts as well as debts they never even incurred. According to the FTC, these deceptive and abusive collection practices violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Do you know what your rights are under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? What can debt collectors do and what are they not allowed to do when they contact you regarding debts?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides rules and regulations that govern how you may be contacted, when and how often. Debt collectors may not use false or misleading statements to get you to pay a debt and they may not contact you at work if you request that they do not.

For more information on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, visit the FTC website’s Facts for Consumers.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a new Facts for Consumers publication entitled Selling Your Home? Tips for Selecting a Real Estate Professional.

The new publication is designed to help consumers who are planning to sell their home. It offers information such as: the differences between agents and brokers; tips and questions you should ask when choosing a real estate broker; pros and cons of selling your own home without the services of a broker and the different types of real estate contracts.

You can view the publication at the FTC website.

September is the one year anniversary for yearly free credit reports for consumers. Phased in across the country, all areas were eligible by September of 2005.

All consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months form each of the three national credit reporting agencies – Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

To obtain your free credit reports, you can order them online at www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll free at 1-877-322-8228 or obtain an Annual Credit Report Request Form at www.ftc.gov. Once completed, mail the request form to Annual Credit Report Service, P O Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Knowing what is on your credit report is the first and most important step to taking control of your personal finances. Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to get the information you need to repair your credit rating and to discover and correct mistakes that your credit report may contain.