A Denver-based “credit-repair” company was sued Monday by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, who accused Veracity Credit Consultants of charging upfront fees that are illegal under state and federal law.
The civil lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court, alleges that the company requires consumers to pay an initial setup fee of up to $99 and monthly fees of up to $79.
The lawsuit states that a credit-repair firm can charge fees only once its services are complete.
Company representatives reached by phone said they were not authorized to talk about the allegations.
According to the lawsuit, since 2003 Veracity has advertised, promoted and offered online “credit-optimization services” in Colorado and throughout the United States. On its websites, said the lawsuit, Veracity offers to “fix credit” and correct errors to improve a consumer’s credit score. To pull in customers, Suthers charged, Veracity claims to be one of the best credit-repair services available because it gets “results.”
“By offering the best report analyses, fast credit-score turnarounds, ongoing updates and the most attentive and professionally-trained credit-repair consultants, we outperform our competitors significantly,” the lawsuit quotes Veracity as saying.
However, investigators claim that contrary to Veracity’s representations about “results” and “fast credit-score turnarounds,” the company sends consumers a “client-services agreement” that specifically says it can’t do the things claimed on its websites.
Buried in the middle of the agreement, the company says it doesn’t “represent or warrant that it will achieve specific results for client,” said the lawsuit.
Suthers alleged that the actual services Veracity provides are quite limited.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
