National Credit Management Group, Fort Lee, NJ, and its principals, Glenn Buzzetti and Joseph Ferguson, agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges brought against them as part of a federal and state crackdown on fraudulent credit repair firms. The crackdown was known as “Operation Eraser.”
National Credit Management aired DRTV spots for 1-800-YES-CREDIT. During the telephone sales pitch, an offer was allegedly made to consumers that for $95 they could receive a credit analysis.
The FTC charged the defendants with violating the FTC Act and the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The charges stem from allegations that defendants made deceptive claims about their ability to improve consumers' credit records and being able to provide credit cards. They also charged advanced fees for these services, which is illegal.
In addition, Buzzetti and Ferguson also allegedly made unauthorized bank account debits, obtaining fees for “guaranteed” credit cards and failing to disclose the true cost of services.
The settlement requires the defendants to pay $350,000 in redress. Also, Buzzetti and Ferguson are permanently banned from both the credit repair business and from providing advance fee loan services.
The FTC charges state that consumers would not receive their guaranteed credit cards nor the improvement to their credit records, as promised.
