Chicago's Norma Reyes Misleads Public With Credit Repair Dog and Pony Show

In another colossal waste of taxpayers' money, the city of Chicago has charged nine credit repair companies with fraud while turning a blind eye on true culprits Trans Union, Equifax and Experian. Shockingly, Norma Reyes, Chicago's Commissioner of Consumer Services has teamed up with one of the nation's most corrupt and dishonest organizations, the Better Business Bureau, to pull the wool over Chicagoans' eyes about credit repair.

Norma Reyes's co-star in the credit repair show, the Better Business Bureau runs one of the country's largest con games. They don't police businesses and they certainly don't look out for consumers. They extort money from businesses by branding those who refuse to pay with low ratings.

Local BBBs are independently governed by their own board of directors but are "monitored" nationally by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. These charlatans receive the bulk of their income by charging annual tribute from the very businesses they report on! Depending on the size of the business, "accreditation" costs from several hundred to several thousand dollars a year. Only an accredited company (one that pays an annual fee) can receive the highest BBB rating, A+. It's a huge conflict of interest. They unduly protect businesses who pay them and unfairly rate businesses who refuse to pay up. It's crooked to the core. This is who Norma Reyes chose to associate with in presenting her dog and pony credit repair show to the press.

This witch hunt is just the latest chapter in a highly financed public relations smear campaign funded and rooted in the credit reporting industry's decades long effort to direct attention away from their failed data gathering systems and on to a straw man, the credit repair industry. Norma Reyes has hurt consumers by continuing this consumer credit charade.

How did the credit repair industry become the most regulated service industry in the United States? Was it because all credit repair organizations are "vultures" (as Reyes calls them) and "scam artists"? Of course not. The majority of credit repair services are honest and ethical. They provide much needed assistance to consumers victimized by obdurate, uncaring, unfair credit reporting companies like Chicago based Trans Union Corporation. Credit repair companies force credit bureaus to report accurately and the bureaus hate them for it. It costs money for the credit bureaus to accurately report consumer credit history. They would much rather deal with a public uneducated in the ways of credit bureau stalling tactics, high consumer credit payment history error rates and a two digit CDV dispute verification process that borders on the ridiculous.

More than twenty years ago the credit bureaus devised a plan to discredit and destroy the much needed credit repair industry. Through their lobbyists and associates they wrote draconian legislation that, if passed by Congress, would make it virtually impossible for credit repair companies to survive. Although hundreds of small credit repair business owners wrote and met with Senators and members of Congress to warn them what was really happening, they could not compete with the deep pockets of the credit bureaus, banks and insurance companies. In the end, the credit repair companies and American consumers lost.

Now a small business owner involved in credit repair has to jump through a number of regulatory hoops just to stay in business. Plus, he can't get paid until after all the services have been completed! Due to credit bureau stalling and delaying tactics it can take four to six months or longer to complete a credit repair case. What business can survive that long without cash flow? Does anyone actually believe these harsh rules were dropped on the credit repair industry for the sole purpose of protecting consumers? Of course they weren't. They were passed to destroy the credit repair industry because the powerful credit reporting industry wanted them out of the picture. It's that plain and simple. That's the way government works in America. Those with the money make the rules; those who try to earn a living helping victims of credit bureau abuses get the shaft.

However, the American entrepreneur is resilient. Many credit repair experts found they could abide by the restrictive rules and still make a living helping victims of an unjust, unfair credit reporting system. If they defined the services they provided then they could offer the public a fair contract that would pass muster and allow these companies to receive revenue on a monthly basis. Once again consumers had an effective option to fight the credit bureaus.

This brings us to Chicago and Norma Reyes's credit repair witch hunt. These credit repair press conferences pop up every few years, usually on a state level or national stage. Their purpose is not to protect the public; it's to protect the credit bureaus by discrediting the credit repair industry. As I mentioned earlier, this negative PR campaign has been going on for over two decades. If these Government agencies were truly concerned about helping American consumers wouldn't you think they would go after the major credit reporting agencies like Trans Union, Equifax and Experian? Credit bureaus receive more complaints than all other major corporations combined, yet any action taken against them by state or federal authorities amounts to a slap on the wrist. Do you think Norma Reyes would have the courage, fortitude, honesty or political guts to go after Trans Union Corporation for the pain and misery they have foisted on many of the good people of Chicago? Of course she wouldn't. She's just another lawyer, another Chicago politician.

There are bad apples in all industries. Credit repair is no exception. However there were already plenty of laws in place to address these issues. In passing strict credit repair statutes, states and the federal government were now using a sledge hammer to swat a fly. As I mentioned earlier, these laws were not passed to protect consumers; they were enacted to hamper and destroy legitimate credit repair businesses so major credit bureaus would not have to spend money verifying the accuracy of credit reports.

What Norma Reyes could have done with the "Chicago 9" is so simple. If she discovered some questionable tactics, an instructive warning would have put any honest credit repair business owner right back on track. The owner would have thanked the Commissioner after putting in policies to correct his mistakes. The amount and interpretation of credit repair regulations can be very confusing and honest mistakes can be made. This doesn't make the business owner a "vulture".

If one or more of the companies in question ignored her warnings or was suspected of a more egregious violation, then Commissioner Reyes would serve the public well by charging them. I have no problem with that. However, look at what she did. She called a press conference to indict an entire industry! She stood next to a BBB flim flam man and used a broad brush to paint all the small businessmen as vultures. That is disgraceful.

Seeking help from Trans Union, Equifax or Experian to correct and improve your credit report is like going to Charles Ponzi or Bernie Madoff for investment advice. It's insane, yet it's precisely what Norma Reyes and other consumer watchdogs advise you to do. Credit bureaus make their huge profits by controlling the reporting of negative credit information. The last thing they want is a fair system that gives folks control over their own personal information. Credit bureaus don't view you as their customer. You're just a nuisance to them. They view banks, finance companies, insurance providers, large creditors, property owners and employers as their customers. A credit bureau will never provide thorough, complete credit repair advice. It would be against their best interest to do so. You will only achieve remarkable credit repair results by using the services of a competent credit repair expert or by learning all the powerful techniques on your own. Simply calling a credit bureau's consumer assistance line and expecting your credit reports to be corrected is naive at best.

I've always found it ridiculous when some consumer advocate knucklehead slams credit repair for being a service one can do for himself. Will he also disparage an oil change service like Jiffy Lube, a restaurant like Mortons or MacDonalds, a tax preparer like H & R Block, a cleaning lady, a real estate broker? All services that offer something you can do for yourself. Plus, a knowledgeable, effective credit repair expert is often the only way to obtain a credit report that accurately reflects your true credit worthiness.

The great 19th century actress, Sarah Bernhardt once said about Chicago, " I adore Chicago. It is the pulse of America." After Norma Reyes's specious performance, Sarah is surely turning in her grave.

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