In 2023, Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com’s parent company was hit with a $2.7 billion judgment by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for collecting illegal advance fees and running ads that promised loans and housing to people who signed up for credit repair. The parent company filed for bankruptcy, and both brands are banned from telemarketing credit repair for 10 years. If you were a customer, this page covers what happened, what refunds exist, and what to check before hiring anyone else, including us.
No card required. No obligation.
What Actually Happened
- The CFPB alleged the companies charged fees before performing services, which the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule prohibits for credit repair sold by phone.
- The CFPB also cited bait advertising: ads implying consumers would receive loans, housing, or rent-to-own opportunities by enrolling in credit repair.
- The result: a $2.7 billion judgment, roughly $1.8 billion in consumer redress covering about 4.3 million people, bankruptcy, and mass layoffs.
- Separately, the FTC’s case against Financial Education Services alleged $213 million in consumer harm and produced permanent industry bans, with refund checks mailed to consumers in 2026.
If you paid Lexington Law or CreditRepair.com, watch consumerfinance.gov for redress information rather than trusting any third party who contacts you about a refund.
The Checklist for Whoever You Hire Next
Hold every credit repair company, including Permissible, to this list:
- No fees before work is performed. Federal law requires it. Billing in arrears is the honest standard; setup fees at signup are the red flag that preceded the biggest collapses in this industry.
- No promised outcomes. No promises about what will come off a report, no point promises, no timelines to results. Only inaccurate, unverified, unfair, or outdated items can be challenged, and bureaus decide the outcome.
- No funding or housing bait. Credit repair enrollment never buys a loan or an apartment. That exact promise is what the $2.7 billion judgment punished.
- A written contract with a 3-day cancellation right, plus the mandatory federal rights disclosure, before any signature.
- A verifiable license where required. South Carolina licenses and bonds credit counseling organizations; verify any company (including us) with the SC Department of Consumer Affairs.
- The price on the website. If you have to call to hear a number, you are entering a sales funnel, not reading an offer.
How Permissible Compares
We publish the exact price ($79, $99, or $129 per month, no setup fees, billed in arrears), we put your legal rights on their own page, and we keep credit repair and business funding as fully separate services with separate enrollment. We are a licensed Charleston, South Carolina firm operating since 2018, not a national call center. We also tell you plainly: you can dispute your own reports for free, results vary, and no outcome can be guaranteed by us or anyone.
Switching Questions
Can I switch credit repair companies mid-dispute?
Yes, at any time. Your disputes belong to you, not the company that mailed them. Request copies of all dispute correspondence from your current provider, cancel per your contract terms, and any new provider can pick up from your reports’ current state. Ongoing bureau investigations complete on their own regardless of who filed them.
Is credit repair still worth it after all these scandals?
The enforcement actions punished illegal fees and false promises, not the legal activity of disputing inaccurate information, which remains your right under the FCRA. The honest version of this service still exists: dispute what may be wrong, bill after the work, promise nothing. Judge every provider, including us, by the checklist above.
Verify Us, Then Try the Free Analysis
Check our license with the SC Department of Consumer Affairs first. We mean it.
No card required. No obligation.