jessica thomas
Member
I’ve been digging into how credit repair actually works in Florida, and it turns out the state has some pretty specific rules that anyone considering these services should know. In Florida, credit repair companies are treated as Credit Service Organizations (CSOs). That means if they’re offering to improve your credit or help you secure loans in exchange for payment, they have to follow certain legal guidelines.
From what I’ve learned, Florida doesn’t require a special license just to operate, but things change if a company wants to charge clients upfront. In that case, they need to put up a $10,000 surety bond and keep a trust account at a federally insured bank. On top of that, they’re required to give clients a written contract that explains the services, fees, timelines, and cancellation rights. They also have to provide an information statement that spells out your rights and makes it clear that no company can permanently erase accurate negative information from your credit report.
There are also restrictions on what these companies can and cannot do. They can’t charge you before performing the work unless they’ve met those bonding requirements, and they’re not allowed to mislead you or make false promises. Florida law also bans them from getting paid just for referring you to lenders. And of course, they still have to follow federal law under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, which has its own rules about upfront payments, disclosures, and your right to cancel within a few days.
What I’d love to know is whether anyone here has actually worked with a credit repair service in Florida and seen them follow these rules. Did you get the proper contract and disclosures? Were they upfront about what they could and couldn’t do? I’m curious to hear from people who’ve had both good and bad experiences because it’s not always easy to tell which companies are legit and which ones are just taking advantage of people desperate to fix their credit.
From what I’ve learned, Florida doesn’t require a special license just to operate, but things change if a company wants to charge clients upfront. In that case, they need to put up a $10,000 surety bond and keep a trust account at a federally insured bank. On top of that, they’re required to give clients a written contract that explains the services, fees, timelines, and cancellation rights. They also have to provide an information statement that spells out your rights and makes it clear that no company can permanently erase accurate negative information from your credit report.
There are also restrictions on what these companies can and cannot do. They can’t charge you before performing the work unless they’ve met those bonding requirements, and they’re not allowed to mislead you or make false promises. Florida law also bans them from getting paid just for referring you to lenders. And of course, they still have to follow federal law under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, which has its own rules about upfront payments, disclosures, and your right to cancel within a few days.
What I’d love to know is whether anyone here has actually worked with a credit repair service in Florida and seen them follow these rules. Did you get the proper contract and disclosures? Were they upfront about what they could and couldn’t do? I’m curious to hear from people who’ve had both good and bad experiences because it’s not always easy to tell which companies are legit and which ones are just taking advantage of people desperate to fix their credit.