CFPB Files Lawsuit Against Credit Repair Company Prime Marketing Holdings

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on Friday (Sept. 23) it filed a lawsuit in federal district court against credit repair company Prime Marketing Holdings, which it contends charged consumers a series of illegal advance fees, as well as misrepresented the cost and effectiveness of its services.

In a press release, the CFPB said it is seeking to halt the company’s “harmful” conduct and to obtain relief for consumers, including refunds of fees paid to the defendant.

“Today, we are taking action against Prime Marketing Holdings for luring consumers with misleading claims about its ability to repair credit files and then charging illegal fees,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in the press release. “We are also alerting consumers to watch out for problematic credit repair practices. All consumers have a right to a free annual credit report and to dispute inaccurate information. This is a key step to building and maintaining good credit.”

Prime Marketing Holdings is a credit repair company that is incorporated in Delaware with an office in Van Nuys, California. Prime Marketing Holdings has operated under various names, including Park View Credit, National Credit Advisors and Credit Experts. Since 2014, Prime Marketing Holdings has marketed, offered and provided credit repair services to consumers across the country.

According to the CFPB, some credit repair services promise to improve consumers’ credit scores by challenging items on their credit reports, regardless of whether the information is accurate. According to the CFPB complaint, Prime Marketing Holdings lured consumers with “misleading, unsubstantiated claims that it could remove any negative information from their credit reports and could boost credit scores by significant amounts.” The company used its website and sales calls to lure customers and, at times, targeted consumers who had recently tried to get a mortgage, loan, refinancing or other extension of credit. The company would charge consumers a variety of illegal fees for its services, the complaint contends.