Consumer complaint received 2023-08-18
Company: White Jacobs & Associates
State: FL
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit repair services
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2023 I reached out to White Jacobs and Associates via the internet website XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in regards to the services they provide to learn further about their craft in resolving credit report inaccuracies. As a consumer, I was under the impression that White Jacobs & Associates was a legal law firm business conducting credit repair due to the advertisement displaying on their website displaying a picture slogan of a XXXX which by definition is a small ceremonial mallet commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially in the capacity of a presiding officer. 


Under the XXXX symbol, it states in words saying quote Our attorney-managed, XXXX process is personalized for each client by an investigative research team all at a reasonable cost Upon submitting my name and contact number to be reached, I received a call from a female employee named XXXX who states that she is a credit analyst. During the conversation I have with XXXX, she proceeds to probe and ask personal questions regarding my goals, my job title, aspirations, how much I make and etc., which to me did not seem relevant to the topic of credit repair, however, to maintain a peaceful dialogue I did not proceed to be abruptly disdain about the personal questions. XXXX informs me that the nature of their business is attorney based and backed to dispute and win cases to fix people 's credit reports with the credit bureaus. XXXX proceeded to direct me to a website called XXXX XXXX XXXX  and informed me to sign up and pay out of my pocket a fee so I can do a soft pull of my credit report from the XXXX major credit bureaus. 


Once I completed her directions to pulling my soft credit report, XXXX asked me what is it that I was seeking to accomplish from viewing my report, and I explained to XXXX the following factors that I was observing on the soft credit report and how I would like to solve the discrepancies. XXXX proceeded to then inform me that there was an initial investment fee of {$1300.00} before she can proceed further in starting the case of the dispute process with the credit bureaus. I was further informed that to see the results and services fully provided it would take 6 months, and that there was an additional payment of approximately {$200.00} dollars for every month of the 6 months process. However, for the time being, XXXX informed me that I just had to pay the initial investment fee so she and the attornies can start to get to work on my case. 

XXXX proceeded to fast-pace the process by sending me the documents to my email address for me to sign in authorizing the payment to be made for the initial investment fee, as well as emailing her my Drivers License and Social Security Card . After all the documents were quickly signed via the Internet as well as sending my personal identifiable documents, I was informed by XXXX that any correspondence letters I receive from the credit bureaus to just email it to her and to avoid talking to the credit bureaus directly/ indirectly if I receive any calls or any method of contact from them. 


On XX/XX/2023, I received a legal document from XXXX which states word for word quote We applaud your recent efforts to take charge of your credit. We want you to know were on your side, and were here to help support you on your path toward credit health. 

We recently received a request that included your information, but it didnt appear that you or a properly authorized third party sent it to us. We take the privacy and security of your data very seriously, so we wont process requests unless they come directly from you or an authorized third party. If youre working with a third party such as a credit repair company or credit clinic, they have to identify themselves in their communications to us and provide proof that youve authorized them to communicate with us on your behalf. 

It's important to know that if you see something on your XXXX credit report that you believe is inaccurate, you can dispute it easily and securely on your own for free, without paying a fee to any company. If youve hired a credit repair company and they insist on payment upfront, encourage you to misrepresent your credit information, or instruct you not to contact a credit reporting agency directly, they are not acting lawfully. Learn more about credit repair and your rights at XXXX 

You can count on us as a resource as you work to achieve your credit health goals we want you to be able to get the financial opportunities you deserve. 

Sincerely, Your XXXX Support Team After reading the correspondence I received from XXXX on XXXX XXXX XXXX I immediately called XXXX to question the correspondent I received from XXXX of the credit bureaus. XXXX informed me that the letter XXXX wrote is a tactic used to prevent individuals from obtaining credit repair and informed me not to trust what XXXX wrote. I proceeded to ask XXXX how would she know that the credit bureaus concoct such a response to prevent people from resolving their credit discrepancies. XXXX proceeded to inform me to just email the letter to her and she would take care of it. 

I asked XXXX if she was an attorney to interpret and represent clients in cases of the nature with regards to credit repair disputes and XXXX just hung up. I immediately proceeded to contact my bank in connection to the credit card I used to authorize the funds to be paid for the initial investment fee and initiated a dispute to be filed in reference to fraud. This dispute was initiated within the window of the 30-business day/calendar day period, in which I did not receive any services from White Jacobs & Associates in repairing/amending the discrepancies on my credit report due to their evasive business operation being conducted and unlawful charge of fees that I was charged. 

Further to elaborate, there was no disclosure presented to me from XXXX by phone or email regarding my consumer rights in reference to Federal consumer laws, no transparency in the documents being shown to me of what they are writing to the credit bureaus, and misrepresentation of advertisement with the connection of legal jargon and symbols confusing the public consumer. The business cards I received from XXXX say " the credit authority '' which can be questionable and misleading since the only authority regarding consumer credit is the Federal laws. Eventually, I received another legal letter from XXXX stating the same word usage as XXXX and emailed it over to my bank for further reference into the matter. As of today XXXX XXXX XXXX White Jacobs & Associates are still with the funds and have not released the funds back to my bank.

Company public response: Company believes the complaint provided an opportunity to answer consumer's questions
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation