ESCRA Act

This bill, known as the Ending Scam Credit Repair Act, strengthens existing consumer protections under the Credit Repair Organizations Act to combat deceptive practices in the credit repair industry. It primarily affects credit repair organizations and consumers who use these services. Key provisions include clarifying what constitutes a credit repair organization to exclude legitimate legal services, prohibiting upfront fees before demonstrating results, preventing duplicate dispute submissions, requiring clearer disclosures about services, mandating that consumers receive copies of contracts and communications, and requiring state licensing for credit repair organizations. The bill also establishes specific rules for how credit repair organizations must communicate with credit reporting agencies and increases civil penalties for violations to $500 per violation.