Debt firm charged with unlawful conduct

HOUSTON (KXAN) - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot charged the Houston-based credit repair firm, Jubilee Financial Solutions LP, also known as The Credit Card Solution , for violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act under numberous accounts.

State enforcement action named the company a self-proclaimed “debt invalidation” business and associated it with its parent company, Jubilee Financial Management LLC, and the companies’ owner, Robert Mitchell Lindsey.

A Harris County district judge granted the attorney general an asset freeze, which was sough because investigators believe companies are improperly withholding $500,000 in customers’ payments which would otherwise be used to provide debt relief services.

A number of Web sites, including The Credit Card Solution , claim they can eliminate debt by helping their customers fight credit reporting agencies, dispute debts and sue debt collectors. In addition, they claim to provide legal services which will may provide monetary damages from lawsuits against debt collectors.

The companies claim to eliminate debt in as little as 12 to 18 months by by relying upon federal consumer protection laws and Lindsey claims to have “gotten rid of $150 million of credit card debt.”

The state enforcement action said the defendants are unlawfully operating an unregistered credit services organization because they have failed to register with the Secretary of state and obtain a surety bond or surety account, which is required for credit service organizations under the Texas Credit Services Organization Act.

The Credit Card Solution also offers numerous other services which allows individuals the opportunity to market the companies service; however this is also illegal under the Texas Business Opportunity Act, which the same registration as the Texas Credit Services Organization Act.

The state’s enforcement action is also charging the company with multiple Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act violations, including not providing services as advertised and withholding information about goods or services when entering into a transaction.

The fine can be up to $20,000 per violation.

Texans who believe they have been deceived by similar fraudulent business practices may call the Office of the Attorney General’s toll-free complaint line at (800) 252-8011 or file a complaint online at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.