Credit Repair Scams Australia — How to Spot Them (2026)

Quick Answer: Credit repair scams are widespread in Australia. The most common red flags are: demanding large upfront fees before doing any work, guaranteeing results before reviewing your file, claiming they can remove accurate negative entries, operating without an Australian Credit Licence (ACL) from ASIC, and instructing you to dispute everything on your file regardless of accuracy. A legitimate, ASIC-licensed credit repair company will review your file first, tell you honestly what is and isn't removable, charge fees only linked to outcomes, and operate under Australian law including the Privacy Act 1988 and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. Australian Credit Solutions holds ASIC ACL 532003, operates No Win No Fee, and has a 98% success rate on accepted cases. Industry Excellence Award 2022, 2023 & 2024. 4.9/5 from 976+ verified reviews. Over 5,000 Australians helped since 2014.

We are writing this article as an ASIC-licensed operator because the proliferation of unlicensed credit repair operators in Australia is causing serious harm to people who are already financially vulnerable. We believe you deserve to know exactly how scams operate — and how to tell them from legitimate services.

Why Credit Repair Is a Hotbed for Scams

People seeking credit repair are often desperate. A mortgage declined, a car loan knocked back, a rental application rejected — the emotional and financial stakes are high. Scammers know this and specifically target people in that vulnerable window between financial difficulty and the urgency to fix it.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) regularly takes action against unlicensed credit repair operators. Between 2020 and 2025, ASIC prosecuted multiple operators who charged thousands of dollars in upfront fees while delivering nothing legally achievable. Some disappeared with the money entirely. Others delivered "services" that made clients' files worse.

The 8 Warning Signs of a Credit Repair Scam

1. Large Upfront Fees Before Any Work

A scam operator's primary goal is to collect your money before you realise they can't deliver. They typically ask for $500–$3,000+ upfront — before reviewing your file, before explaining what they can do, before achieving anything.

A legitimate operator either charges nothing upfront or charges a modest administration fee only after reviewing your file and explaining exactly what they propose to do.

Australian Credit Solutions model: Administration fee only after file review and acceptance. Success fee only charged when results are achieved. No Win No Fee.

2. Guaranteed Results Without Seeing Your File

No legitimate credit professional can guarantee specific results before reviewing your credit file. Results depend on the nature of each individual entry, how it was listed, the lender's procedures, and the grounds available under the Privacy Act 1988.

Any operator who says "we'll definitely remove your default" or "guaranteed 200-point improvement" without having seen your file is either lying or incompetent. Frequently both.

3. Promising to Remove Accurate, Lawfully Listed Information

Here is a fundamental legal truth: correctly listed, accurate credit information cannot be permanently removed before its lawful retention period expires. Defaults listed with correct procedures and accurate information are legally valid entries.

What legitimate credit repair achieves is the removal of entries that were listed incorrectly — wrong addresses, procedural failures, factual errors, unauthorised listings. This is a real and significant service. But it is not the same as removing accurate information — which scammers routinely promise and cannot legally deliver.

4. No ASIC Licence

Credit repair is a credit activity under Australian law. Any company offering to negotiate with credit providers on your behalf, or representing that they can improve your credit standing, is legally required to hold an Australian Credit Licence (ACL) from ASIC under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.

You can check any company's licence at asic.gov.au/check-before-you-invest. If a company has no ACL, they are operating illegally. Hand them your money and you have limited legal recourse when they don't deliver.

Australian Credit Solutions ACL: 532003. Verify it yourself at asic.gov.au.

5. Instructing You to Dispute Everything Regardless of Accuracy

Some scam operators take a "spray and pray" approach — disputing every single item on your credit file, regardless of whether it's accurate, in hopes that something gets removed through clerical overwhelm of the bureau process.

This is ineffective, legally questionable, and actively harmful. Bureaus and creditors identify mass disputers. Flooding a bureau with frivolous disputes can flag your file for closer scrutiny and may make legitimate future disputes harder to resolve.

6. Asking You to Make False Statements

Some operators instruct clients to claim they don't recognise debts they actually incurred, or to state that enquiries were unauthorised when they were authorised. This is not credit repair — it's fraud. Clients can face serious consequences for making false dispute statements while the operator walks away.

7. No Physical Address, No Lawyer Involvement, Offshore Operations

Legitimate credit repair firms operating under Australian law have a documented presence in Australia, are contactable, and are accountable to ASIC. Companies operating from overseas, through anonymous online portals, or without any verifiable address in Australia have no accountability under Australian consumer law.

8. Pressure to Sign Immediately or Offer Expires

High-pressure sales tactics — "this special rate only lasts today," "if you don't sign now we can't help" — are designed to prevent you from doing due diligence. Take time to check their licence, read their terms, understand their fee structure, and compare options.

The Scam Fee Comparison

Case Study: Dylan, Gold Coast — $2,400 Lost to a Scam Before Finding ACS

Dylan, 28, a hospitality worker from Southport, had two defaults on his credit file — a Vodafone default ($390) and an AGL energy default ($720). He found a credit repair company through a Facebook ad offering "guaranteed default removal, 100% success."

He paid $2,400 upfront. For three months, he received occasional form-letter "update" emails. Nothing was removed from his file. He attempted to get his money back — the company had ceased operations and the operator was unreachable. The company held no ACL. Dylan had no legal recourse through ASIC's credit licence framework because the operator was never licensed in the first place.

Dylan came to Australian Credit Solutions. We reviewed his file at no cost. The Vodafone default had a Section 21D notice sent to an address he'd moved from 4 months earlier. The AGL default had been listed while Dylan had an active billing dispute with AGL — a procedural breach. Both defaults were disputed under the Privacy Act 1988. Both were removed within 55 days. Score improved from 487 to 651.

Dylan paid nothing until we succeeded. He'd already lost $2,400 to a scammer — he didn't lose another dollar to us.

Get a free assessment from Australian Credit Solutions →

How to Verify a Legitimate Credit Repair Company

Before engaging any credit repair service, take these steps:

Step 1: Check their ASIC licence Go to asic.gov.au → Financial Services Licensees & Credit Licensees search. Enter the company name or ACL number. If they don't appear with a current, active licence — walk away.

Step 2: Check independent reviews ProductReview.com.au and Google Reviews with verified purchases. Look at the volume and recency of reviews. One hundred reviews from 5 years ago and nothing recent is a warning sign.

Step 3: Understand their fee structure before signing anything Get it in writing: when do fees apply, what triggers the success fee, what is refundable if they don't succeed?

Step 4: Ask if a lawyer is involved Operating as part of or in conjunction with a law firm provides additional accountability and legal expertise. Disputes lodged by qualified legal practitioners carry more weight in formal correspondence with credit providers.

Step 5: Ask what specifically they will dispute and why A legitimate operator should be able to explain the specific grounds they've identified for each entry they propose to dispute. "We dispute everything" is not an answer.

Once you know what to look for, here's how to find the best credit repair company in Australia — including the seven criteria that separate genuine performers from the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is credit repair legal in Australia? Yes — credit repair is legal in Australia when performed by an ASIC-licensed operator (holding an Australian Credit Licence under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act). Licensed operators can dispute inaccurate, incorrectly listed, or procedurally flawed credit file entries under the Privacy Act 1988 on behalf of clients. Operating credit repair services without an ACL is illegal.

How do I check if a credit repair company is legitimate in Australia? Search their company name and any claimed ACL number at asic.gov.au under Financial Services Licensees & Credit Licensees. A legitimate company will appear with a current, active Australian Credit Licence. Also check ProductReview.com.au for verified client reviews. Avoid any company that cannot provide a verifiable ACL number or has no presence in ASIC's register.

Can any credit repair company guarantee results in Australia? No legitimate company can guarantee specific outcomes before reviewing your credit file. Results depend entirely on the specific grounds available for each individual entry — incorrect addresses on Section 21D notices, procedural failures, factual errors, unauthorised listings. Any company guaranteeing results without seeing your file is making a promise they cannot legally or honestly keep.

What can a legitimate credit repair company actually do? A legitimate ASIC-licensed credit repair company can: review your credit file across all three bureaus, identify entries that were listed incorrectly or in breach of credit reporting law (Privacy Act 1988), formally dispute those entries with credit providers and bureaus, and negotiate removals based on legal grounds. They cannot legally remove accurate, correctly listed information before its retention period expires.

What should I do if I've been scammed by a credit repair company in Australia? Report the operator to ASIC at asic.gov.au/report (select "Unlicensed financial services"). Also report to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) at accc.gov.au. If you paid by credit card, contact your bank immediately about a chargeback. Seek legal advice if the amount lost is significant. Unfortunately, if the operator had no ACL and no documented Australian presence, recovery is difficult.

How much does legitimate credit repair cost in Australia? Legitimate credit repair on a No Win No Fee basis typically involves a modest administration fee after file review and assessment, and a success fee only when an entry is successfully removed or corrected. Specific fee amounts are disclosed during consultation. Never pay thousands of dollars upfront to any credit repair service — and never pay anything to an unlicensed operator.

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Australian Credit Solutions Pty Ltd holds Australian Credit Licence ACL 532003. Credit repair services are subject to individual assessment. Results may vary. This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice.

Related reading: How to dispute a credit report error → | Default removal services → | Free credit assessment →