Credit Consultants Association Ethical Principles and Standards. Membership commits every member to adhere to this Code.
The Credit Consultants Association is dedicated to providing credentials and creating a professional environment in the field of credit services. As we establish ourselves as a profession, we must attend to both the privileges and the responsibilities that come with that status.
Privileges derive from society's willingness to accept our designation as a group of trained individuals possessing specialized knowledge, and the influence that knowledge carries. Our responsibilities follow from society's trust that the profession will regulate itself so as to do no harm, and will govern itself to protect the dignity and welfare of the individuals we serve and of the public. To maintain that standing, a professional organization must develop and enforce guidelines governing its members' professional conduct. A code of ethical principles and standards is one such set of self-regulatory guidelines. A profession's failure to regulate itself violates public trust and undermines its capacity to be of service.
Ethical codes are grounded in the values of the society a profession serves, including the balance between the rights and privacy of the individual and the general welfare. Each profession must determine its values and its social function, then adopt a code that guides conduct accordingly. No set of guidelines can anticipate every situation, but a useful code provides direction when problems or dilemmas arise, and proactively shapes conduct in ordinary work.
This Code consists of this Introduction, a Preamble, six general Principles, and twenty Standards. The Preamble and the General Principles are aspirational: they are intended to guide members toward the highest ideals of the profession, and while not themselves enforceable rules, they should inform any member's reasoning about an ethical course of action. The Standards are enforceable rules that define the boundaries of acceptable conduct.
Membership in the association commits a member to adhere to this Code. Members should be aware that other ethical and legal obligations may also apply to them through other professional bodies or public authorities, and should consider this Code alongside those obligations. Where this Code sets a higher standard than the law or another code requires, members should meet the higher standard. Where this Code appears to conflict with a requirement of law, members must make known their commitment to the Code and take steps to resolve the conflict responsibly. Where neither law nor this Code resolves a question, members should consult other professional materials, such as guidelines adopted or endorsed by other professionals in the credit industry.
Members of the association may fulfill many roles according to their training and competence. They may work to develop a reliable body of knowledge; they may apply that knowledge to lawfully restore a client's credit and credit standing through education and lawful action.
Members do not advise clients to make false statements, and do not take money in advance of services performed.
Their aim is to broaden a client's understanding of credit so as to reduce the cost of credit to that client — improving the position of both the individual and the wider community. Members respect the importance of freedom of inquiry and expression in research, teaching, and consulting, and work to help the public form informed judgments about consumer credit and personal financial behavior.
This Code has as its primary goal the welfare and protection of the individuals and groups with whom members work. It is the individual responsibility of each member to aspire to the highest standards of conduct. Members respect and protect human and civil rights, and do not knowingly participate in or condone unfair discriminatory practices.
Acting ethically requires a personal and continuing commitment: to act ethically oneself, to encourage ethical behavior in colleagues, employees, and those one supervises, and to consult others when facing an ethical problem. A member may supplement this Code with guidance drawn from personal values, culture, and experience, but may not use those to justify departing from it.
Members maintain the highest standards of competence in their work. They recognise the boundaries of their professional competence and the limits of their expertise. They maintain current knowledge of the services they provide and recognise the need for ongoing education. They provide only those services and use only those techniques for which they are qualified by education, training, or experience. In areas where recognised professional standards do not yet exist, members exercise careful judgment and take appropriate precautions to protect the welfare of those with whom they work.
Members promote integrity in the practice of credit restoration, and are honest and fair in all professional dealings. A member undertakes to do no harm to the public and to perform a tangible service for any funds received. Where a fee is collected, services corresponding to that fee must actually be delivered; this leaves no ambiguity about what was provided in exchange for payment.
When describing or advertising their services, products, fees, or teaching, members do not make statements that are false, misleading, or deceptive. Each client's credit profile is properly analysed to identify the items affecting their standing, and appropriate action is taken on that basis. Members clarify for all relevant parties the roles they are performing and the obligations they have accepted, and act consistently with them.
Members inform clients that a consumer is able to pursue credit restoration on their own. What a member provides is specialised knowledge that is intended to produce a better outcome, more efficiently, than the consumer would achieve unaided.
Members are responsible for safeguarding the public, and the association, from members deficient in ethical conduct. They uphold professional standards and accept responsibility for their own behavior. They consult with, refer to, and cooperate with other professionals and institutions to the extent needed to serve the interests of those receiving their services. Members are attentive to the ethical conduct of colleagues and, where appropriate, consult with them in order to prevent, avoid, or bring an end to unethical conduct.
Members accord appropriate respect to the fundamental rights, dignity, and worth of all people. They respect the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, self-determination, and autonomy, while remaining mindful that legal and other obligations may at times come into tension with those rights.
Members are aware of cultural, individual, and role differences, including those relating to age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socioeconomic status. They work to eliminate the effect of bias on their work and do not knowingly participate in or condone unfair discriminatory practices.
Members seek to contribute to the welfare of those with whom they interact professionally. Where a member's obligations come into conflict, the member attempts to resolve the conflict responsibly and in a manner that avoids or minimises harm.
Members are sensitive to real and perceived differences in power between themselves and others, and do not exploit or mislead people during or after a professional relationship. By way of example, a member must never threaten to disclose the credit circumstances of a client, including a client who is a public figure, in order to obtain any advantage.
Members will not misuse their work, and will comply with the law in all matters of credit restoration.
These Standards apply to members across all professional roles, interactions, and communications. Members provide teaching, research, educational, supervisory, and consultative services only within the context of credit restoration and the credit industry. Unlike the Principles above, these Standards are enforceable.
Members come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, which produce differing competencies. A member delivers services, teaches, and conducts research only within the boundaries of their own competence.
Members recognise that differences of age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, or socioeconomic status can significantly affect their work. A member working with a particular population has a responsibility to develop the skills needed to serve that population competently, or to make an appropriate referral.
Members do not engage in unfair discrimination on any of these bases, or on any basis proscribed by law.
Members do not solicit testimonials from current clients, or from any person who by reason of their particular circumstances is vulnerable to undue influence.
Members recognise that personal problems and conflicts may interfere with their effectiveness, and refrain from undertaking an activity where those problems may cause harm to a person to whom they owe a professional obligation.
In their professional roles members obtain privileged information about clients. Members do not use that information for personal gain.
Members take reasonable steps to avoid harming their clients, and to minimise harm where it is foreseeable and unavoidable.
Because a member's professional judgments and actions may affect the lives of others, members remain alert to, and guard against, personal, financial, social, organizational, or political factors that might lead to a misuse of their influence.
Members do not participate in activities in which it appears likely that their skills or products will be misused by others. Where a member learns of misuse or misrepresentation of their work, the member takes reasonable steps to correct or minimise it.
Members refrain from accepting goods, services, or other non-monetary remuneration from clients in return for services, because such arrangements carry an inherent potential for conflict, exploitation, and distortion of the professional relationship.
A member may in some circumstances receive a token of appreciation from a client. It is the member's responsibility to determine that any such gift is appropriate to the setting, is not exploitative, and does not function as payment for services.
Members arrange consultations and referrals principally on the basis of the client's best interests, with appropriate consent and subject to applicable law and contractual obligations. Members cooperate with other professionals in order to serve clients effectively.
Where a member agrees to provide services to a person or entity at the request of a third party, the member clarifies at the outset the nature of the relationship with each party: the member's role, the probable uses of the services or information provided, and any limits to confidentiality.
Where there is a foreseeable risk that the member may be called upon to perform conflicting roles because of a third party's involvement, the member clarifies the nature and direction of their responsibilities, keeps all parties informed as matters develop, and resolves the situation in accordance with this Code.
Members delegate to employees, supervisees, and assistants only those responsibilities that such persons can reasonably be expected to perform competently, and provide the training and supervision needed to ensure that those services are performed responsibly, competently, and ethically.
Members appropriately document their professional work, so as to facilitate later provision of services by themselves or others, to ensure accountability, and to meet the requirements of institutions and of the law.
Members are responsible for the clarity and honesty of public statements about their work, whether made by themselves or by others representing them. Where a member learns of a deceptive statement made about their work by another, the member makes reasonable efforts to correct it.
Members obtain appropriate informed consent before undertaking work on a client's credit, using language the client can reasonably be expected to understand. The content of informed consent varies with circumstance, but generally requires that the person (1) has the capacity to consent, (2) has been informed of the significant matters concerning the steps necessary, (3) has expressed consent freely and without undue influence, and (4) has had that consent appropriately documented.
Where a person is legally incapable of giving informed consent, the member obtains informed permission from a legally authorised person, where substitute consent is permitted by law.
Members have a primary obligation to take reasonable precautions to respect the confidentiality rights of those with whom they work, recognising that confidentiality may arise from law, institutional rules, or the professional relationship itself.
Members discuss with those they work with the foreseeable uses of information generated through their services. Members do not disclose in writing, in lectures, or in any public medium confidential or personally identifiable information about a client obtained in the course of their work, unless the person or organization has consented in writing or there is other ethical or legal authorisation to do so.
Where the demands of an organization with which a member is affiliated conflict with this Code, the member clarifies the nature of the conflict, makes known their commitment to the Code, and to the extent feasible seeks to resolve the conflict in a way that permits the fullest adherence to it.
Implementing this Code requires a personal commitment to act ethically, to encourage ethical behavior in others, and to consult others when facing an ethical problem. Members may encounter difficulty identifying unethical conduct or resolving ethical conflicts. Where a significant ethical concern arises, a member may benefit from the advice of uninvolved and objective peers or advisors before taking action.
Where a member believes another member may have committed an ethical violation, they may attempt to clarify and resolve the matter informally by raising it with the parties involved, where informal resolution appears appropriate and would not violate any applicable confidentiality obligation.
Within an organization, ethical problems should be raised with the member's immediate supervisor, except where the supervisor is involved in the matter, in which case it should be raised at the next level. If a satisfactory resolution is not reached, the matter should be escalated in turn, with contact above the immediate supervisor initiated only with that supervisor's knowledge where they are not themselves involved. If the conflict remains after internal review is exhausted, support should be sought from the appropriate professional bodies.
Unethical conduct is a serious matter. The primary aim of these principles, however, is to inform and motivate the highest standards of conduct among members as they serve their clients, their profession, and their community.
Members do not employ so-called jamming or credit sweep tactics — the mass filing of disputes, or of identity theft claims, intended to force the temporary suppression of accurate information.
The practice is prohibited under this Code for two reasons. It does not serve the client: suppressed items return, leaving the consumer no better placed and often worse. And it exposes the client to serious risk. Where a consumer obtains credit on the strength of a report from which accurate information has been improperly suppressed, and provides false information in connection with that application, the conduct may constitute bank fraud — a federal offense carrying substantial penalties.
Members undertake to comply with the Telemarketing Sales Rule, including 16 C.F.R. § 310.3 governing deceptive telemarketing acts and practices. The association will terminate the membership of any member found to have violated it.
The Principles set out above are aspirational and are not themselves enforceable rules. The Standards are enforceable, and membership is conditional on adherence to them.
How the association administers this Code — including how concerns raised by third parties are handled, and the consequences of a violation — is set out in full in our Policy and Procedures. To raise a concern about a member, use the complaint process.
This Code supplements the law; it does not replace it. Nothing in this document authorises conduct that federal or state law prohibits, and where the two differ, members are required to meet whichever standard is higher.
Every certified member agrees to this Code on joining, and remains bound by it for as long as they hold the credential.
View Programs & PricingCCA certification is a professional credential issued by a trade association. It is not a government license and is not required to work in credit services.
