A 2005 law from the US Trustee Program, the Bankruptcy Abuse Protection and Consumer Protection Act, implemented a requirement for consumers to engage in credit counseling prior to filing for bankruptcy. Only certain companies are approved to administer this process, but some unapproved companies have notedly been deceiving consumers into believing they can. Without the needed certification, bankruptcy-seeking consumers who fall into these scams cannot be approved when they file. And for the many other consumers also in need of credit counseling, such companies can also falsely represent the consumer in other ways - failing to actually pay the creditor or not delivering on results at all, causing the consumer to be in a worse situation than planned. Consumers who become victim to these scams are advised to file consumer credit counseling complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, the government agency in charge of these and other consumer complaints. To file a complaint or access additional information on consumer law, consumers can visit ftc.gov or call the FTC hotline at 1-877-FTC-HELP