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GIZMO !
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Bulletin Board |
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CREDIT LAWS
The Fair
Credit Reporting Act of 1971
(a)
Gives you the right to know what information is held about you, without charge,
if you have been denied credit within the last 60 days.
(b)
You have the right to receive a report of who has seen your credit file for the
last six months, and who has seen it for employment purposes for the last two
years.
(c)
You have the right to have information you dispute verified and corrected
or removed if inaccurate or unverifiable, and to have an updated report sent to
creditors, who have seen your report in the last six months, with the corrected
information.
(d)
You have the right to place a 100 word statement, if negative information is
verified and not removed, stating your side of the story.
(e)
You have the right not to have adverse, negative information on your credit
report for more than seven years, ten years with bankruptcy, under the law.
New
Legislation - Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996
Late
in 1996, Congress passed amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This
legislation was put together by Congressman Joe Kennedy, Charles Schumer,
Esteban Torres and Senator Richard Bryan. Several consumer groups were involved
as well. (U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Consumers Union, and Bankcard
Holders of America). The new bill is called the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform
Act of 1996. Most of the provisions are effective October 1, 1997. Here is a
summary of those new provisions:
(a)
Credit bureaus must promptly investigate disputed items, usually within 30 days,
and within 5 days after the investigation send the consumer a revised copy of
their credit report with corrections. The Credit bureaus must report and share
corrections with other bureaus.
(b)
Credit bureaus cannot reinsert deleted information unless that information has
been certified by the creditor. If the information furnished is certified, the
Credit bureau must notify the consumer with the name, address and phone number
of the creditor. The Credit bureau must allow the consumer to add an explanatory
statement to any remark on the credit report.
(c)
Anyone who supplies information to a Credit bureau cannot provide information
they consciously know is inaccurate. If a mistake is brought to the attention of
a creditor, they must promptly correct it and the correction must be reported to
all Credit bureaus. If a Creditor investigates a dispute and finds it correct,
they must report it as being disputed by the consumer.
(d)
Credit reports are free for those who are unemployed, on public assistance and
fraud victims. Credit reports are free if you have been turned down for credit
or insurance in the past 60 days based on information in your credit report. A
copy of your credit report outside of the previously mentioned circumstances are
$8.00.
(e)
A creditor must report an account as closed when a consumer closes his account.
(f)
If an employer wants to review an employee's credit report, or a prospective
employee, they first must get written permission from the person they want to
review. If adverse action is taken against the employee because of information
obtained from the report, the employer must provide the employee a copy of the
credit report and a description of their credit rights.
(g)
Consumers who request their report must be shown the full trade name of anyone
who has requested their credit report in the past year (two years if inquiry
made by employers). If requested the Credit bureau must give the names,
addresses and phone numbers of those companies that made an inquiry.
Prescreening cannot be shown to anyone but the consumer.
(h)
Credit reporting agencies must offer toll-free numbers to anyone wishing to be
removed from lists allowing prescreening of their credit report. The bureaus
must share requests with other bureaus concerning consumers wanting to be
removed from prescreening.
(i)
Insurance or credit companies that use prescreening to pre-approve customers
must make a FIRM offer of credit to anyone who meets the initial prescreening
offer. Unless something has changed since they prescreened your credit,
creditors must follow through on a pre-approval offer.
(j)
If you have charged off debts the time period of seven years is the maximum time
allowed on your credit report. Unlike the past, the reporting period for
collection, and profit and loss does not start when the creditor gets around to
reporting it, often that was a year later. The reporting period will start 180
days after the payment should have been made.
(k)
One of the most interesting provisions is that lenders may show consumers their
credit report if they have taken adverse action based on information in the
report. This does away with the hide and retreat tactic that a lot of lenders
used to use before.
Federal
Laws Concerning Credit
The Fair
Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA)
Guarantees
your rights regarding your credit file.
If you are turned down for credit due to a credit report, you can learn
the information in it from the credit bureau at no cost.
Otherwise, disclosure of the information in your file by a credit bureau
involves a fee.
While correct information cannot be changed, you have the right to
dispute incorrect information in a credit report.
The Equal
Credit Opportunity Act
Requires
that credit grantors extend credit fairly and without considering race, color,
religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age (with certain
exceptions). If you are turned down for credit you are entitled to the specific
reasons for the creditor's action.
The Fair
Credit Billing Act
Says
that if you receive a billing that you feel is incorrect and you notify the
creditor within 60 days, the creditor must either correct the bill or send you
an explanation within 90 days.
The Truth in
Lending Act
Requires
credit grantors to tell you what using credit really costs (like interest rates,
minimum monthly payment, etc.).
The Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act
Prohibits
harassment by debt collectors and requires that they verify for you the amount
owed.
Your
Liability for Fraudulent Credit Card/Debit Card/Cash Machine Card Charges Is
limited under certain circumstances, but continues until you notify the card
issuer of your cards' loss/theft.
Cease and
Desist Letter
Arthur
Ball
323
Elm St.
Hayfield,
NY 12117
February
14, 1994
Attn:
Mr. D. B. Smith
North
American Collections Specialists
1313
Main Street, Suite 500
Hayfield,
NY 12116
RE:
Mastercard account #5419 1254 5778 9101
Dear
Mr. Smith:
Greetings!
You
are hereby notified under provisions of Public Laws 95-109 and 99361, also known
as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that your services are no longer
desired.
1)
You and your organization must CEASE & DESIST all attempts to collect
the above debt.
Failure to comply with this law will result in my immediately filing a
complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and this state's Attorney General's
office. I
will pursue all criminal and civil claims against you and your company.
2)
Let this letter also serve as your warning that I may utilize telephone
recording devices in order to document any telephone conversations that we may
have m the future.
3)
Furthermore, if any negative information is placed on my credit bureau
reports by your agency after receipt of this notice, this will cause me to file
suit against you and your organization, both personally and corporately, to seek
any and all legal remedies available to me by law.
Since
it is my policy neither to recognize nor deal with collection agencies, I intend
to settle this account with the original creditor.
Sincerely,
Arthur
Ball
AB:lr
Bill of
Rights
Trans
Union Rights:
1.
The right to know what is in your credit file and to receive a copy of
that report with proper identification.
2.
The right to receive credit file disclosures during normal business hours
and on reasonable notice (1) in person.
If you appear in person and furnish the proper identification, (2) by
telephone. If
you first make written request with proper identification and pay for any toll
charges, or (3) by any other reasonable means available to the credit reporting
agency and authorized by you.
For in person disclosure you may be accompanied by one other person of
your choosing, although you may be required to furnish written permission for
your credit file to be discussed in the other person's presence.
3.
The right to receive a free credit report within 30 days (per the Fair
Credit Reporting Act) of being denied credit or employment based on information
in a Trans Union report .
Trans Union's current policy provides for a free report within 60 days of
denial.
4.
The right to request re-verification of information in the file and to
have it removed if inaccurate or unverifiable and to have those results sent to
anyone who has received your credit report within the past year or two years, if
for employment, if you so request.
5.
The right to receive the results of the investigation of disputed
information within five business days following the completion of the
reinvestigation.
6.
The right to have the credit reporting agency review all information you
submit which is relevant to the disputed information.
7.
The right to receive written notification within 5 business days from the
credit reporting agency when information you disputed is deleted from your
credit file because it could not be verified, but is subsequently found to be
complete and accurate and is reinserted into your credit file.
8.
The right to know who has received your credit report within the past six
months or in the last two years, if for employment purposes.
9.
The right to add a statement of 100 words or less to your Trans Union
credit file to explain any disputed information.
10.
The right to have your credit report only accessible to those entities
with a permissible purpose.
11.
The right to request the credit reporting agency to provide you with a
description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy and completeness of
the information disputed, including the name, business address, and telephone
number of the person contacted during the reinvestigation.
12.
The right to have adverse information removed after seven years (or the
time period upheld by your state's legislation) from the date of delinquency
charge off or placement to collection (including successfully completed chapter
13 bankruptcy) or after 10 years from the date of filing chapter 7, 11, 12 or 13
bankruptcy.
13.
The right to have your name and address removed from any direct marketing
solicitation which uses data from a credit reporting company.
14.
The right to bring legal action against a credit reporting agency for the
failure to comply with its obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if
you do so within two years after the agency fails to comply.
You have the right to recover an amount equal to actual damages sustained
by you, as well as costs of the action plus attorney's fees.