Facts for Consumers

Summary of Some Federal Acts that Protect Your Rights

A good credit rating is vital these days. Your credit history is evaluated when you apply for credit, insurance, employment, and even leases. Because of your credit payment history, businesses will either grant or deny you credit.

Your credit payment history is documented in a report. This report is collected and sold by consumer reporting agencies. o­ne kind of consumer reporting agency (CRA) is a credit bureau. You have a credit record o­n file at a credit bureau if you have ever applied for a credit or charge account, a   loan, insurance, or a job. Your credit record entails information concerning your income, debts, and credit payment history. It also shows whether you have been sued, arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) wa s enacted to ensure that such agencies provide accurate and complete information to businesses regarding your credit history.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides you with the following rights:

•  1. You have the right to obtain a copy of your credit report. The copy of your report must include all of the information in your file at the time of your request.

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•  2.You have the right to know the name of anyone who received your credit report in the last year for most purposes or in the last two years for employment purposes.

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•  3. Any company that denies your application must supply the name and address of the CRA they contacted, provided the denial was based o­n information given by the CRA.

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•  4. You have the right to a free copy of your credit report when your application is turned down because of information supplied by the CRA. Your request must be made within 60 days of receiving the denial.

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•  5. If you contest the completeness or accuracy of information in your report, you should file a dispute with the CRA and with the company that furnished the information to the CRA. Both the CRA and the furnisher of information are legally obligated to reinvestigate your dispute.

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•  6. You have a right to include a summary explanation to your credit report if your dispute is not resolved to your satisfaction.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits credit discrimination o­n the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. Creditors may ask for this information (except religion) in certain situations, but may not use it to discriminate against you when deciding whether to grant you credit.

The ECOA protects consumers who deal with companies that regularly extend credit, including banks, small loan and finance companies, retail and department stores, credit card companies, and credit unions. Everyone who participates in the decision to grant credit, including real estate brokers who arrange financing, must follow this law. Businesses applying for credit also are protected under this law.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act provides you with some of the following rights:

•  1.You cannot be denied credit o­n the grounds of your race, sex, marital status, religion, age, national origin, or receipt of public assistance.

•  2. You have the right to have consistent public assistance considered in the same manner as other income.

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•  3. If you are denied credit, you have a legal right to be told why.

Credit Billing and Electronic Fund Transfer Statements

It is important to check credit billing and electronic fund transfer account statements o­n a regular basis. These documents may contain mistakes that could hurt your credit rating or show improper charges or transfers. If you find a mistake, contact the company and immediately dispute the error. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) establish procedures for resolving mistakes o­n credit billing and electronic fund transfer account statements, including:

•  (a) charges or electronic fund transfers that you have not made or anyone you have authorized to use your account;

•  (b) charges or electronic fund transfers that are falsely identified or show the wrong amount or date;

•  (c) computation   errors;

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•  (d) failure to reflect payments, credits, or electronic fund transfers properly;

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•  (e) not mailing or delivering   billing statements to your current address, as long as that address was received by the creditor in writing at least 20 days before the billing period ended;

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•    (f) charges or electronic fund transfers for which you request an explanation or documentation, due to a possible error.

The FCBA generally applies o­nly to "open end" credit accounts — credit cards, revolving charge accounts (such as department store accounts), and overdraft checking accounts. It does not apply to loans or credit sales that are paid according to a fixed schedule until the entire amount is paid back, such as a car loan. The EFTA applies to electronic fund transfers, such as those involving automatic teller machines (ATMs), point-of-sale debit transactions, and other electronic banking transactions.