The Credit Repair
Organizations Act
-
The Credit Repair
Organizations Act
prohibits making false
claims about credit
repair. It makes it a
crime for companies to
collect all credit
repair fees from an
individual prior to
services being rendered.
It requires that these
companies inform you
about your legal rights.
It demands that a credit
repair company provide
information about your
legal rights in a
written contract, which
also must detail the
services the company
will provide you with,
the duration of the
services, the timeline
before results can be
expected, the total cost
of the repair and any
guarantees that are
offered.
Your Rights
- You have a right to
dispute inaccurate
information in your
credit report by
contacting the credit
bureaus directly.
However, neither you nor
any credit repair
company or credit repair
organization has the
right to have accurate,
current, and verifiable
information removed from
your credit report. The
credit bureau must
remove inaccurate,
negative information
form your report only if
it is over 7 years old.
Bankruptcy information
can be reported for 10
years. You have a right
to obtain a copy of your
credit report from a
credit bureau. You may
be charged a reasonable
fee. There is no fee,
however, if you have
been denied credit,
employment, insurance,
or rental dwelling
because of information
in your credit report
within the proceeding 60
days.
The Credit Bureau
- The credit bureau must
provide someone to help
you interpret the
information in your
credit file. You are
entitled to receive a
free copy of your credit
report if you are
unemployed and intend to
apply for employment in
the next 60 days, if you
are a recipient of
public welfare
assistance, or if you
have reason to believe
that there is inaccurate
information in your
credit report due to
fraud. You have a right
to sue a credit repair
organization that
violates the Credit
Repair Organization Act.
This law prohibits
deceptive practices by
credit repair
organizations. You have
the right to cancel your
contract with any credit
repair organization for
any reason within 3
business days from the
date you signed it.
Credit bureaus are
required to follow
reasonable procedures to
ensure that the
information they report
is accurate. However,
mistakes may occur. You
may, on your own, notify
a credit bureau in
writing that you dispute
the accuracy of
information in your
credit file. The credit
bureau may not charge
any fee for this
service.
Errors In
Reporting
- Any pertinent
information and copies
of all documents you
have concerning an error
should be given to the
credit bureau. If the
credit bureau’s
reinvestigation does not
resolve the dispute to
your satisfaction, you
may send a brief
statement to the credit
bureau, to be kept in
your file, explaining
why you think the record
is inaccurate. The
credit bureau must
include a summary of
your statement about
disputed information
with any report it
issues about you. The
Federal Trade Commission
regulates credit bureaus
and credit repair
organizations. For more
information contact: The
Public Reference Branch,
Federal Trade
Commission, Washington,
D.C. 20580. Our fees
include paper, ink,
internet, supplies,
credit reports, forms,
all phone calls, stamps
and education on
re-building your credit
so you will have the
maximum results. There
shall be no other
charges.
|
