Knowing Your Credit Rights

T.B. Collins

There is an old statement that holds true when trying to restore your credit rating, and the statement is “knowing is half the battle.” This statement exemplifies what consumers who have had past credit problems should do, and that is to learn everything they can about credit repair. Repairing or rebuilding your credit is not a simple task, and knowing what laws protects the consumer and how to use them is the first step in this process.

The Federal Trade Commission has established a set of laws to protect the consumer from abuses by credit reporting agencies. These laws are designed to make sure that the consumer’s credit file is accurate and up-to-date; this law is commonly known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The F.C.R.A. is the strongest tool the consumer has to ensure that what is reported by credit reporting agencies truly reflects what is contained in their credit file.

Before these laws were enacted, the consumer was at the mercy of the credit reporting agency, not to say that there were abuses, but finding out what was contained on your credit file was almost impossible. This is why under these laws the consumer has the right to request a copy of there credit file at anytime they choose, also there is a new law that requires credit reporting agencies to provide a free annual credit report to consumers in certain states.

The importance of knowing what is contained on your credit is that you have an opportunity to correct any inaccuracies contained in the credit file. The most common of the inaccuracies is out of date information including incorrect address, employment, and repayment history. This information can decrease your credit score dramatically, and have a negative impact when viewed by credit grantors, so knowing what is contained on your credit file is a major benefit provided by this act.

Now that you know what is contained on your credit file, it is time to repair some of the negative comments contained in the file. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives the consumer the ability to dispute inaccurate information contained within the report, and this can include entries that are not yours, entries that are past the time limit, and entries that have been corrected but not reported.

You as a consumer have the right to repair your own credit, but as stated before this is not a simple task, and will require a lot of time and patience. That is why there are agencies that are willing to help you repair your credit, and these agencies are also regulated by a federal law call the Credit Repair Organizations Act, this act provides safeguards to protect the consumer when dealing with credit repair companies. To find a credit repair company to assist you to repair your credit, just do a search on your favorite search engine, a recommended repair organization is, Millennium Credit Service their website address is http://www.millennium-credit.com.

Another important act passed by the Federal Trade Commission concerns what actions are legal for debt collectors and collection agencies. This act known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was created to stop harassment by debt collectors, it outlines when and at what time collectors can contact the consumer. It also covers what actions can be taken by the consumer if they feel they are being harassed by collection agencies, and how report harassment if it occurs.

These two acts, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act are intended to protect the consumer against abuses, but if you are unaware of these acts, then they will not be able to benefit you in restoring or rebuilding your credit. To find out more information on these acts visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website at http://www.ftc.gov. Once you are familiar with what rights you have under the law, you will be able to take control over what is contained in your credit file, and if necessary dispute any inaccuracies contained in the file.

About The Author

T.B. Collins is the president of Millennium Credit Service, and has been offering credit repair advice for over 10 years. To find out more visit http://www.millennium-credit.com