According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other acts, you have the right to : 

1. Obtain from a credit bureau a report of what’s in your credit file.
2. Know who has inquired into your credit file—stores, banks, employ­ers, etc.
3. Request reverification by the credit bureau if information is incor­rect.
4. Get missing data added to your file.
5. Have detrimental credit information removed from your file after seven years and bankruptcy information after ten years.
6. Put your side of the story in your credit file.
7. Privacy of the information in your file from anyone other than legit­imate members of the credit-reporting agency.
8. Have your credit report transferred from one area to another any time you move.
9. Use small claims court to resolve any disputes with the credit bureau about incorrect, inaccurate information in your file.
10. Know exactly why you were refused credit. You must contact the institution refusing credit within ten days.
11. Remain silent about poor credit information that does not currently appear in your file.

Main Concepts of The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

If you find yourself in financial difficulties, there are several specific steps you can take to protect your credit standing. Although creditors can always turn over your account to a collection agency, some prefer not to do so and would rather make an arrangement for repayment with you. They may be willing to accept reduced payments, extended over a longer period of time; they may be willing to accept a delay or postponement in your payment schedule. Such arrangements will, in the long run, cost you money, since the interest on your debt will continue to accumulate. But they are worth it, since they maintain your credit standing.

The particular arrangement you make with any given creditor can only be determined in conversation between you. It is important to visit your creditors personally, if you can, and to explain your financial situation with complete honesty.

If a bank or finance company is among your creditors, one of its officers may try to talk you into taking out a consolidation loan, which will enable you to pay off your outstanding debts immediately and will give you a long period in which to make repayment. The proposition may sound tempting, but you should think very carefully before agreeing to it, since it merely postpones your problems and charges a high interest rate for the privilege. On the whole it is wiser to reschedule payments of existing debts than to borrow new money to pay them off.

If, despite your best efforts to come to a satisfactoryDes poker regle ont été ouverts dans tout le pays- à en Biarritz, Deauville, Nice, Cannes, et Monaco. arrangement with a creditor, your account is turned over to a collection agency, you are protected by the provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This law prohibits a number of practices that were previously standard in the debt collection business. Among other things, it prohibits bill collectors from:

• Placing telephone calls to debtors at unusual places or times, generally before 8 a.m. or after 9 P.M.
• Harassing debtors and their families by telephoning frequently.
• Being personally abusive towards debtors or members of a debtor’s family.
• компютри втора употребаThreatening to expose debtors to their friends, neighbors or employers. A collector may get in touch with other people, but only to find out where the debtor lives or works and may not tell anyone other than the debtor and the debtor’s legal counsel that any money is owed.
• Pretending — whether in writing, in person or on the telephone — to represent any agency of local, state or federal government.
• Engaging in any other misrepresentations — as, for example, pretending to take a survey in order to obtain personal financial information about the debtor.
• Making any attempt to humiliate the debtor in some manner — as, for example, by stationing in front of the debtor’s house a car with the words “debt collector” on it.
• Demanding payment in excess of the amount actually owed.
• Instituting legal proceedings against the debtor except in the debtor’s home town, where the contract was signed, or in an action involving real estate, in an area where that real estate is located.

You may legally break off all contact with a debt collector by informing the agency — or individual — in writing that you have turned the matter over to an attorney, or that you simply will not deal with the collector or the agency. In that case, the collector has the right to notify you that he or she will go to court to force collection. But having told you this once, the collector cannot continue to make any contact with you, either personally or in writing.

These requirements apply only to collection agencies. They do not apply to creditor companies or institutions, to their lawyers, federal or state officials or legal process servers — except in the case of those localities that have imposed their own specific legal restrictions.

In the event you are bothered by a collection agency that acts in violation of the Fair Debt Collecting Act, make sure you notify your local Better Business Bureau. In addition, it is a good idea to write to the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission. If the FTC commission receives several complaints against a particular agency, it may bring suit against it. You, too, have the right to bring suit, and if you are successful, you can collect actual damages, additional damages up to $1,000, court costs and attorney fees.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act

When you apply for credit, the lender may ask a credit reporting agency for a summary of your financial history before deciding whether to grant the loan. This is standard procedure, particularly when substantial sums are involved, and every day, thousands of such credit reports are issued to lenders throughout the country. The majority of them deal solely with your bill-paying record in connection with the credit transactions in which you have been involved over the last several years.

On the other hand, if you apply for a job that carries considerable financial responsibility or a large amount of life insurance, you may be examined much more thoroughly. In a so-called investigative credit report, the agency may also get in touch with your friends, neighbors and business associates to discover as much as possible about the way you live. But if such a report about you is contemplated, you are entitled to be notified of this fact within three days of the time the request for the report is made — unless the investigation is in connection with a job for which you have not specifically applied. And you are also entitled to obtain a complete and accurate description of the nature and scope of the investigation request.

If you are rejected for a loan or credit, you have the right to invoke the protections offered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This law requires lenders to inform rejected applicants of the reason for the rejection, and if that reason is a negative credit bureau report, the law gives those applicants a number of important rights.

First, they have the right to know the name and address of the credit bureau that issued the report and to know precisely what information about them the credit bureau has in its files. Applicants who request this information, either by mail or phone, within 30 days of the time that credit was denied them must be given it free of charge; thereafter, the credit bureau may demand a small payment.

It is up to the credit bureau to decide how to make that material available. Most permit applicants to examine the file itself, by com-ing to the bureau office — and the law permits them to bring their lawyers or other persons with them, if they choose. If that is not convenient, the bureau will supply either a copy of the material in the file or a written description of it. If the applicant has any difficulty understanding this material, the bureau is obliged to explain and interpret it.

In addition, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives credit applicants these important rights:

• The right-to know the names and addresses of all companies to which the report was sent during the preceding six months.
• The right to challenge any information in the credit report on the grounds either of its accuracy or its date, and to compel the credit bureau to reexamine such information, by consulting with the creditor in question, if necessary. Generally, any negative information — arrest records, paid tax liens, adverse lawsuits or judgments, for example — that is more than seven years old must be removed. One exception is a previous declaration of bankruptcy, which may stay in the files for 10 years. Another is the case of an individual applying for credit on life insurance worth more than $50,000 or a job paying more than $22,000 a year. Any information that proves to be incorrect must be stricken from the record.
• The right to have all changes made as the result of investigation sent to any companies that received the inaccurate report.
• The right to enter into the file, in the event that investigation does not alter it, a short statement giving the applicant’s side of the story. This statement — or a summary of it — must be included in all future reports the agency sends about the applicant.

These protections are extremely valuable. Applicants who discover errors in the report are in a good position to reopen their previously failed negotiations, and this time they may be successful. Even if there is no error, it is often helpful for applicants to enter their own statements with the report. There may be extenuating circumstances — a temporary loss of employment; a one-time major and unexpected expense — that will make them more attractive prospects to lenders who might otherwise reject them.

Most credit bureaus adhere strictly to the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and cooperate willingly with consumers. But if you have any difficulty with an agency, you should report it in writing to: Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission.

The Commission will not intercede for you, but a number of complaints may trigger an investigation and, possibly, legal action that halts the company’s offensive practices.

You should also report any problems to the credit bureau trade organization, which will attempt to settle the dispute. Write to: Associated Credit Bureaus.

If this intercession fails, and you believe that a credit agency has violated your rights under the law, consult an attorney. You may have grounds for legal action under the law and your suit, if successful, will bring you damages as well as court and attorney’s fees.

Another source of help in disputes with credit agencies is your state attorney general’s office. In situations where you are unable to reach an agreement, you may bring suit. If you are successful, you may collect damages as well as court and attorney’s fees.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act

Before 1975, when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act became effective, a considerable number of Americans — women, older people and minority group members — often had difficulty in obtaining loans and credit. Since then, discrimination on these bases has been forbidden by law. Prospective lenders no longer have the right even to ask borrowers about their race, religion or nationality — except, for monitoring purposes, in the case of real estate loans, and even in this case, the borrower is under no obligation to respond. Older people cannot be rejected on the grounds that their age prevents them from obtaining credit insurance and in determining their financial status, prospective lenders must take into account such various sources of income as Social Security, annuities and pension payments.

Perhaps most dramatic are the changes the law has brought about in the treatment of women. In the past, married women often could not get credit unless their husbands acted as co-signers; unmarried women were often held to much more rigid credit tests than men; young married women without children were often turned down on the grounds that when — and if — they became mothers, they would no longer be acceptable credit risks. Under the provisions of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, all these forms of discrimination are outlawed. Specifically, the law provides that:

• A lender may not reject a female applicant for credit because of her sex or marital status, and any woman whose application is denied has the right, within 60 days, to ask for the reasons in writing. A lender who refuses to supply this information is subject to court suit and could be forced to pay the plaintiff’s actual charges plus punitive damages, attorney fees and court costs.
• In applying for credit, married women may use their maiden names, if they choose.
• Divorced or legally separated women are not obliged to list such sources of income as child support and alimony when applying for credit. But those who believe that mention of these resources will improve their chances of getting the money can do so, and although prospective lenders are entitled to determine if these sources of income are reliable, they must be taken into consideration when making a decision.
• A lender may not ask a woman whether she intends to have children.
• A lender can ask a woman’s husband to co-sign a loan only when it is clear that her income alone is insufficient or when property jointly held is to be used as collateral.
• Lenders may not ask women about their marital status except in states with community property laws — specifically, Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Washington — where the spouse can use the account or will be contractually liable for it, or where the spouse’s income is used to help qualify for the loan.

Lenders who violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act are subject to severe penalties, including actual damage, up to $10,000 in punitive damages along with attorney fees and court costs.

Violation of the law can be difficult to prove, especially in cases where the applicant’s credit-worthiness can be considered marginal, whether because of a relatively low income or a short period of employment or residence in the community. Under the terms of the law, applicants who are rejected for credit must be given the reasons for this action in writing. If, after you have examined the lender’s statement, you remain convinced that you are the victim of discrimination, the next step is to write a letter describing the situation in full. Your complaints about commercial banks should go to the nearest regional office of the Federal Reserve System.

• Complaints about federally insured savings and loan associations should go to: General Counsel, Federal Home Loan Bank Board, 1700 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20552.
• Complaints about credit unions should go to: National Credit Union Administration, 1776 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20456.
• Complaints about credit card companies, finance companies and retail stores should go to: Federal Trade Commission, Equal Opportunity Division, Washington , D.C. 20580 .
• Or, if you prefer, you can send your complaints — no matter what kind of lending agency is involved — to your state’s consumer protection office or attorney general’s office.

The Truth in Lending Act is a US Federal Law Protecting Consumers in Credit Transactions

The primary purpose of this federal legislation, enacted in 1968, is to make the borrower aware of exactly how much a loan will cost. There was a time when lenders could simply advertise “8 percent interest.” Unless the borrower carefully examined the exact terms of the loan — often written in difficult-to-understand legal terminology — he or she was unlikely to realize that “add-ons” might effectively double the interest being charged. Such tactics are now illegal. Today a borrower must be provided with information, written in terms that a layman can understand, which includes the following facts:

• The finance charge: All lenders — except those lending mortgage money — must state clearly in their contracts the total amount the loan (or line of credit) is going to cost the borrower. This amount may include sums other than interest: there may also be points, handling, appraisal, loan and/or insurance fees and similar expenses.
• The annual percentage rate (APR): All lenders must disclose their cost of credit as a yearly rate. Unless the information is given in these terms, consumers can end up paying considerably more for either closed or open-ended loans than they expected. If, for example, you borrow $1,200 for a year at 10 percent interest with the understanding that you will repay the total sum plus interest at the end of the year, you will have had the use of the full $1200 at a cost of $120. But most consumer loans are repaid in monthly installments. You therefore do not have the use of the money in full, and the interest rate is thus increased. For instance, $1320 paid back in 12 equal installments of $110 a month represents an 18 percent annual rate of interest.
• Late payment penalties: In order to assure themselves of an adequate profit, most lenders levy penalties on borrowers who are tardy in making scheduled payments. This practice is entirely legal, but under Truth in Lending, institutions that engage in it must disclose that fact, and must also disclose the terms of the penalties.

In addition to the general disclosure requirements of the Truth in Lending law, there are others that relate specifically to closed and open-ended loans. Closed-end loan agreements, for example, must include the following information:

• The date on which each payment for the loan is due.
• The total amount the borrower will have paid out once his or her obligation has been fulfilled.
• Whether or not a prepayment penalty — a percentage of the money still outstanding — will be levied against borrowers who pay their loans in full before the due date; and if it is levied, the amount.
• If the interest rate is variable, the circumstances under which it changes and on what basis the rate is determined.
• The total number of payments to be made.
• Whether or not the loan contains a demand feature and, if it does, the terms.
• An accurate description of any property that may have been used to secure the loan and the terms under which that property may be forfeited.

Open-ended loan agreements must include the following information:

• Whether or not borrowers can avoid interest charges, and if so, how. Most credit card companies do not charge interest on bills that are paid in full, and under Truth in Lending, the holders of such cards must be given at least two weeks from the opening of the billing period to make their payments.
• The differences — if any — in interest rates for different kinds of loans. Credit card companies often charge a higher rate of interest for cash advances than for purchases; if they do, this information must be given in the credit agreement. Similarly, if there is a variable rate of interest, the circumstances under which the rate may vary and the limits on the amount by which it can vary must be disclosed. Finally, any changes in interest rates must be reported to card holders, and transactions completed before the rate change is in effect must be billed at the earlier rate.
• The lender must send the borrower a monthly statement detailing the following: previous balance; payment received; amount owed; interest; principal and date or time by which the new balance or a portion of it must be paid to avoid additional charges. The statement must also itemize all purchases made during the billing period.

Failure on the part of a lender to make the disclosures required by the Truth in Lending law gives a borrower grounds for legal action — a suit for damages, plus double the finance charges up to a maximum of $1,000. If the suit is successful, the defendant will be required to pay court costs and the plaintiff’s legal fees.

If you think any bank has violated the terms of the Truth in Lending Act, get in touch with your state banking commission; if your complaint concerns a credit card company or some other lender, report it to your state attorney general’s office.

Advertising Restrictions. The Truth in Lending Act also imposes restrictions on those who advertise credit. A bank, for example, may advertise that credit is available to “qualified customers,” but if it goes beyond that to mention specific credit terms, it must describe other basic requirements. An ad for a new home, for example, cannot merely advertise” 12 percent credit” unless it also mentions the annual percentage rate. Nor can the ad state the amount of finance charge without also stating the amount of the down payment, if any, the terms of repayment and the APR.

Legal Protection Of Borrowers

Like millions of Americans, you probably make at least some of your purchases on credit. The practice of buying now and paying later, though vital to both individual and national economies, can be dangerous if abused. Each year hundreds of thousands of people find themselves over their heads in debt and unable to meet all their monthly payments. Often they resort to desperate means — trying, for example, to consolidate their debts by incurring a single new one, a tactic that sometimes makes matters worse. In some cases they wind up in bankruptcy court, their credit ratings shattered and their property forfeit.

Neither federal nor state governments can prevent people from overextending themselves financially, but the governments can, and do, provide consumers with some protection in the credit marketplace. Because banks are the primary source of credit, they come under particularly close scrutiny.

There was a time, not too long ago, when a bank could turn down a credit applicant for any reason, or for no reason at all. A person might be denied a loan on the basis of sex, race, marital status or just because the loan officer took a dislike to the applicant. Similarly, banks and other lending institutions could conceal the true interest they were charging for loans by stressing the monthly rate and obscuring the total yearly cost. Credit reporting agencies, upon which lenders depend for determining the credit-worthiness of an applicant, were so loosely governed that they could report mere rumors as evidence of a person’s lack of financial responsibility. All such practices, and a host of other dubious credit procedures, have been outlawed.

Bank Loan Cosigning Perils

There may come a time when a friend or relative applies for a loan and the lending institution refuses unless the applicant can find a cosigner. If someone you know asks you to cosign a loan, consider the request very carefully before you agree.

Chances are that the lender would not have required a cosigner if the applicant’s credit rating was good. If you do cosign, you are not simply doing your friend a favor; you are agreeing to pay off the loan in full in the event that your friend cannot.

In fact, if you are accepted as a cosigner, the lender may be more persistent in dunning you for repayment than in pursuing the borrower, on the assumption that your financial resources are greater. As a cosigner, you have few rights but possibly crushing obligations — and all this without having received a penny from anyone.

How To Successfully Qualify For A Bank Loan?

Before applying for any kind of loan, it is prudent to analyze just how much money you need and precisely how long you need it for. Then compare the rates and conditions you will have to abide by for the use of someone else’s cash.

Financial institutions offer many types of loans under many different names. In addition to auto loans and home mortgages, there are, for example, home improvement loans, used for financing repairs, remodeling, additions or other improvements to a house; small business loans, made to individuals who own their own companies to finance operations or buy new equipment; special short-term loans for a variety of purposes; “demand loans” or “time notes” that can be used to tide a person over a number of months or until a specified date when expected funds will have come in and the loan can be paid in full; “swing” or “bridge” loans to enable a house buyer to close on the contract for a new home while waiting for the money due on the purchase of his or her old one.

In all loans — particularly the most common ones, “consumer” or “personal” loans that are ordinarily paid back in monthly installments — bankers are mainly interested in two things: the purpose of the loan and the borrower’s ability to repay it. They are usually less willing to lend $5,000 for an extended vacation in Europe than to lend the same amount for the payment of medical bills or the installation of a brand new heating system for the home.

As a practical matter, a loan officer may have a hard time knowing what the money actually went for; your ability to repay is the primary concern. Though the figures vary, most banks do not like to lend you a sum that exceeds 20 or 25 percent of your gross income — $6,000 to $7,500 on a salary of $30,000, for example — or an amount that would make your total monthly payments larger than a week’s salary, including your debts (and in the case of mortgages, including payments towards taxes and insurance on your home). But, again, banks don’t make a fetish of verifying people’s stated incomes. They are likely to pursue the matter in detail only if the loan is for a large amount and the collateral or security interest is inadequate or shaky. Moreover, if they have any misgivings about you, they can scrutinize your credit history to see how well you have handled credit in the past.

The Three C’s Of Your Credit Rating

In the days before computers and credit cards, loan officers usually sized up applicants on the Three C’s of Credit:

• Character (a moral commitment to pay the money back),
• Capacity (the means to do so) and
• Collateral (property that could be seized and resold in the event repayment was not made).

The Three C’s are still important in securing loans, but creditors today are more apt to rely primarily on computer models and statistical graphs that rate by points the typical characteristics of people who do, and don’t, repay their debts.

According to a California firm that develops such systems for banks and other creditors, only about 20 to 30 percent of all credit applicants get enough points to be approved. While each institution has its own system, Consumers Union, publisher of the magazine Consumer Reports, analyzed some common denominators and came up with the hypothetical scoring test shown below.

Generally, the older you are the better credit risk you are in a lender’s eyes. The points, however, drop noticeably for people in their mid-30’s, a group that often faces the unforeseen expenses of young children, divorce or other causes of financial stress.

The longer you have lived in one place the more lenders see you as a “stable” person, and if you own rather than rent your home, you score extra points. People with cars rate higher than those without, and the newer the car the more points you are apt to get.

Another consideration is how long you have held the same job. What kind of job you have — an executive rates higher than a cab driver — and your income, of course, make a difference.

Having a savings account is better than having a checking account, and you are considerably more desirable if you have both. If you have taken out an installment loan from your bank, and are repaying promptly, you will get a few more points.

People who already have one or more credit cards in good standing are considered better risks than those with none. Department store charge cards, travel and entertainment cards and oil company cards rate somewhat lower, and off-the-cuff credit with, for instance, the local drug store, which is not punched into a national credit-reporting system, ranks even lower than that.

If you have been desperate enough to have borrowed recently at high interest from a small-loan or finance company, you will probably be docked a number of points. If you have applied and been turned down for credit more than once in the last six months, and that fact appears on your computerized record with a credit-reporting agency, you may have difficulty getting new credit, as you may if your record indicates that you have not been prompt in paying your bills.

If you have gone through bankruptcy in the last few years, you may have to forget credit completely, unless you have solid evidence that you are back on your financial feet.

Read here How to Calculate Your Credit Rating?

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Credit Rating Test

The “test” given here can indicate only your relative credit-worthiness. It cannot tell you whether you will actually get credit from particular lenders, whose policies may vary widely according to their experiences, profit targets and tolerance of risk under different economic conditions at different times. One lender, for example, might sign you up if you scored a total of 75 or more points, while another might approve you only if you exceeded 125 points.

Before applying for credit, especially a major loan, it is a good idea to see for yourself just what your credit history is. You have the right under law to ask the lender for the name of the credit reporting agency the institution uses, and to obtain a copy of your record from that agency so you can weigh your chances, correct any errors or append your side of the story. Then discuss your prospects with an officer of the institution where you hope to get a loan.

Be leery of outside organizations that claim they can help you get credit or “fix” your credit report. For a fee, often a substantial one, such operators usually just tell yon what your rights are in investigating and amending your report — something you can do yourself at little cost.

A Hypothetical Credit-Scoring Scheme

1 Do not include loans from automobile-finance companies such as GMAC.

2 In filling out an application form, a certain number of credit references are required.

If you have to use small stores without an organized credit-reporting system, you’ll lose points.

Scorecard

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