Over time, Congress has passed several laws to protect consumers rights. The most commonly recognized is the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The purpose of this Act is to “assure accuracy and fairness of credit reporting.” Credit Agencies were given the job of assembling and assessing a consumer credit and other info about consumers. This is to be done with fairness, impartiality and respect for the consumer’s right to privacy.
The cards are stacked in favour of big business when it comes to credit related issues. For someone who is considering Do It Yourself Credit Repair, it is critical to have a understanding of the law that Congress passed to protect the consumer.
A credit bureau is a for-profit corporation, which implies they are an enterprise that has an expectancy that it’ll return a reasonable profit to its owners and/or investors. The Credit Bureaus compile and maintain files on consumers countrywide. They assemble, evaluate, maintain and furnish Consumer Reports to third parties regarding a consumer’s credit suitability, credit standing, or credit capacity. Their clients are banks, credit unions, outlets, firms, employers, collection firms, and so on.
Do you see how this might be a conflict of interest? First off, the credit bureaus receive this info from their clients (i.e., Banks, and so on), at face value implying the info is known to be correct. They appraise it, allot a worth to it (credit score) and then sell this info to whoever has a legal right to get Consumer Reports. This exchange of info is done covertly and without any input whatsoever from the consumer. In fact , many times a consumer is totally not aware that there is anything prejudicia on their credit file until they apply for a job or attempt to purchase an item using credit.
Having derogatory items on your credit report adversely impacts your credit history. To complicate matters, this info stays on a person’s credit file for seven to 10 years. Criminals have more rights. Ask yourself, why are the penalties for consumers harsher than for those given to wrongdoers?
If you find inaccurate info on your credit report and you make a decision to go with Do It Yourself Credit Repair, you need to send a letter to the credit bureaus setting forth the explanation(s) why this info isn’t right. The credit company will tell its buyer that a consumer is disputing an item on their credit file. The creditor will either certify the info is correct or they may update or remove the info from the credit file.
Although the FCRA was passed to protect the consumer, I am hard pressed to find many protections for the consumer other than those that are procedural in nature. While these things are important, there aren’t any fines, no punishment, not even a slap on the wrist for a creditor that reported the insulting info or the credit agent for selling inaccurate information.
This is truly a David vs. Goliath scenario especially for a DIY credit repair consumer. Each year, thousands of lawsuits are filed against the credit sgencies, creditors and collection corporations for reporting incorrect information. In many cases, the plaintiffs have prevailed which means that there were inaccurate items found on their credit reports. Unfortunately, the derogatory information is kept on your credit record throughout the entire process. So while an accused felon is presumed innocent until proved guilty and has got the right to defend himself, the same does not apply to a consumer. You are guilty if a creditor says you are and it is up to you to prove that you are innocent. Congress should be ashamed of itself.
So when you get turned down for a job or a loan because a creditor reported inaccurate information, be assured that Congress, the credit bureaus and your lenders have your back. Oh, and by the way, I heard that there’s a bridge for sale in Brooklyn!
Do It Yourself Credit Repair is where to go to find info on the way to mend and rebuild credit. For the DIY credit repair crowd you’ll find dispute templates, guides, software, access to free credit scores, mastercards for bad credit and much more. For those looking for help, names and reviews of credible credit repairing corporations are freely given. Please visit DIY Credit Repair and stop by the Forum to share your experiences or to provide helpful tips for others to use.
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