Your Credit Rights by Law

The first step to protecting your credit status is to review the Federal government's documentation with regards to consumer credit laws.

To read about each of the 5 laws, choose the from the acronyms on the immediate left.

• FCRA - Fair Credit Reporting Act
• FACTA - Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
• FCBA - Fair Credit Billing Act
• ECOA - Equal Credit Opportunity Act
• CROA - Credit Repair Organizations Act
• FDCPA - Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

If you happen across any failed links, please use the Contact Us form to alert us any problems.

You can view an article posted on Yale University’s website called: “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act”.

You can learn more by reading the article on Wikipedia titled: “Fair Credit Reporting Act”.

Click here to download a PDF directly from the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website.

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act or FACTA, Pub.L. 108-159) is a United States federal law, passed by the United States Congress on November 22, 2003,[1] and signed by President George W. Bush on December 4, 2003,[2] as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The act allows consumers to request and obtain a free credit report once every twelve months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). In cooperation with the Federal Trade Commission, the three major credit reporting agencies set up the website, annualcreditreport.com, to provide free access to annual credit reports.

The act also contains provisions to help reduce identity theft, such as the ability for individuals to place alerts on their credit histories if identity theft is suspected, or if deploying overseas in the military, thereby making fraudulent applications for credit more difficult. Further, it requires secure disposal of consumer information.

Fair Credit Billing Act

The Fair Credit Billing Act is a federal law (amending the Truth in Lending Act) that protects consumers from unfair billing practices and to provide a way or remedy to address billing errors with credit or charge card accounts.

An article found at Wikipedia can give you more information:”Fair Credit Billing Act“.

A summary found on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website:”Facts for Consumers“.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibits credit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because you get public assistance. Creditors may ask you for most of this information in certain situations, but they may not use it when deciding whether to give you credit or when setting the terms of your credit. Not everyone who applies for credit gets it or gets the same terms: Factors like income, expenses, debts, and credit history are among the considerations lenders use to determine your creditworthiness.

Read more about the ECOA on the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) web site in the article titled `Equal Credit Opportunity: Understanding Your Rights Under the Law`.

Credit Repair Organizations Act

The Credit Repair Organizations Act as it is, copy-and-paste, from the Federal Trade Commission’s website is below. We operate within this law which governs how credit repair organizations can operate. Many of our “competitors” would not do this, but we are not afraid by teaching you EVERYTHING you need to know so that you can make an informed decision.

If this might seem a little too dense for understanding completely, Ezine Articles offers a slightly more interesting read: ”The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and You“.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a statute added in 1978 as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

“Its purposes are to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information’s accuracy. The Act creates guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defines rights of consumers involved with debt collectors, and prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the Act. It is sometimes used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.” This is from an article found on Wikipedia titled: ”Fair Debt Collection Practices Act“.

An article found on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website: ”Facts for Consumers“.