The Credit Rating System: A Legal Perspective

Unfortunately today, we live in a society that determines our net worth and value as human beings by our credit file. If your credit report is good, chances are you will partake in many of the better things in life. The complete opposite is true if your credit report is bad.

Very few creditors will extend fair credit to you with blemishes on your credit history.

What if it wasn’t you’re fault? What if you had to make the simple choice between eating and making a car payment? What if a job lay-off, medical emergency, or some other personal crises prevented you from making a timely payment? Should you be forced to pay for this for the next 7 to 10 years serving a credit prison sentence?

How is a system like this allowed to operate in our democracy ? The credit bureaus have placed themselves in the position of both judge and jury in relation to your credit file. Do not forget one very important difference… A judge will give you a chance to defend yourself before ruling. We are supposed to have the opportunity in America to face our accusers before judgment is passed. This is entirely untrue when it comes to your credit records.

The truth is creditors and credit bureaus have been swapping information about you behind your back and without your permission for a long time . In effect, it is hearsay and it can cause you severe economic hardship.

The current system does not give you the opportunity to defend yourself before inscribing your credit file with negative and damaging information (even if it is not yours). Their perspective is that you must prove to them that the negative information on your credit report is incorrect, invalid, erroneous, or otherwise non-verifiable before they will remove it. In other words, in the eyes of the credit bureaus… you are guilty until proven innocent.

We are brought up to believe that one is innocent until proven guilty. Why we are not extended the same courtesy by the credit bureaus? Why do they not give us a chance to defend ourselves before they place negative information on our report? Fact is, consumer rights cost them money.

The sole focus of credit bureau companies is profit.

Your credit file is their product. The credit bureaus have no government affiliation (except for spending millions on lobbying efforts). These private corporations sell your personal financial information to anyone that will pay for it…who generally accept it as gospel. ( Although it has been proven many times that mistakes do happen all too often.)

Creditors then reciprocate by giving back to the bureaus any information that they may have on you.

What can be done?

• In a democracy, everyone is entitled to a defense.
• Consumers have the right to obtain representation and face their accusers armed with their legal rights.
• The credit bureaus should have to back up the information that they sell about you. Congress and the law agree. If your defense is presented properly, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you have rights and many times it is usually more difficult and costly to prove the information is correct than to simply remove it.
• It should require more than just a form letter to validate my credit.  If the bureaus state the information was only verified, our attorneys will increase the intensity of the challenge and request validation until it is permanently removed or validated under the current laws.

The longer you delay action, the longer you let them win.

Know Your Credit Rights by Law

Review a list of the most pertinent laws regarding your credit rights using our Credit Laws viewer.