• Credit Restoration Laws

  • Knowing your rights is extremely important in all circumstances, but especially when you have poor credit. When you enter a credit repair program like the one offered by Score Cure, it is beneficial to know and understand the basic credit repair laws. The three major acts that apply to credit are the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA). Each of these acts serves a different purpose and have a different impact on you as a consumer. These acts protect you against your creditors, the credit bureaus, and the collection companies. Below is a brief summary of the rights that you are entitled under each of these laws.

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

    The Fair Credit Reporting Act is at the very core of credit restoration. This act regulates how the credit bureaus handle their clients’ files. Because of the fact that the credit bureaus have millions of credit reports to keep track of, they oftentimes make mistakes on some reports. In fact, as many as 4 in 5 credit reports contain errors. That is where the FCRA steps in. The FCRA puts forth laws that protect you as the consumer against being harmed by the errors that may appear on your credit report.

    The basic aspects of the FCRA are as follows: it ensures that the consumer can acquire a consumer’s credit report; regulates the reporting periods for information on credit reports; and details how the credit bureau must handle consumer complains. This act is often referred to during the credit restoration process because when a complaint is filed by the consumer – a falsely-reported item or other error – the credit bureaus are obligated to investigate the issue and come up with a response within 30 days. The disputed items will be removed from your credit report if the credit bureaus cannot provide proof of their correctness. Because of this, credit restoration companies like us have leverage over the credit bureaus in getting your negative items removed.

    The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

    As the name suggests, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act deals with debt collection. You may be wondering what debt collection has to do with credit repair. Well, the fact is that most consumers that have bad credit also have (or have had) unpaid debt. In essence, the FDCPA protects consumers against harassment and lies from the debt collectors. It enacts the following: it provides standards for acceptable debt collection behavior, such as not calling at your employment, not calling at odd hours, and so on; specifies the legal guidelines that the debt collectors have to follow; prohibits collection agencies from any threatening or violent actions, including screaming, using profanity and more; allows the consumer to request a cease and desist from communication with the debt collectors; obligates debt collectors to behave in a reasonable manner during communication; and it details the consumers’ rights to request additional information regarding your debt. If you are experiencing any such actions by your debt collectors, then get in touch with the CreditMonsters team about what legal actions you can take.

    The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA)

    Requiring creditors to bill you correctly and completely, the Fair Credit Billing Act also deals with credit repair. Since we at CreditMonsters also dispute incorrect bills for our clients, we often refer to the FCBA. This act prohibits the following: unauthorized charges; charges that have the wrong date or amount; charges for unreceived good or services; calculation errors; failure to post payments and creditors; failure to send bills to the correct address; and charges that you ask for written proof or explanation of. If you feel as though your creditors are violating the FCBA, then get in touch with our credit expert team about what we can do to help.

    If any of the prohibitions that these above acts outline are being done to your or your credit report, then do no hesitate to take action. Because we are backed by lawyers that have extensive experience in credit cases, we are more than able to help you receive justice for your mistreatment. Contact one of our credit repair experts about how our services can help you if you are being mistreated by your creditors, credit bureaus or collectors. There is no better time than now to take action and fix your credit!