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Consumer Debt - Consolidate Debt,
Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS)
Help and Tips to Repair Your Credit
A Window of Opportunity for the Informed Consumer
Negative Credit Information in
Your Credit Report
If there is inaccurate or incomplete information in your credit report:
• Contact both the credit reporting agency (CRA) and the company that provided
the information to the CRA.
• Tell the CRA in writing what information you believe is inaccurate.
Under The Fair Credit Reporting Act, the information provider is required to
investigate and report the results to the CRA. If the information is found to be
incorrect, it must notify all nationwide CRAs to also correct your file. If the
investigation does not solve your dispute, ask that your statement of the
dispute be included in your file. A notice of your dispute must be included
anytime the CRA reports the item. See Your Rights: Credit Reports.
If the information is accurate, only time, hard work, and a personal debt
repayment plan will improve your credit report. Credit repair companies
advertise that they can erase bad credit for a hefty fee. Don’t believe it.
Under the Credit Repair
Organizations Act, credit repair companies can’t require you to pay until they
have completed promised services. They must also give you:
• a copy of the “Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law”
before you sign a contract;
• a written contract that spells out your rights and obligations; and
• three days to cancel without paying any fees.
Some credit repair companies promise to help you establish a whole new credit
identity. You can be prosecuted for fraud if you use the mail or telephone to
apply for credit with false information. It is a federal crime to make false
statements on a loan or credit application, to misrepresent your social security
number, or to obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue
Service under false pretences.
Your state may also regulate credit repair companies. If you have lost money to
credit repair scams, contact your state or local consumer affairs office or the
National Fraud Information Center.
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____________________________________________ Table of Contents Your Rights:
Debt Collection Lost
and Stolen Debit/ Negative Information on Credit Reports Source: General Services Administration
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 Source: Whitehouse Press Release
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