Posts Tagged ‘Fair Credit Reporting Act’

FTC Amends Free Credit Reports Rule To Help Consumers Steer Clear of ‘Free’ Offers that Cost Money

For Release: 2/23/2010
Federal Trade Commission

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/02/facta.shtm

April 2010 companies offering free credit reports must notify consumers that they can go directly to the National outlet for free credit reports.

www.annualcreditreport.com

877-FACT-ACT or 877-322-8228,

The ONLY authorized source under federal law.

There are a good many companies misleading consumers into thinking they can obtain a free credit report through them, only to discover later that they were required to sign up for a 12 month credit monitoring service.

Consumers should know that if they discover they enrolled in a monitoring service, they can call the credit monitoring service and refuse service, to ask for a refund. The credit card will still be charged, but a refund will later be issued.

Also if a consumer wants their credit reports to include credit scoring, that does come at an additional cost.

Just be careful not to listen to the hype on television from companies claiming to provide free credit reports to consumers.

Debt Collectors Will Pay More Than $1 Million to Settle FTC Charges

For Release: 03/03/2010
Federal Trade commission

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/03/creditcollect.shtm

Credit Bureau Collection Services, and two of its officers, Larry Ebert and Brian Striker violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

They continually ignored rules to update the Credit Reporting Agency to update their account listings as being under dispute by the consumer.

Even when the consumers notified them that a debt was paid off, or that the debt did not belong to them in the first place.

The Collection Agency would continue to insist that the debt was owed, and insist that they still had to pay the debt.

FTC has Barred the defendants from any further violations.

When a consumer disputes, the Collection Agency is obligated to investigate or close the account, and to cease collection efforts.

They can not sell the debt, they have to return it back to the original creditor.
If the account did not belong to the consumer, the Collection Agency is obligated to delete it from the consumer credit report.

If the debt is paid already then the Collection Agency is obligated to update the Credit Reporting Agency to show the account paid/zero balance.

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