Consumer News - Consumer Debt - Consolidate Debt: Credit Reports - Consumer Credit Counseling Services, CCCS, Help and Tips to Repair Your Credit

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

Consumer Loan Basics

Your Rights: Debt Collection

A debt collector may not...

Payday And Tax Refund Loans

Home Equity Loans

Lost and Stolen Debit/
Check Cards and Stored-Value Cards

Credit Billing Disputes

Out of Control Debt

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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