Lower APR Rate
Everyone loves a bargain? Sometimes it is true, but not always. However, nobody likes to find out that they are paying too much for their credit card in interest and fees. Who doesn`t want to get the lowest APR possible? It is good that you think your credit card`s rate too high, but it is not enough to lower it. If you`re paying too much in interest, you need to take action immediately. Read more... 
Can the information in my credit file be used for any other purposes ?
Yes. The practice of generating and selling lists for use in "pre-approved"
credit and insurance offers is allowed by law. TransUnion, Experian and Equifax all engage in
selling lists of consumers who meet certain criteria in order to receive a "firm"
offer of credit or insurance. This is the source of the many pre-approved credit offers most
consumers receive in the mail. "Pre-approved" and so-called "firm" offers
of credit, however, can be somewhat misleading. A creditor may legally look at your report
before making the offer. If you respond, the creditor may again access your report before you
are actually granted credit. They can deny your credit application at that time. This is
explained in the fine print on the pre-approved offer.
Credit Bureaus
Credit Bureaus access information about your payments right from the companies you are applying for credit card credit with, or from state agencies (the legal court system). To create your credit report they use this historical information about some of your financial transactions. This consumer report reveals complete information about you, including where you live and work, whether your bills were paid on time and if you`ve ever been sued, arrested or filed for bankruptcy. Read more... The law does not allow CRAs to compile and sell information from credit
reports for the purpose of direct marketing. Although CRAs have engaged in this
practice in the past, the Federal Trade Commission in March 2000 ruled that TransUnion
violated the FCRA by the sale of personal credit information for target marketing purposes.
To read the FTC's full opinion, see www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/03/transunion.htm .
TransUnion has appealed the FTC's decision and the matter is now under
review in federal court. Equifax states it does not sell lists used for direct or target
marketing. Experian, on the other hand, sells lists of consumers to marketers derived
from consumer surveys, demographics sources, and public records. Experian states that
it does not sell information obtained directly from credit reports for marketing purposes. See
www.experian.com/direct_marketing/manage_data/customer_information.html .
You can remove your name from any list compiled by a CRA, whether the
list is for pre-approved credit offers or direct marketing. To "opt-out,"
that is, to remove your name from mailing lists compiled by credit bureaus, call the
toll-free number all CRAs are required by law to maintain for this purpose:
Call (888) 5-OPTOUT or (888) 567-8688 to opt out of pre-approved offers
of credit or go online to www.optoutprescreen.com .
This phone number can be used to remove your name from the list of all three CRAs.
You may also write to the CRA.
Enforcing Your Rights
You may sue a credit reporting agency or a company that provides data to it in federal or state court. If you win, you may be entitled to recover an amount for damages you have actually incurred or a maximum of $1,000, whichever is greater. Read more...
Equifax
Options
P.O. Box 740123
Atlanta , GA 30374 |
Experian
Consumer Opt Out
P.O. Box 919
Allen , TX 75013 |
Trans Union
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 97328
Jackson , MS 39288-7328 |
The 1997 amendments to the FCRA allow a subsidiary of a bank holding
company to share its customers' credit reports and information from credit,
employment, or insurance applications with other affiliates of that company.
The 1997 amendments to the FCRA give you a right to opt-out of the sharing of
affiliate information. Look for opt-out instructions in the fine print of your
credit card bills and bank statements. You will be provided with an address to
contact to alert financial services companies of your opt-out preferences.
The FCRA amendments require that if an adverse action is taken
based on affiliate-shared information, you are to be notified. The consumer organization U.S. PIRG ( www.pirg.org ) has warned that the sharing of
customer information among affiliates in effect establishes subsidiaries that
act like credit bureaus but are exempt from the act.
Credit Cards: Security and Fraud
Countless opportunities for fraud are the consequence of the low security of the credit card system. It creates a huge black stolen credit cards numbers market, which generally are used before the cards are reported to be stolen. The goal of the credit card issuing companies is not to eliminate fraud, but to "reduce it to manageable levels", when the total cost of fraud and fraud prevention are minimized. Read more... At one time, a loophole in the FCRA enabled the credit bureaus to
sell the "directory information" from credit reports, called "credit
headers." This information included name, address, previous addresses, telephone
number, date of birth, and Social Security number. The FCRA's opt-out provision that
applies to pre-approved offers of credit did not apply to credit headers.
You were not able to opt-out of the sale of your credit header information by the CRAs.
This information was sold to many information brokers who in turn sold it for a variety
of investigative purposes.
The sale of credit headers has been highly controversial. Several bills
have been introduced in Congress to prohibit the sale of headers, or at the very least
to restrict the sale of Social Security numbers, which are contained in credit headers.
The practice of selling credit headers was stopped in 2002, when a federal appeals
court ruled that such sales violated another federal law, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act,
which provides privacy protections for consumers' personal financial information. www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/07/tuglbappeal.htm
Everything About Creditors
All creditors look for an ability to pay the debt and a willingness in doing it and sometimes for some more security in protection of their loans. They say there are the 3 `C` of all credits: capacity, character, and collateral. Read more... |
FIND BY CATEGORY:
