Credit Card Watch

The FCRA or Fair Credit Reporting Act is the basis for what we are entitled to see and the rights that we have as consumers with the credit reporting bureaus. Keep in mind that these credit bureaus are private businesses that need to “make a profit.” Therefore we have a right to know what their respective reports are saying about us.

Your credit reports will contain alot of information about your financial history. While much of the information is probably accurate, while some may be a surprise to you. In fact, the reports may have completely false or information that should have been removed.

In a nutshell, the FCRA says that the only “negative information” that can remain on your credit reports is only that which can be proved as true. This is the reason the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) says that we can fix our credit ourselves and don’t need to seek an “overnight credit fix” from some less than reputable agency.

When you do the comparison and review of your reports, if negative information is true, “it has to stay.” Mark the entries you plan to dispute. Then you will make a case for removal.

Document all data available to demonstrate that an entry is false and this is proof of an erroneous entry. You will send this to the credit bureaus. They must respond and it is their responsibility to prove all the information is true.

Only you can decide if you will be able to carry out this process on your own behalf. If not, you may consider “Credit Counseling.” This also needs to be done very carefully. Avoid those agencies that promise to change your credit almost overnight. It’s probably too good to be true. In addition, you may be asked to pay an “upfront” fee and monthly fee. These are also agencies that need to make money. They could be SCAMS.

There are people who can probably give you referrals for honest compani Read the rest of this entry »

There are many ways for a cardholder to dispute a bill. Among the best is to contest the way the creditor calculated interest after raising the interest rate. Often credit card issuers will not respond to a billing error dispute properly, and such failure could potentially open up an FCBA claim. And if after filing such a dispute, a consumer learns that the creditor hasn’t complied with the FCBA reporting requirements, he or she may then file a formal reinvestigation with the credit reporting agencies disputing the information furnished by a creditor. In response to this, a creditor may affirm the reporting as accurate, which is a violation of the FCRA and opens up liability. Any failure on the creditor’s part to report accurately can also be used as leverage in negotiating. (Although it may seem as if disputing directly with the bureaus in the first place would be the best recourse, by disputing with the creditors in this manner, a consumer can head off adverse reporting before it ever begins, while possibly setting up a scenario where the creditor-furnisher has broken the law. They usually do.)

Charge-Backs

Under the FCBA, when a consumer contacts his or her credit card issuer to dispute the amount a merchant has charged, the cardholder may withhold payment of the amount in question until the issue is resolved. However, for this to be allowed, the cardholder must have attempted to resolve the dispute with the merchant directly. Also, the amount must exceed $50, and the purchase must have been made within the consumer’s state or 100 miles from his or her residence. If the cardholder pays the amount in dispute, then the right to dispute is lost. While a charge is in dispute, interest cannot accrue on the disputed amount.

Once the consumer notifies the credit card issuer of the disputed charge, the creditor may not report the dispute Read the rest of this entry »