Do Credit Bureaus Have A Conflict of Interest When It Comes to Consumer’s Reports?
Over the years, Congress has passed several laws to safeguard consumers rights. The most commonly recognized is the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The object of this Act is to “assure accuracy and fairness of credit reporting.” Credit Agencies were given the task of assembling and judging a purchaser credit and other info about consumers. This is to be done with fairness, impartiality and respect for the consumer’s right to privacy.
The cards are stacked in favor of big business when it comes to credit related issues. For someone that is considering Do It Yourself Credit Repair, it is vital to have an experience of the law that Congress passed to protect the consumer.
A credit bureau is a for-profit corporation, which implies they are a business that has an expectation that it will return a reasonable profit to its owners and/or stockholders. The Credit Agencies compile and maintain files on consumers nationwide. They assemble, guage, maintain and furnish Consumer Reports to 3rd parties regarding a consumer’s credit worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity. Their customers are banks, credit unions, outlets, firms, employers, collection companies, etc .
Do you see how this might be a conflict of interest? Firstly, the credit bureaus receive this information from their customers (i.e., Banks, etc ), at face value suggesting the info is said to be correct. They judge it, allot a worth to it (credit score) and then sell this info to whoever has a legal right to get Consumer Reports. This exchange of information is done covertly and without any input in the slightest from the consumer. Actually many times a consumer is completely ignorant that there’s anything derogatory on their credit report till they apply for a job or try to purchase an item using credit.
Having prejudicial items on your credit file adversely impacts your credit report. To complicate matters, this info stays on a person’s credit file for seven to 10 years. Bad guys have more rights. Ask yourself, why are the penalties for consumers harsher than for those given to wrongdoers?
If you find incorrect info on your credit file and you make a decision to go with Do It Yourself Credit Repair, you need to send a letter to the credit agencies setting forth the reason(s) why this information isn’t right. The credit agency will inform its buyer a client is disputing an item on their credit report. The creditor will either certify the information is correct or they may update or remove the information from the credit file.
Although the FCRA was passed to protect the consumer, I am hard pressed to find many protections for the consumer other than those that are procedural in nature. While these things are important, there are no fines, no punishment, not even a slap on the wrist for a creditor that reported the derogatory information or the credit company for selling incorrect information.
This is truly an uphill battle especially for a DIY credit repair consumer. Every year, thousands of suits are filed against the credit sgencies, creditors and collection companies for reporting unfounded information. In many cases, the plaintiffs have prevailed which means that there were inaccurate items found on their credit reports. Unfortunately, the derogatory information is kept on your credit report throughout the whole process. So while an accused law-breaker is presumed innocent until proven guilty and has the right to defend himself, the same does not apply to a consumer. You are guilty if a creditor says you are and it’s up to you to prove you are innocent. Congress should be ashamed of itself.
So when you get turned down for a job or a loan because a creditor reported incorrect information, rest assured that Congress, the credit agencies and your creditors have your back. Oh, and by the way, I heard that there’s a bridge for sale in Brooklyn!
Do It Yourself Credit Repair is where to go to find info on how to mend and rebuild credit. For the DIY credit repair crowd you will find dispute templates, guides, software, access to free credit scores, credit cards for bad credit and lots more. For those trying to find help, names and reviews of credible credit repair corporations are readily given. Please visit DIY Credit Repair and stop by the Forum to share your experiences or to provide helpful tips for others to use.
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