Credit Repair: Laws That Protects Your Rights
A Credit Article Contributed by Brandie King
Credit Repair Law: Introduction
There is a law that was brought into effect by the Federal Trade Commission to protect your rights when it comes to credit repair companies. That law is titled the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and provides you protection from unlawful practices by credit repair companies. The actual document can be read at http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/croa/croa.htm.
If you believe that you have been a victim of unlawful practices by a credit repair company, then you should contact the consumer affairs office in your area, the Attorney General for your state, or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Never be concerned or scared about reporting unlawful or unethical practices by a credit repair company that you have dealt with. If nobody ever reports such companies then the government will not know about them and will be unable to shut those companies down.
Credit Repair Law: What Credit Repair Companies Have to Do
According to the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies have to give you a copy of a document titled "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law." They have to give you this document before you sign their written contract and it must be given to you as a separate additional document to your written contract. By law, credit repair companies must give you a written contract that details very specifically what your obligations are and what your rights are.
You should read this written contract very carefully and make sure that you understand everything included in it. An impossible, or near impossible, to read written contract is a sign that the company may not be legitimate. Credit repair companies also have to include certain specific information in the written contract.
The written contract has to detail what the payment terms are, what services they are going to provide to you along with detailed descriptions of those services, how long they expect it to take to get results, any guarantees that the company is offering to you, and the full name and business address of the company.
Credit Repair Law: What Credit Repair Companies are Prohibited from Doing
Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies are prohibited from making untrue claims about the services that they provide. They cannot make you pay before completing promised services and you should steer clear of any company that tries. Credit Repair companies are prohibited from providing any services to until not only do they have the written contract with your signature on it, but also until a three day waiting period has been completed.
In addition, if you request a cancellation of the written contract within that three day waiting period, the credit repair company has to honor your request without charging you any money. Another practice that is illegal, as well as unethical, is for the credit repair company to require you to sign a waiver of lawful rights that you receive from the Credit Repair Organizations Act.
