A set of laws at both the federal and state levels is present that offers consumer protection in US. Some of the federal laws are the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act, and so on. The state laws vary from one to another but the aim remains the same.
There are certain rights that you have as a consumer. It is better to know the details of these to ensure that you do not fall victim to any sort of fraud. But who to approach for help? Only a legal expert would be able to answer your questions and clarify your doubts. Only a competent attorney specializing in consumer protection laws would be able to help you understand your rights and privileges.
Suppose you have bought a product or availed a service. But later you realize that it was not of the standard of your expectation. Or imagine a situation where you have taken a loan and the lender is using wrong means for recollecting it. As a consumer you can file a lawsuit against these entities, i.e. the manufacturer or dealer of the product or the provider of the service or the lender.
But this isn’t always an easy task. You need expert help to handle the situation. The first thing to do is find a suitable consumer protection attorney. Base your choice on factors like his/her qualification, experience, license, success rate, and competence in the field. Discuss the details of your case and seek answers to your queries.
These are the things you need to ask the Consumer Protection Attorney:
• What is the estimated value of the case?
• What sort of proof is required?
• Do you need witnesses?
• How to approach the case?
• How much would it cost?
You need to clarify the details of the attorney’s charges as well. How would he/she bill you? Would it be on a per hour basis? Or would it be on contingency basis? If the terms and conditions suit you, go ahead and form a contract, also known as the retainer agreement, with the attorney and hire his/her services for your case. This agreement outlines what services the attorney is to provide and how he/she would be paid.
The consumer protection attorney would be able to file a complaint against the company or business, and help you get the summons. Once the case reaches a trial, he/she would work on the proof available, present the case from your perspective and highlight the points that are of relevance. He/she would also examine any proof or witness that the defendant presents at court.
In such circumstance, choosing the right attorney is of significance. It’s wise to opt for a consumer protection attorney who knows all about the laws applicable and helps you understand the situation, has good communication skills, and most importantly, one you feel comfortable working with.
03 FebConsumer Protection
08 JunCredit Repair
Credit repair begins with you. Many people have bad credit and they don’t even know about it or they think they have no way to repair it. Everyone has the right to see their credit reports and to repair their credit score.
I have listed the top 5 steps to credit repair and how to restore your credit today:
Top 5 Steps To Credit Repair
1. Pay Your Bills On Time – This sounds like a no-brainer, but I can’t stress how important it is. One little 30-day late payment will set you back a year or more. Set up automatic payments with all your creditors. If you can’t make a payment, call your creditor and make something work so that they won’t report it to the credit bureaus. You would be surprised how many times this works.
2. Dispute Negative Items – The main reason most people get denied loans is because of past negative items. A lot of the time these items aren’t even yours because of identity theft, reporting errors and other factors. The Fair Credit Reporting Act was implemented to allow consumers the right to dispute or verify any listing that is on their reports. 4 out of 5 credit reports contain errors, make sure yours is not one of them.
3. Increase Debt to Limit Ratio – Two ways you can do this, keep your balances low and increase your limits. Always make sure your balances are below 35% if possible. Increasing your limits will help the ratio as long as you don’t increase your debt on those accounts too.
4. Diversify Your Credit – This can difficult for some that can’t get a mortgage or car loan. Start with the basics, get a checking account with your bank with a line of credit. Get a credit card attached to your bank account. Then get a merchant store card. All these things will help your score by diversification A mortgage and car loan are the best ways to diversify, but take time to get up to.
5. Contact Your Creditors – Creditors want their money too and they will negotiate to get it. Make sure you have talked to your creditors before paying off a bill. Use your leverage to negotiate the removal of the negative items upon final payment.
There are many factors that can contribute to low scores, but credit repair can help bring it back up again. I urge you to use these steps to repair your credit today and get your finances back on track.
In 2009, the leading credit repair service forced the credit bureaus to remove over 1 million negative items. See how 500,000 clients used these credit repair methods to get the credit score they deserved.
26 AprWhy Checking Your Credit Score is Your #1 Defense Against Fraud
Most Americans have errors and other unverifiable notices on their credit reports that can be bringing down their over-all credit score. There’s a very good chance that even YOUR credit score is lower than it SHOULD be! Sadly though, there is a good chance that you will be like most of the millions of Americans who will continue to suffer with an unfair credit score because you haven’t done anything to fix your credit.
Most Americans want to believe that the current credit reporting system that we use works; that people “earn” their bad credit scores and that there is nothing that can be done to fix it other than wait out the seven (7) years. This is simply not the case. Studies have proven that the current credit scoring system is flawed. This is why the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other consumer protection legislation give you the ability to do something about it. They give you the legal right to know and challenge items on your credit score.
So if it’s free and easy to check your credit score, why aren’t more people doing it? It certainly can’t be because they don’t understand the importance of having a good credit score. After all, it doesn’t take an Einstein to recognize the benefits of a good credit score when it can be the difference between paying $3,500/month and $3,000/month for the same exact house.
More likely, the reason we don’t repair our credit is a mix of apathy and lack of understanding of the credit reporting system. Too many people assume that the credit reporting system is some kind of official or governmental system with an extensive system of checks and balances in place to ensure the safekeeping of credit history. The reality is that it this couldn’t be further from the truth of how it really works.
The credit bureaus which control the credit reporting system are not official government organizations. In fact, they are massive for-profit corporations that collect personal information from your creditors and then make money by selling this information (about you!) in the form of your credit reports.
So now you are asking yourself, how do these corporations make sure that this information is correct? If a creditor reports something that is wrong, how do the credit bureaus ensure it doesn’t end up on your credit reports? What’s stopping false claims?
The answer to all three questions is: they don’t. Your creditors report information, the credit bureaus record it in their databases, and for the majority of Americans, the story ends there.
No one at the credit bureaus or in the government is going to make sure your credit reports are accurate. There is absolutely nothing in it for them to perform any such checks. The way that the credit system is organized is that there is only one person who will ever bother to check up on your credit reports – YOU. You are the part of this entire system that is missing.
Making sure that your credit score is where it should be is your biggest responsibility as an American and repairing your credit reports is something that you and only you can initiate. It is your legal right to dispute any questionable negative items on your credit reports and the sooner you start this process, the better off you’ll be. You can work to repair your credit on your own or you can enlist the help of a credit repair law firm.
Whether you attempt to repair your credit by yourself or with the help of a credit repair expert, by taking an active role in our credit reporting system, you will be able to ensure that your credit score is as good as it can be. Not only that, but by making sure that your score is correct, you’ll have a leg-up on the millions of other Americans who still have un-corrected credit scores!
For more information on your credit score, safe resources to check and dispute your credit history, and much more please visit the Home Finance Journal.
Tom Conrad is a home finance guru, specializing in foreclosure and mortgage loan help. He writes a mortgage loan and foreclosure help blog at HomeFinanceJournal.com.