Four Laws To Help You Clean Your Credit Rating

Fortunately for you, decades ago Congress recognized that the system of credit reporting needed legislation. The practices of the credit reporting agencies and the agencies using the reports they provided were abhorrent. American consumers were being abused by a system they had no way of influencing and no way of keeping in check.

To combat these abuses, Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act which with its subsequent revisions has become the cornerstone of your consumer credit rights. It is because of this legislation that you have the right to see what information is recorded on your credit files and to dispute any questionable negative items they contain.

In addition to the FCRA, there are a few other consumer protection acts that give consumers certain rights when you are working with creditors or collections companies who report to the credit bureaus. By making use of their rights under each of these statutes, consumers have been able to successfully fix bad credit.

Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is what got credit repair started. Because of this act, you have the right to order copies of your credit reports and to dispute inaccurate credit directly with the credit bureaus.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Along with protecting your against abusive behavior from collectors such as calling you at unusual hours, screaming at you, using vulgar language, lying about their identity, or using violence while trying to collect a debt, the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) gives you powerful debt validation tools that give you the right to challenge any debt.

Fair Credit Billing Act
Similar to how the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act governs collections agencies, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives you the right to dispute questionable negative credit listings directly with your original creditors in order to modify how they are reporting your account to the credit reporting agencies.

Credit Repair Organizations Act
With all the legislation surrounding credit correction, it can be overwhelming for a newcomer working to fix their credit reports. Fortunately, there are licensed credit repair companies who help consumers work towards a fair and accurate credit score. These credit repair organizations are regulated by the Credit Repair Organizations Act which helps prevent consumers from becoming a victim of a credit repair scam.