DC Fraud Lawyer

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records). Here is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For more information, including information about additional rights, go to www.ftc.gov/credit or write to: Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave.

N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment — or to take another adverse action against you — must tell you, and must give you the name, address and phone number of the agency that provided the information.

You have the right to know what is in your file. You may request and obtain all the information about you in the files of a consumer reporting agency (your “file disclosure”). You will be required to provide proper identification, which may include your Social Security number. In many cases, the disclosure will be free.

You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:

A person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report;

You are the victim of identify theft and place a fraud alert in your file;

Your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud;

You are on public assistance;

You are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.

In addition, by September 2005 all consumers will be entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months upon request from each nationwide credit bureau and from nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. See www.ftc.gov/credit for additional information.

You have the right to ask for a credit score. Credit scores are numerical summaries of your credit worthiness based on information from credit bureaus. You may request a credit score from consumer reporting agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential real property loans, but you will have to pay for it. In some mortgage transactions, you will receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.

You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate and report it to the consumer reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See www.ftc.gov/credit for an explanation of dispute procedures.

Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information. Inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency may continue to report information it has verified as accurate.

Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.

Access to your file is limited. A consumer reporting agency may provide information about you only to people with a valid need – usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need for access.

You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers. A consumer reporting agency may not give out information about you to your employer, or a potential employer, without your written consent given to the employer. Written consent generally is not required in the trucking industry. For more information, go to www.ftc.gov/credit.

You may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report. Unsolicited “prescreened” offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on. You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-567-8688.

You may seek damages from violators. If a consumer reporting agency, or, in some cases, a user of consumer reports or a furnisher of information to a consumer reporting agency violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.

Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights. For more information, visit www.ftc.gov/credit

States may enforce the FCRA, and many states have their own consumer reporting laws. In some cases, you may have more rights under state law. For more information, contact your state or local consumer protection agency or your state Attorney General.

The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), which is a subset of the more comprehensive Truth in Lending Act, which essentially tells original creditors how they should behave. http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcb/fcb.pdf

Have you ever been billed for merchandise you returned or never received? Has your credit card company ever charged you twice for the same item or failed to credit a payment to your account? While frustrating, these errors can be corrected. It takes a little patience and knowledge of the dispute settlement procedures provided by the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA).

The law applies to “open end” credit accounts, such as credit cards, and revolving charge accounts – such as department store accounts. It does not cover installment contracts – loans or extensions of credit you repay on a fixed schedule. Consumers often buy cars, furniture and major appliances on an installment basis, and repay personal loans in installments as well.

About The Author: Drew Canole, is President of Waterfield Credit a credit education, and repair company that has been in business for 5 years. Drew, has just recently published The 57 Day Challenge To A 720 Credit Score. For some more Free information check out http://www.57daychallenge.com

Originally published here.

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Vanessa Doguiles

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Identity Theft is the illegal possession and manipulation of a person’s personal information such as name, social security number, credit card number, driver’s license number, bank account number, address, phone number, and personal identification number (PIN).

It is estimated that each year 10 million Americans fall victim to crimes related to stolen identities. These types of incidents vary from one fraud act to more complicated crimes. Many people found that a new credit card account has been opened on their name leaving an enormous amount of unpaid purchases charged to their credit. Some people found that car loans or a mortgage has been made in their name without their slightest knowledge. Others were just as surprised when they realized their bank accounts has been completely drained using forged checks or debit cards.

How do these imposters get away with these fraudulent acts? By getting their hands on anything that contains your personal details. They steal wallets, your mail, even old mail and past bills sent by the bank, insurance agencies, telephone companies, receipts, anything that has some identification numbers on it. And yes, they do search through your trash bins and garbage. They may also be just behind you at ATM stands, watching you enter your precious PIN number. These people are everywhere; they are on the internet, in your workplace, in public places- always on the look out for private information. They can even go as far as breaking into your home just to get this vital information.

Once they got this information, it could be as easy as calling your bank to increase your credit limit and that all your bills be sent to a new address. It could take months before you realize what has happened, since your bills are being sent to a new location. The next thing you’ll know you have hundreds or even thousands of dollars unpaid balances on your credit card. Just imagine what an infuriating and disheartening situation it could be for you!

So how do you know if your identity has been stolen? The warning signs may include:

* Your mail does not reach you

* Unusual details or charges on your account

* You receive unexpected calls from creditors

* You receive notices for a new credit card

* You have been denied credit

What should you do? You don’t really need to wait to for your creditors to call you up and inform you about fraudulent charges on your account. You should always keep yourself updated on all ydsjhgjzour credit accounts. Many credit card companies offer a service called credit watch and they will alert you every time a new account or inquiry is placed against your credit report.

Be cautious about your personal information. Do not write it or leave it anywhere except in a safe place. Do not carry all your credit cards on your wallet all the time. Bring only the ones you need to use. Be careful when using ATM, especially if there is another person behind you. Shred past mail, receipts, bills before you trash them. Destroy unused credit cards. Do not give any personal information through e-mail.

If your wallet has been stolen, notify your credit card issuer immediately. It is best to have the card cancelled and get another one with a new PIN. If you have not been receiving your mail, report this to your local postal inspector.

If you do suspect of a fraud, place an alert on your accounts right away. You may choose an initial alert which lasts for 90 days on your credit report. However, if you have been a victim of identity theft, you may ask for an extended alert on your credit report which lasts up to seven years. To place a fraud alert, you may contact any of the three consumer reporting companies through their toll-free numbers:

* Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; http://www.equifax.com;

P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374 – 0241

* Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); http://www.experian.com;P.O. Box 9532 Allen , TX 75013

* TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; http://www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, PO Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

You’ll be entitled for a free credit report so you can personally check on your accounts. Examine all the details on report, any companies you haven’t done business with, unfamiliar accounts, and if there are any unexplainable charges. Make sure that all your personal information like your name, address, SSN is exactly correct. If there is any incorrect detail, update it immediately.

If your account has really been corrupted, speak with someone from the fraud department of that company and notify them about it. Follow it up with a written report sent through registered mail. The letter must state that you dispute such charges due to their fraudulent nature. Request that these fraudulent debts be resolved and that the account be closed.

File a report with your local police. To find out if your state law accepts reports on identity theft, check your state Attorney General’s office at www.naag.org. You should also file a complaint at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Contact them by phone at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653- 4261, or by mail at:

Identity Theft Clearinghouse

Federal Trade Commission

600 Pennsylvania Avenue,

NW, Washington, DC, 20580

You can also visit the FTC website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Originally published here.

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Liz Roberts

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Identity Theft – Protection & Recovery

What is Identity theft?
Identity theft is a serious crime and occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, social security number, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years – and money – cleaning up the mess thievers have made of their good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, education, housing, cars or even get arrested for crimes they didn’t commit.

Identity Fraud — A Rising Tide
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America! According to a Federal Trade Commission survey, 9.9 million Americans were victimized in the last 12 months — a level ten times higher than the agency previously estimated. The victims collectively reported $5 billion in out-of-pocket losses, due in large part because most victims don’t discover the fraud until it’s too late — perhaps even a year or more after the fact. Additional identity theft statistics include:

Identity theft is up about 80 percent from last year. As many as 33.4 million Americans were victims of identity theft since 1990. Nearly 85 percent of all victims discover their identity theft case in a negative manner (as opposed to proactive action taken by a creditor or business). In the past 12 months, 3.23 million consumers discovered that new accounts had been opened, and other frauds had been committed in their name.

For additional information, visit our online Learning Center and download our FREE, comprehensive Identity Theft Prevention Manual today.

Important Contact Information

If you’ve been a victim of identity theft, call the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline toll-free at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).

Social Security Administration (Fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

Identity Theft Credit Repair Program
Ovation Credit Services Inc.
Call: 1 (866) 639 – 3426
www.ovationcredit.com

Rights under the Telemarketing Sales Rule

To learn about your rights under the Telemarketing Sales Rule and how to protect yourself from fraudulent telephone sales practices, request a free copy of Straight Talk About Telemarketing.
Contact the Consumer Response Center at:

Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
Toll free, at 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)
TDD 1-866-653-4261

Contact Us
Repairing your credit report is one of the most important financial decisions you can make. Ovation Credit Services is a trusted law firm that makes the process convenient, personal, and effective. If you have any other questions or need for credit report repair services, please contact us anytime.

Originally published here.

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Robert Holland

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