It can be a very confusing moment when you find out you are being denied credit because you made an OFAC List. You may not even know what that means, and ask, what is an OFAC list? In short, its a terrorist list or a list of undesirables to the U.S. Government. It’s a list you don’t want to be on.
Our government does not want financial institutions to lend to people or companies on this list because it is believed that the funds would be used to harm us. As such, a list is published to all the credit bureaus. If you certainly are not a person who belongs on an OFAC list, what do you do when you find out that you are denied a loan because a credit bureaus says you are? Certainly this can be a frightening and confusing occurrence. However, it can happen if your name matches that of a person who is on the list. Perhaps the credit bureaus mixed you up.
The first thing to do is to simply advise the lender to whom you are applying that there is a mistake. The lender should be aware that there is an OFAC hotline to call. Next, find out what credit bureau provided that information. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the lender has an obligation to disclose where they got their information if they are denying you based upon that information. Contact that credit bureau immediately and dispute the information. Advise the credit bureau that there is a mistake and they confused you with someone else. They should be able to make that correction within 30 days or less.
Finally, contact us at SmithMarco, P.C. If your name was mixed up with someone so nefarious, you have rights. We offer a completely free case review.