People Come First At Our Consumer Rights Law Firm
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) is an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) that was added in 2003 to safeguard consumers from the growing dangers of identity theft. FACTA sets out guidelines for which consumer information can be shared and sets parameters for the use, privacy, and accuracy of this information. This amendment to the FCRA entitled consumers to a free…
Identity theft is a very real and serious crime that is rapidly growing. It happens when a person, whether known or unknown, steals your identity and uses your personal information without your knowledge and/or permission to open accounts and borrow money in your name. Identity theft can destroy your financial reputation and can cost both time and money to repair…
As I have discussed in several posts throughout the year, new amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, (“FCRA”) require employers and credit reporting agencies to provide additional information to potential and current employees prior to accessing a credit file for employment purposes. Employers are also required to provide additional disclosures after taking adverse action against the individual based on…
The FICO Score is a credit score most lenders use to determine your credit worthiness and whether you are a credit risk, so to speak. Your FICO Score is a number that is calculated by combining pieces of your credit history from your report. This information is grouped into five different categories using percentages to reflect the importance of each…
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) was created to aid consumers in preventing the occurrence of fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices. Over the last decade, the FTC has spent a considerable amount of time policing the Debt Collection Industry. In a recent opinion of a long-running investigation, the FTC ordered collection agencies, namely Rumson, Bolling & Associates (“Rumson”) to pay…
In the literally thousands of consumers that we have assisted here at SmithMarco, PC and our Protecting Consumer Rights website, we have seen what the most popular questions or concerns are about collections. Here we answer them for all: When can a debt collector contact me? Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) the federal statute specifically states that a…
When being contacted by a debt collector, I often hear complaints from consumers that the debt is “too old” and the question, “how can a collector contact me about a debt that is so old?” While the answer to this question is simple, a debt collector can attempt to collect a debt from you forever as long as he or…
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) is a federal law that regulates the use of consumer credit and other background information. The FCRA was created to ensure the distribution of accurate information about each consumer and provide adequate notice and information to consumers whose credit or employment is affected by the information collected and disseminated. Today, in our strained economy,…
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is tightening the reins on data brokers to ensure fair treatment of consumers in the market place by making sure information reporting is more accurate than in years past. In its effort to promote this fair treatment, after numerous consumer complaints, the FTC launched an investigation against Certegy Check Services, a Florida based chec authorization…
In a post earlier this year I discussed the recent amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) requiring businesses using background checks on existing or potential employees to put the individual on notice of its intention to use the information in making its decision in hiring or firing employees. In ensuring compliance with the new regulation, the Federal Trade…