(3) Birth, education of children. A creditor cannot inquire about birth control practices, intentions regarding childbirth or child-rearing, or the ability to bear children. A creditor may inquire about the number and age of an applicant`s dependants, or financial obligations or expenses, provided that such information is requested regardless of sex, marital status or any other prohibited ground. You have the right to know who has accessed your credit report. This information is not sent to you automatically, but is listed in a separate section of your credit report specifically for inquiries. A good credit rating is very important. Companies look at your credit history when assessing your applications for credit, insurance, employment, and even leasing. You can use it if they decide to give or deny you loans or insurance, as long as you receive fair and equitable treatment. Sometimes things happen that can cause credit problems: a temporary loss of income, illness, or even a computer error. Solving credit problems can take time and patience, but it doesn`t have to be torture.
(d) Other restrictions on requests for information. (1) Marital status. When an applicant applies for an individual unsecured loan, the creditor need not inquire about the applicant`s marital status unless the applicant resides in or relies on property located in such a State as the basis for repayment of the loan requested. If an application is a loan other than an individual unsecured loan, a creditor can inquire about the applicant`s marital status, but can only use the terms married, single and separated. A creditor may declare that this category includes single singles, divorcees and widowers. The FCRA defines how consumer credit information can be collected and used. It regulates credit bureaus such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, as well as other consumer credit bureaus. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces credit laws that protect your right to receive, use, and hold credit. These laws do not guarantee that everyone will get a loan. Instead, credit laws protect your rights by requiring businesses to give all consumers a fair and equal chance to obtain credit and resolve disputes over credit errors. This booklet explains your rights under these laws and provides practical advice to help you resolve your credit problems.
The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy and confidentiality of information contained in the records of the nation`s credit bureaus. (ii) termination of an account or adverse change to the terms of an account that does not affect all or substantially all of the accounts in a class of creditor accounts; or (a) Account means a credit renewal. When used in connection with an account, the word usage refers only to perpetual loans. (2) Admissible applications. A creditor may request any information about an applicant`s spouse (or former spouse in accordance with paragraph (c)(2)(v) of this Article) that may be requested about the applicant if: (iii) a refusal or failure to approve a point-of-sale or loan account transaction, unless the refusal is a termination or adverse change in the terms of an account; does not correspond to all or substantially all of a class of the creditor`s accounts or if the refusal is a rejection of a request to increase the amount of credit available in the account; (e) `applicant` means any person who has applied for or received a credit renewal from a creditor, including any person who is or may become contractually liable for a credit renewal. For the purposes of paragraph 1002.7(d), the term includes guarantors, guarantors, endorsers and similar parties. If you`re not disciplined enough to create a viable budget and stick to developing a repayment plan with your creditors or monitoring rising bills, consider contacting a credit counselling agency. Many credit counseling organizations are non-profit and work with you to solve your financial problems. But not all of them are serious.
For example, just because an organization says it is a „non-profit organization” does not mean that its services will be free, affordable or even legitimate. In fact, some credit counselling organizations charge high fees or hide their fees by pressuring consumers to make „voluntary” contributions that only create more debt. Under the FCRA, you have the right to check your credit report upon request. You can each get a free copy of your credit report from any consumer credit reporting agency. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. Creditors can ask for this information (with the exception of religion) in certain situations, but they cannot use it to discriminate against you in deciding whether or not to grant you a loan. The FCRA recognizes the need for accurate consumer credit information for the banking system to function properly.