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In 2003, United States President George W. Bush, signed the "Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act". This law gives consumers the opportunity to obtain a Free FTC(Federal Trade Commission) Credit Report on a website through three organizations: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The website is www.annualcreditreport.com. This law also created the "Red Flag Rules" for agencies to work together to develop anti-theft and fraud policies. The main rule created by this was how to deal with when there are reports of multiple address changes by the consumers.
These agencies fall under the auspices of the Fair Credit Reporting Act( FCRA). The FCRA is the watchdog for financial information being used in consumer reports (mainly credit check reports). This act is part of the Federal Trade Commission.
Many lenders utilize credit collection agencies to access information about consumers. The credit collection agencies are always outside third party sources. The agencies notify Equifax, Experian and TransUnion about the credit history of the consumer.
The information used to determine someone's credibility for purchases and
securities is based on several factors: the amount that is currently owed-examples: mortgage, car payments, other loan payments (student, personal), any evidence of delinquency on payment history, current available funds in banks and other financial institutions and employment history.
If there is more than one individual applying for credit, then the other individual
will also receive a credit check as well.
Recently, the process of using a Credit Check Form has come under scrutiny
because it raises the issue of fraud activity. Some lenders have hired credit collection agencies that have gained personal financial information illegally. Once they have obtained this information, the agencies use pressure tactics to influence people to pay off bad debts. It has been reported that agencies using information obtained illegally are in direct violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. New changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act have been mandated to
protect the rights of the consumers.
Since the credit check process has come under fire, Experian has instituted
"software as a service" to thwart any illegal practices. The software combines
new technology while protecting the personal rights of consumers. |
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