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revision is through a lawsuit. 
Credit reporting makes up only a small portion of the 
revenue which the bureaus claim each year. The databases 
really pay off in the sales of information. From generic 
target marketing lists to invasive personal investigative 
inquires, the bureaus cull a pool of information larger than 
any in the civilized world. The end loser is the consumer 
who values his privacy. The horror stories keep coming about 
individuals whose jobs have been lost, insurance cancelled, 
reputation ruined by sloppy collection and dissemination of 
personal information. This does not include the mass 
irritation experienced by consumers forced to wade through 
the reams of junk mail. Privacy is a thing of the past---and 
the blame can be firmly placed on the credit bureaus. 
America is not the only country in the world whose economy 
utilizes consumer credit. Other countries, such as Great 
Britain, extend credit based on the individual's present 
credit standing. a grand-scale revision of the credit 
reporting system in the United States would not throw our 
economy into chaos and distress. Until that day, we should 
feel comfortable that the removal of negative credit 
accounts before the seven year mark isn't unpatriotic, it's 
not unfair and it's not unethical. 


Federal Credit Laws
The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1971
(a) Gives you the right to know what information is held 
about you, without charge, if you have been denied credit 
within the last 60 days. 
(b) You have the right to receive a report of who has seen 
your credit file for the last six months, and who has seen 
it for employment purposes for the last two years. 
(c)  You have the right to have information you dispute 
verified and corrected or removed if inaccurate or 
unverifiable, and to have an updated report sent to 
creditors, who have seen your report in the last six months, 
with the corrected information. 
(d) You have the right to place a 100 word statement, if 
negative information is verified and not removed, stating 
your side of the story. 
(e) You have the right not to have adverse, negative 
information on your credit report for more than seven years, 
ten years with bankruptcy, under the law. 
New Legislation - Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 
1996 
Late in 1996, Congress passed amendments to the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act. This legislation was put together by 
Congressman Joe Kennedy, Charles Schumer, Esteban Torres and 
Senator Richard Bryan. Several consumer groups were involved 
as well. (U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Consumers 
Union, and Bankcard Holders of America). The new bill is 
called the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996. 
Most of the provisions are effective October 1, 1997. Here 
is a summary of those new provisions: 
(a) Credit bureaus must promptly investigate disputed items, 
usually within 30 days, and within 5 days after the 
investigation send the consumer a revised copy of their 
credit report with corrections. The Credit bureaus must 
report and share corrections with other bureaus. 
(b) Credit bureaus cannot reinsert deleted information 
unless that information has been certified by the creditor. 
If the information furnished is certified, the Credit bureau 
must notify the consumer with the name, address and phone 
number of the creditor. The Credit bureau must allow the 
consumer to add an explanatory statement to any remark on 
the credit report. 
(c) Anyone who supplies information to a Credit bureau 
cannot provide information they consciously know is 
inaccurate. If a mistake is brought to the attention of a 
creditor, they must promptly correct it and the correction 
must be reported to all Credit bureaus. If a Creditor 
investigates a dispute and finds it correct, they must 
report it as being disputed by the consumer. 
(d) Credit reports are free for those who are unemployed, on 
public assistance and fraud victims. Credit reports are free 
if you have been turned down for credit or insurance in the 
past 60 days based on information in your credit report. A 
copy of your credit report outside of the previously 
mentioned circumstances are $8.00. 
(e) A creditor must report an account as closed when a 
consumer closes his account. 
(f) If an employer wants to review an employee's credit 
report, or a prospective employee, they first must get 
written permission from the person they want to review. If 
adverse action is taken against the employee because of 
information obtained from the report, the employer must 
provide the employee a copy of the credit report and a 
description of their credit rights. 
(g) Consumers who request their report must be shown the 
full trade name of anyone who has requested their credit 
report in the past year (two years if inquiry made by 
employers). If requested the Credit bureau must give the 
names, addresses and phone numbers of those companies that 
made an inquiry. Prescreening cannot be shown to anyone but 
the consumer. 
(h) Credit reporting agencies must offer toll-free numbers 
to anyone wishing to be removed from lists allowing 
prescreening of their credit report. The bureaus must share 
requests with other bureaus concerning consumers wanting to 
be removed from prescreening. 
(i) Insurance or credit companies that use prescreening to 
pre-approve customers must make a FIRM offer of credit to 
anyone who meets the initial prescreening offer. Unless 
something has changed since they prescreened your credit, 
creditors must follow through on a pre-approval offer. 
(j) If you have charged off debts the time period of seven 
years is the maximum time allowed on your credit report. 
Unlike the past, the reporting period for collection, and 
profit and loss does not start when the creditor gets around 
to reporting it, often that was a year later. The reporting 
period will start 180 days after the payment should have 
been made. 
(k) One of the most interesting provisions is that lenders 
may show consumers their credit report if they have taken 
adverse action based on information in the report. This does 
away with the hide and retreat tactic that a lot of lenders 
used to use before. 


Legal Ways To Get The Bill Collectors Off Your Back

Sometimes, the formal and legal declaration of personal