| WHERE TO RESOLVE DISPUTES AND GET MORE INFORMATION
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What if you believe that you have been treated improperly by a credit
grantor? Resolving the
problem involves a sequence of four possible steps--each one more aggressive
than the other.
Disputes can almost always be settled long before the third and fourth
steps.
1. Check to be sure that you have the correct information regarding your
rights under the
law and the credit grantor's obligation to you under the law. In addition
to the information
included in this chapter, this section provides other sources that you
may wish to review.
2. If you are reasonably confident that your complaint is well-founded,
contact the
creditor by phone or, if the matter is quite serious, by letter. Be sure
to provide your name, address, account number and a statement of your
concern. If your initial contact is by telephone, get the name of the
person with whom you talked. To compete effectively, most credit grantors
wish to keep good customers by settling complaints fairly and quickly.
Nonetheless, create a "paper trail" by keeping a written record
or log of all of your contacts with the creditor.
3. If you are not satisfied with the settlement offered by the creditor,
based on your study
of your rights under the law, the next step is to contact any state or
federal agency that regulates your creditor. It is best to write the appropriate
agency and to supply a copy of the written record that you have maintained.
By sending a copy of the letter to your creditor, you may focus attention
on your complaint. While the regulatory agency may require some time to
get to your problem, it will often be able to arrange a solution that
will be satisfactory to you. A description of the various regulatory agencies
that might be involved and their addresses are included in this section.
4. If the regulatory agency fails to satisfy you, you can hire your own
attorney to pursue
the matter. However, if you do not win, you are likely to be liable for
your attorney's fees. In
some cases that may be true even if you win.
The first part of this resource section relates to step
three. It provides lists of the major
federal laws and tells you how to file a complaint with the FTC.
If a financial institution has violated a federal law discussed in this
chapter, the regulatory
agency that oversees that category of institutions might be able to help
you. To find these
agencies, the FTC or your consumer protection office may be able to help.
For the number of
your consumer protection office, look in your local telephone directory
under the listings for
your local or state government.
The second part of this resource section lists various
low-cost or no-cost federal
publications that will help you obtain and use credit more effectively.
The office of consumer
protection (often found in your state's attorney general's office) may
also have useful
publications.
Federal Laws on Credit and Debt Collection
The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) requires all credit grantors to provide
you with the annual
percentage rate (APR), costs and terms, and other relevant information
on the credit sought and obtained. Typical credit grantors are banks,
department stores, credit-card issuers, finance
companies, and oil companies, among others.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits discrimination against
a credit
applicant and debtor because of age (except for capacity to contract),
sex, marital status, race,
color, religion, national origin, receipt of public aid, or exercise of
certain legal rights.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets up a procedure for correcting
mistakes on your
credit record and requires that the record be kept confidential.
The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) sets up a procedure for promptly correcting
errors on a
credit account and prevents damage to your credit rating while you are
settling a dispute.
The Consumer Leasing Act (CLA) requires disclosure of information that
helps you
compare the cost and terms of one lease with another. It also orders firms
that offer leases to
reveal facts that help you compare the cost and terms of leasing with
those for buying on credit
or with cash.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to people and firms
that regularly
collect debts for others. It prohibits them from performing abusive collection
practices and
allows consumers to dispute a debt and to halt unreasonable collection
activities.
Where to File Your Complaint
You should file complaints about consumer credit reporting agencies or
debt collection agencies with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The
same goes for complaints about violations of the Truth in Lending Act
and other federal laws involving credit issued by retail stores, department
stores, and small loan and finance companies and for credit-related complaints
about oil companies, public utility companies, state credit unions, or
travel and entertainment credit-card companies. Mail your complaint to:
Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
Or call toll-free 877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) or use the online complaint
form you can find on
the FTC website (www.ftc.gov).
Instead of contacting the FTC's national headquarters at the address shown
above, you can
send your complaint to one of the FTC Regional Offices listed below:
Suite 5M35
60 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, GA 30303-2322
Suite 1860
55 East Monroe Street
Chicago, IL 60603-5701
1 Bowling Green
New York, NY 10004
Suite 200
1111 Superior Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44114-2507
Suite 2150
1999 Bryan Street
Dallas, TX 75201
Suite 570
901 Market St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
2806 Federal Building
915 Second Ave.
Seattle, WA 98174
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