Know Your Rights
Equal Opportunity
Act | Truth in Lending Act
| Fair Credit Reporting Act
It's hardly news that a credit card offers its user many advantages.
What you may not know is that it also comes with privileges, many of which are protected
by law.
In fact, paying with a credit card automatically locks in safeguards
for you that are not available when paying with cash or by check. Taken together,
these protections constitute a kind of "credit card Bill of Rights" that can make
your credit card a more useful tool.
Your consumer rights are guaranteed by the following federal
laws. Additional laws and credit card issuer policies further enhance your protection.
The Equal Opportunity Act
This act protects you from unfair credit discrimination. It provides
equal access to credit privileges, based on your credit history - or in some cases,
the credit history of a spouse or former spouse - and other financial information.
The bottom line is simple: credit cannot be denied based on your
age, color, sex, marital status, race, religion, national origin, or the fact that
your income is derived from a public assistance program.
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Truth in Lending Act
This act requires disclosure of interest and fees that can be
charged to you by a credit card issuer. It requires that an issuer provide you with
a clear explanation of how and when charges - including finance charges, annual
fees, service charges, and late-payment fees - will be applied to your account.
Under this act, if you have a debit or credit balance of more
than one dollar at the end of a billing cycle, card issuers must supply you with
a monthly statement that spells out your current costs and obligations.
The Truth-in-Lending Act also provides recourse for consumers
who are dissatisfied with a service or merchandise purchased with a credit card.
However, that protection is available only if specific conditions are met.
The purchase price must exceed $50, and the purchase must be
made in your home state or within 100 miles of your mailing address. Also, the protection
is not available to the extent you've already paid your credit card bill for the
service or merchandise. Finally, you must have made a good faith attempt to resolve
the dispute directly with the merchant.
What's most important to preserving your rights - and to assisting
your card issuer in helping to resolve the problem for you - is promptly notifying
your issuer in accordance with the instructions provided on your bill or in your
cardholder agreement. Typically this means writing to your issuer, giving your name
and account number, details of the purchase, and an explanation of why the purchase
was unsatisfactory and what steps you have taken to resolve the problem with the
merchant. And remember, your issuer will be better able to help you if you save
any paperwork connected with the purchase (such as sales receipts, advertisements,
warranties, correspondence, etc.).
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Fair Credit Reporting Act
Under this law you are guaranteed access to the information in
your credit history. Should you be denied credit based on a credit report, you have
the right to know that, and to know the name, address, and the telephone number
of the credit bureau that provided the report.
If you request a copy of the bureau's report within 60 days of
a denial, the credit bureau report must provide it free of charge. You are also
entitled to know the names of anyone else who recently received a copy of the report
so that you may correct any inaccurate data.
If errors appear on the report, you may correct them by contacting
the credit bureau. The correction process must be completed by the bureau within
a reasonable period, usually 30 days.
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