Do you remember das72071's post "Fatally flawed credit system". It was a letter to Congress, etc., which I sent to my Congressman among others. I got an interesting response (see below). Does anyone know the jist of the H.R. 1176 Bill? ---------------- Dear Mr. Pat: Thank you for contacting my office and sharing your concerns over credit bureaus and how they operate. It was good to hear from you. As you are no doubt aware, every time an individual applies for a charge account, personal loan, insurance, or even a job, a file containing your credit record becomes a determining factor. This file contains information on where you work and live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed bankruptcy. Companies that gather and sell this information are called Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA). The most common type of CRA is the credit bureau, the largest of which are Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, is designed to promote accuracy and ensure the privacy of the information used in consumer reports. Despite recent amendments to the Act which expand your rights and place additional requirements on CRAs, incorrect information is still very common. I have read estimates that anywhere from 30%?70% of the reports maintained by CRAs contain incorrect information. That said, I certainly understand your consternation with credit bureaus and the lack of quality control they maintain over their reports. A bill introduced by Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) addresses concerns similar to yours. H.R. 1176 would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to require credit bureaus to provide more information and explanation of the factors that determine an individual's credit score, and also gives more oversight authority to the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Trade Commission over consumer credit reporting agencies. This bill was referred to the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. Since I have the privilege of sitting on that subcommittee, rest assured that I will keep your views in mind when this bill comes up for consideration. Again, thank you for taking the time to write. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of help in the future. I remain Very truly yours, Steven C. LaTourette
Isn't that the "reform" that plans to remove the $1000 penalty for violations of the FRCA? What good is a bill that doesn't have any penalties for screwing over the little guy? Dancer
I just looked it up on www.house.gov , it looks interesting. Its far from the major reform that is needed. Below are some of the summary points with some details. I don't see the removal of the $1k penalty though. SEC. 2. FREE CREDIT REPORT ANNUALLY UPON REQUEST OF CONSUMER. SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF WORLD WIDE WEB SITE. SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORES AND EXPLANATION OF CREDIT SCORES. Section 609(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows: `(1) All information in the consumer's file at the time of the request, including any information concerning credit scores or any other risk scores or predictors relating to the consumer, together with-- `(A) a clear and concise summary of how the scores and predictors are derived; `(B) the factors taken into account in deriving a score or predictor; `(C) how such factors are applied to the consumer; `(D) the relative weight given to each factor; and `(E) the manner and extent to which such factors raise or lower the score or predictor.' SEC. 5. SHORTER PERIOD FOR INCLUSION OF SMALL DEBTS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. SEC. 6. PROMPT INVESTIGATION AND CORRECTION OR DELETION OF INACCURATE, INCOMPLETE, OR UNVERIFIABLE CONSUMER INFORMATION.
Re: Interesting resp from Congressm It was indeed the affable Republican gentleman from Wyoming, Senator Simpson, who proposed getting rid of the $1000 penalty for violations of the FCRA. His reason was to prevent lawyers from routinely filing frivolous lawsuits for the $1000 plus attorney's fees and court costs. I doubt our little lobby -- "consumers who try to repair their own credit and occasionally file their own pro se lawsuits" -- even occurred to these guys. It's difficult to fathom that we are really a relatively small group on the radar screen, but we truly are. (Ok, we're elite. Or "leet" as the cybergeeks say.) Anyway, although I was never a big fan of Senator Simpson, nor am I a Republican, I truly believe that the fellow was not trying to pinpoint our crowd. He probably has never even heard of us, or given "credit repair" a second thought, for that matter. Obviously I'm happy that his amendment didn't pass, though, lol. Doc
No problem Dancer(keep both feet out, their dirty I didn't know about the other bill, but then again, I didn't even know about this one Sec. 2 is a good start, but 1 a year. At the very least it should be one a quarter. How bad could somebody fraudulently trash your credit in a year? Sec. 3 we already have, although they don't answer their email. Sec. 4 could be great. But I have a feeling the CRAs will find a way around this one. Something like the CE simulator? Sec 5. This is bull. --------------------- `(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), any account placed for collection or charged to profit and loss in which the amount placed to collection or charged to profit and loss did not exceed $100 and which antedates the report by more than 3 years, if-- `(A) the consumer to whom the report relates completed a credit and financial management class during such 3-year period; and `(B) the consumer has not previously had an account excluded from paragraph (4) by virtue of this paragraph.'. ---------------------- So whats this? A one shot deal to get rid of a tradeline less that $100 only if you haven't before and you have to take a class! Can you see the CRAs giving us the run around on this one. Sec. 6. Appears to give the FTC a bigger stick, but will it amount to much? Upon reading h.r. 1176 again, it appears pretty weak. I'll bet collectively we could write a much better amendment to the FCRA.
...and the thing that's stopping us is...? We certainly could write that amendment, and the Honorable Mr. LaTourette has an e-mail address, does he not? Hmmmmmmm..........OK Class, for your next assignment, read h.r. 1176 and propose more "consumer friendly" phraseology. Be prepared to defend your thesis against the forces of tyranny (the CRA lobbyists) and we'll consolidate the suggestions for submission to our representatives enmass. Whadda ya' say? Dancer
Well I haven't studied, but I did just send a copy of that letter (by das) thru PFB to President Bush and my state rep's.....there may be a middle east crisis, but there is also a Credit Bureau Crisis!
