Sometimes distressed consumers — through no fault of their own — cannot even see one of the sources of financial challenges confronting them.
That challenge is posed by adverse information appearing in their credit reports, which can work in insidious and unknown fashion to undermine their credibility with landlords, lenders and even employers.
For obvious reasons, it is essential for any consumer in Texas or elsewhere in the country to be fully and routinely appraised of all the material information residing in his or her credit report and to be able to quickly effect repairs to erroneous data.
That doesn’t regularly happen, with the result being that inaccurate inclusions can bring about lender denials, jacked-up interest rates on purchases and other negative consequences. It is not hard to envision a circumstance where financial difficulty owing to such factors brings about the need for significant debt relief.
Consumers have rights, and they need to exercise them. One source of federal law that sets forth consumer prerogatives in the realm of credit reporting and, when necessary, error correction, is the national Fair Credit Reporting Act.
More commonly known by the acronym FCRA, the federal legislation spells out consumers’ rights regarding their credit information being held by credit reporting agencies, chiefly Equifax, Experian and TransUnion (although there are many more such agencies).
Mistakes are routinely found in credit reports, and consumers have a right to demand they be promptly fixed. Credit scores are often based on inaccuracies and, again, those errors need to be taken care of.
Fraud, too, is a huge problem with credit reports, given the actions of identify thieves and other criminals who unlawfully gain access to private information.
An experienced debt relief attorney is intimately familiar with the FCRA and can help a client fully exercise his or her legal rights to gain access to information pursuant to the law’s dictates. Additionally, a proven attorney can help to clear up inaccuracies and ensure that a consumer’s best interests are fully safeguarded in all aspects relating to credit reporting.