Please help us support and fight for the following improvements/changes in ‘The Law’ regarding Credit reporting and Scoring by passing on the below information to your Senators and Congressmen stating your personal feelings.

 Primary sources only

Items on credit reports should originate only from original creditors. No secondary sources such as collection agencies or contingency attorneys should be allowed to report. A large percentage of a typical credit report comes from second and third tier sources that have no knowledge of the transaction. Secondary sources are even allowed to “verify” upon challenge- even when they have no records - and a strong financial bias toward keeping untrue information on a report.

Litigate or remove

Consumers should be able to force the creditor to prove his case in court or remove it from their record. Anything short of this substitutes the punitive power of a credit report for a proper trial.

Time limits and states rights

Negative credit reporting should be limited to the time frames adopted by the states for bringing civil action. (4 years is typical) The only purpose of reporting beyond this limit is to punish without the benefit of trial. A credit report should not be a substitute for civil courts.

Prohibit inquiry disclosure

Prohibit inquiry disclosure to all but the consumer. Some bureaus outright lie and say, “ the law requires them to disclose inquiries.” It does not! Inquiries strongly discourage comparison shopping for goods, services, insurance, and employment. Notations such as “for collection account” are illegal but widely used.

 Prohibit cross collections

Mortgage companies often require all items on a report to be paid before they grant a loan, regardless of the validity or age of the claim. This is an outrage and often involves federal agencies. 

Basic life functions exemption

The most common suggestion we receive from our members is to exclude medical, dental, and utility bills from reports. The credit report industries own surveys show more than 30% of the populace has foregone services to protect their privacy. Many types of medical bills are non-recurring and reflect nothing about credit worthiness. This is particularly devastating to senior citizens who have lost a spouse and do not have 7 years to waste apologizing because their departed love one was mortal. Eliminating reports of this nature, unless a judgment had been granted, would be a fair balance.

Credit scoring and consumer comments

Banks and others should be banned from taking adverse action based on credit scoring systems where a credit report has an attached consumer statement. While adding a consumer comment may have some therapeutic benefit, they are of little practical value. In most cases the actual credit report is not even seen by a human. With increased automation it is cruel to hold out the consumer statement as a defense without mandating that it be read. Citizens should have the right to a list of every database accessed by credit scoring systems without exception. 

Database updates

Challenges by the subject of a credit report should not be used as a tool for the credit bureaus to update their records. Consumers who exercise their right to obtain copies of their report or challenge errors on their report are “fished “ for information which is then entered into various databases and appended to the credit report. Most requests for proof are just this kind of “fishing expedition”. 

Hidden “fraud” Identifier (strict enforcement)

While it is illegal to report information that is more than 7 years old, bureaus and credit scoring systems routinely avoid the law by using markers identifying the existence of such data and declaring “that it is not part of the report”. Bureaus or scoring systems should not also identify by code or otherwise any item of information as “fraudulent” or similar unless it has specific information that a particular applicant has broken the law. Citizens who receive mail at any post office box, drive a particular model car, reside in a home once used as a business address or engage in other innocent behavior are now flagged as fraud suspects without their knowledge and their credit score is adversely affected.

Reverse credit reports

Credit bureaus should be keeping track of their own customers when a credit report is requested, the consumer could be faxed or emailed a performance report on the company doing the request. Data could include, statistics on the accuracy, complaints, challenges, history of consumer litigation against the company or it’s officers. Each credit report entry “tradeline” should include an accuracy rating based on the company reporting the data. This would allow the receiver to evaluate how accurate a particular item is likely to be.

 Electronic notification options

Citizens should be able to control access to their personal information. When a company wishes the privilege of accessing a credit report, bureaus could send an email to a preauthorized address asking for permission. If permission is denied no access should be allowed. Penalties could be put into place for accessing records with out permission. 

Limit political contributions

Banks and other regulated institutions have special limits and reporting requirements on their donations to political causes. Credit bureaus have no such controls even though they represent a far greater danger to overall financial safety and political integrity than banks. 

Prohibit special reviews

The credit reports of elected and appointed officials should receive the same treatment as other consumers. Special treatment distorts officials view. 

Sunshine laws

The public needs access to FTC complaint and enforcement statistics. Credit scores (FICO et al) should be instantly available. Source codes for scoring and retrieval systems need public scrutiny. All databases used in scoring should be available upon request. Citizens need to know about political donations at all levels. Banks or credit bureaus should not be allowed to hide behind “non disclosure” statements when they are caught breaking the law. 

Level the playing field

Bureaus have special exemptions to libel laws that are not enjoyed by consumers. The same standards should apply to both sides of this political debate.

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