It wasn't all that long ago that
American's faced great financial crisis. As a nation, we struggle
with debt, and it keeps us from achieving a better life. Debt
Education is here to help you change all that ... just ask!
REAL PEOPLE ... CARING ABOUT REAL
ISSUES
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
Congress paaed a law thats purpose is to ensures that all consumers
will be given an equal chance to receive credit. The Equal
Credit Opportunity Act says it is illegal for creditors to discriminate
against applicants on the basis of their sex, marital status,
race, national origin, religion, age or because they get public
assistance income.
Creditors can use factors such as income, expense, debts, and
credit history to judge applicant's credit worthiness.
The law protects you with regard to creditors who extend credit:
banks, small loan and finance companies, retail and department
stores, credit card companies, and credit unions. The law also
covers real estate brokers who arrange financing and protects
businesses applying for credit.
Things a credit cannot in taking your application for
credit:
• Discourage you from applying because of your sex, marital
status, age, national origin, or because you receive public
assistance income.
• Ask you to reveal your sex, race, national origin, or
religion. A creditor may ask you to voluntarily disclose this
information if you are applying for a real estate loan. This
information helps federal agencies enforce anti-discrimination
laws. A creditor may ask what your residence or immigration
status is.
• Ask whether you are divorced or widowed.
• Ask what your marital status is if you are applying
for a separate, unsecured account. A creditor may ask for this
information if you apply for a joint account or any account
secured by property.
• Ask you for information about your husband or wife.
A creditor may ask about your spouse if: your spouse is applying
with you; your spouse will be allowed to use the account; you
are relying on your spouse's income, alimony, child support
income from a former spouse or if you reside in a community
property state.
• Ask about your plans for having or raising children.
• Ask if you receive alimony, child support, or separate
maintenance payments. A creditor may ask for this information
if you are first told that you don't have to reveal it if you
won't rely on it to get credit. A creditor may ask if you have
to pay alimony, child support, or separate maintenance payments.
Things a creditor may not do in deciding to give you
credit:
• Consider your sex, marital status, race, national origin,
or religion
• Consider whether you have a telephone listing in your
name. A creditor may consider whether there is a phone in your
home.
• Consider the race of the people who live in the neighborhood
where you want to buy or improve a house with borrowed money.
• Consider your age, with certain exceptions:
• If you are too young to sign contracts. Generally, this
applies to those 18 and under.
• If you are 62 or over, and the creditor will favor you
because of your age.
• If it is used to determine the meaning of other factors
which are important to credit-worthiness.
• If it is used in a scoring system which favors applicants
age 62 and over. A credit-scoring system assigns different points
to your answers to application questions.
Things a creditor may not do in evaluating you for credit:
• Refuse to consider reliable public assistance income
in same manner as other income.
• Discount income because of your sex or marital status.
• Discount or refuse to consider income because it is
derived from part-time employment or from pension, annuity,
or retirement benefit programs.
• Refuse to consider consistently received alimony, child
support, or separate maintenance payments. A creditor may ask
you for proof that this income has been received consistently.
You Also Have The Right...
• To have credit in your birth name (Mary Smith), your
first name and your spouse's last name (Mary Jones), or your
first name and a combined last name (Mary Smith-Jones).
• To get credit without a co-signer, if you meet the creditor's
standards.
• To have a co-signer other than your husband or wife,
if one is necessary.
• To keep your own accounts after you change your name,
marital status, reach a certain age, or retire, unless the creditor
had evidence that you are unable or unwilling to pay.
• To know whether your application was accepted or rejected
within 30 days of filing it.
• To know why your application was rejected.
What you can do if you think a creditor has broken the
law:
• Complain to the creditor.
• Check with your state's Attorney General's office to
see if the creditor violated state laws.
• Bring a case in Federal district court.
• Join with others to file a class action suit.
• Report violations to the appropriate government agency.
If you are denied credit, the creditor must give you the name
and address of the agency to contact.
For more information contact the Federal
Trade Commission.
The above information should be understood to be a general discussion
of the subject matter and does not constitute a legal opinion
about the situation. For further information please consult a
qualified professional.
There's a lot of information to read through on the Debt Education
website, but we feel this is extremely important material. We
strongly recommend that you bookmark
this page right now. This will allow you to read at
your leisure, and should you need to attend to other matters, easily
return back here at your convenience.
The Debt Education website was built for you. Please explore
our website. You'll find resources and information on virtually
every aspect of financial planning and money management. These
debt delp resources are designed to help you get out of debt and
stay out of debt. You can achieve financial independence.
© Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved.
Debt Education PO Box 5156, Santa Cruz, CA 95063
