What Happens if You Are Denied Credit?
If you are denied credit, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) requires that the creditor gives you a notice with specific reasons your application was denied. You have 60 days to reach out and request the specific reason as to why you were denied.
You can be denied credit because of incorrect information from a credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the creditor to give you the name, address and phone number of the credit reporting agency that supplied the incorrect information. You should contact that agency to find out what your report said. This information is free if you request it within 60 days of being turned down for credit.
Your Rights Under The FCRA:
You have the right to receive a copy of your credit report. The copy must contain all the information in your file at the time of your request.
If you contest the accuracy of the information in your report, you should file a dispute with the credit bureau and with the company that furnished the information to the bureau. Both the credit bureau and the furnisher of information are legally obligated to investigate your dispute.
You have the right to add a summary explanation to your credit report if your credit dispute is not resolved to your liking.
Your Rights Under the ECOA:
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits credit discrimination based on sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. Creditors may ask for this information (except religion) in certain situations but may not use it to discriminate when deciding whether to grant you credit.
If you are denied credit, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act gives you the legal right to know why you were denied credit.
Representation For Denied Credit:
Maginnis Law’s consumer law attorneys are committed to helping individuals and groups like you who have been wronged by big corporations, banks, creditors, and collection agencies.
Our firm handles Fair Credit Reporting Act cases on a contingency basis, meaning no attorney fees are owed unless we recover compensation for you. Maginnis Law handles FCRA cases all over North Carolina.
If you have any questions regarding this blog post or want to speak with one of firm’s consumer law attorneys, feel free to call our firm at 919.526.0405 or email us at info@maginnislaw.com.
You can also subscribe to our mailing list to learn about the rights you have under consumer protection law against large corporations or take our consumer rights survey to see if we are investigating a situation that might apply to you.