Boston Bankruptcy Attorney
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003 is a federal law that is meant to be an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The act allows consumers to request and to obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies. The three major CRAs, working with the Federal Trade Commission, created the website annualcreditreport.com in an effort to provide free access to annual credit reports.
The act also includes provisions that help to reduce identity theft. These provisions include the ability for individuals to place alerts on their credit histories if identity theft is suspected. It is also useful if a person is deploying overseas in the military by making fraudulent applications for credit more difficult. Further, the act requires secure disposal of consumer information.
FACTA has created a list of Red Flag Rules which apply to a broad set of businesses including financial institutions and creditors with covered accounts. “Creditor” is meant to mean “lenders such as banks, finance companies, automobile dealers, mortgage brokers, utility companies, and telecommunications companies.” Unfortunately, this is not an all-inclusive list.
The regulations apply to all businesses that have covered accounts. A covered account includes any account for which there is a foreseeable risk of identity theft. This includes:
- Credit cards
- Monthly billed accounts like utility or cell phone bills
- Social security numbers
- Drivers license numbers
Another key item in the act is the requirement that mortgage lenders provide consumers with a Credit Disclosure Notice that includes:
- Credit scores
- The range of scores
- Credit bureaus
- Scoring models
- Factors affecting a person’s scores
The form is typically available from credit reporting agencies. Many agencies will send these forms directly to the consumer on the lender’s behalf.
Contact a Boston Bankruptcy Lawyer
If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, contact the Boston bankruptcy lawyers of Joshua Spirn & Associates at 1-800-975-5346 to discuss your options.
