15 U.S.C. § 1679c : US Code - Section 1679C: Disclosures

Search 15 U.S.C. § 1679c : US Code - Section 1679C: Disclosures

(a) Disclosure required
Any credit repair organization shall provide any consumer with
the following written statement before any contract or agreement
between the consumer and the credit repair organization is
executed:
"CONSUMER CREDIT FILE RIGHTS UNDER STATE AND FEDERAL LAW
"You have a right to dispute inaccurate information in your
credit report by contacting the credit bureau directly. However,
neither you nor any 'credit repair' company or credit repair
organization has the right to have accurate, current, and
verifiable information removed from your credit report. The credit
bureau must remove accurate, negative information from your report
only if it is over 7 years old. Bankruptcy information can be
reported for 10 years.
"You have a right to obtain a copy of your credit report from a
credit bureau. You may be charged a reasonable fee. There is no
fee, however, if you have been turned down for credit, employment,
insurance, or a rental dwelling because of information in your
credit report within the preceding 60 days. The credit bureau must
provide someone to help you interpret the information in your
credit file. You are entitled to receive a free copy of your credit
report if you are unemployed and intend to apply for employment in
the next 60 days, if you are a recipient of public welfare
assistance, or if you have reason to believe that there is
inaccurate information in your credit report due to fraud.
"You have a right to sue a credit repair organization that
violates the Credit Repair Organization Act. This law prohibits
deceptive practices by credit repair organizations.
"You have the right to cancel your contract with any credit
repair organization for any reason within 3 business days from the
date you signed it.
"Credit bureaus are required to follow reasonable procedures to
ensure that the information they report is accurate. However,
mistakes may occur.
"You may, on your own, notify a credit bureau in writing that you
dispute the accuracy of information in your credit file. The credit
bureau must then reinvestigate and modify or remove inaccurate or
incomplete information. The credit bureau may not charge any fee
for this service. Any pertinent information and copies of all
documents you have concerning an error should be given to the
credit bureau.
"If the credit bureau's reinvestigation does not resolve the
dispute to your satisfaction, you may send a brief statement to the
credit bureau, to be kept in your file, explaining why you think
the record is inaccurate. The credit bureau must include a summary
of your statement about disputed information with any report it
issues about you.
"The Federal Trade Commission regulates credit bureaus and credit
repair organizations. For more information contact:
"THE PUBLIC REFERENCE BRANCH
"FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
"WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580".
(b) Separate statement requirement
The written statement required under this section shall be
provided as a document which is separate from any written contract
or other agreement between the credit repair organization and the
consumer or any other written material provided to the consumer.
(c) Retention of compliance records
(1) In general
The credit repair organization shall maintain a copy of the
statement signed by the consumer acknowledging receipt of the
statement.
(2) Maintenance for 2 years
The copy of any consumer's statement shall be maintained in the
organization's files for 2 years after the date on which the
statement is signed by the consumer.