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| To enter our free financial information center |
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| Your Legal Rights |
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Federal law protects your rights as a credit consumer. The information in this section
contains a brief description of your general legal rights. For additional information on your legal rights,
visit the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) web site at www.ftc.gov.
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Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
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If you repeatedly ignore your credit company's inquiries about delinquent funds, your case may
be turned over to a debt collector. This Act prohibits unfair, deceptive, and abusive debt-collection
practices. Out of respect for your privacy and to protect you from harassment, debt collectors:
- May only contact your lawyer, spouse, guardian, executor, administrator, or parent (if you are a minor)
about your debt.
- May inquire of other about how to find you, however, any aggressive behavior or harassment is not allowed.
- May contact you only between 8 am and 9 pm.
- Must contact your lawyer instead of you if the debt collector knows you have retained a lawyer.
- Must identify himself or herself and the name of the debt collection company while collecting debts.
- May not contact you at work if he or she knows your employer disapproves.
- Must stop contacting you if you request in writing. After that, the collector may contact you only once more, for example, to tell you what will happen next.
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If you find an error on your bill, you should write a letter to the credit card company's customer
service department right away. Your letter must reach the credit card company within 60 days
after the bill was mailed. In your letter include your name, card number, and the amount involved.
Briefly describe the error. Make sure to also include a copy of the bill and any receipts. Keep your originals.
Also, keep a copy of your letter.
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Within 30 days, the credit card company must acknowledge your letter or correct the error.
If the credit card company disagrees with you, it must write bank within 90 days (or two billing cycles,
whichever is less). During this time, the credit card company can't report the disputed amount to a
credit bureau as overdue. If your claim is confirmed, any interest charged on the disputed amount must be dropped.
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Budgeting