Know your writes

1
Know Your Rights and the Federal Laws

• www.lifethenfinance.com

2
Know your Rights

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• All communication must be in writing
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•  45 days before raising your interest rate
• How to agree or cancel the card due to new terms
  and conditions
• Send a bill 21 days before payment is due
• The interest rate can be raised if payment is
  over 30 days 
• In case of a charge dispute, your dispute letter
  should be sent to the credit card company within
  60 days of the billing error.

3
Know your Rights Cont....

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• All communication must be in writing
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• 30 days for the credit card company to
  acknowledge receipt of your dispute letter.
•  90 days to resolve your dispute.
•  You can be held responsible for unauthorized
  charges if
• the charges were incurred before you reported the
  card stolen
• You are not held responsible if unauthorized
  charges are made after you have reported your
  card stolen.
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4
Federal Laws You Should Know

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• The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
• prohibits debt collectors from engaging in
  unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices while
  collecting these debts.

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Federal Laws Cont.... 

• Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
•  Debt Collectors 
• Can contact you only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m
• Must identify themselves to you on the phone.
• Must stop contacting you if you ask them to do so
  in writing.
•  May not
•  Contact you at work if they know your employer
  disapproves.
• Harass, oppress, or abuse you.
• Lie when collecting debts, such as falsely
  implying that you have committed a crime.

6
Federal Laws Cont.... 

• The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974)
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•  Prohibits discrimination in credit transactions
  base on certain personal characteristics, such as
  race, color, religion, national origin, sex,
  marital status, age, or receive public assistance
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• The Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970)
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• Protects you against inaccurate or misleading
  information in credit files maintained by credit
  reporting agencies.
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7
Federal Laws Cont.... 

• The Fair Credit Billing Act (1974)
•  Requires that a credit card company promptly
  credits your payments and corrects mistakes on
  your bill without damage to your credit score
  and also dispute errors on your credit card and
  withhold payment for damaged goods.
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• The Credit CARD Act (2009)
•  Provides many consumer credit protections. For
  example, your credit card company must tell you
  45 days before increasing the interest rate. The
  Act also places new limits on fees and rate
  increases and requires consistency in payment
  dates and times. .  
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8
Federal Laws Cont.... 

• The Truth in Lending Act (1968)
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• Requires that lenders use uniform methods for
  computing the cost of credit and for disclosing
  credit terms so you can tell how much it will
  cost to borrow money.
• It also limits your liability to 50 if your
  credit card is lost, stolen, or used without your
  authorization, and it prohibits the unsolicited
  issuance of credit cards.
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• The Fair Credit Billing Act and the Fair Credit
  and Charge Card Disclosures Act were later
  additions to the Truth in Lending Act, as are
  many provisions of the Credit CARD Act.