110 STAT. 3009-457 PUBLIC LAW 104-208—SEPT. 30, 1996
15 USC 1679c.
"(4) engage, directly or indirectly, in any act, practice,
or course of business that constitutes or results in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, a fraud or deception on
any person in connection with the offer or sale of the services
of the credit repair organization.
"(b) PAYMENT IN ADVANCE.—No credit repair organization may
charge or receive any money or other valuable consideration for
the performance of any service which the credit repair organization
has agreed to perform for any consumer before such service is
fully performed.
"SEC. 405. 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
"Tou 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.
" Tou 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, employ-
ment, 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 employ-
ment 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.
"Tou 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.
"Tou 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.
"Tou 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.
�
