What to Do If You Have Complaints About Your Creditor

08/23/2007
Credit History

So, you have chosen the best credit card offer that satisfies your financial needs. You went through the online instant approval process, and a few weeks later, you had your card. Did you go for the low rate? The rewards? The airmiles? Maybe this is your first card, so you went with the student credit card. Anyway, after the first bill, you realized something was deeply wrong. If you have a credit complaint you should solve your credit problems, or they may ruin your good credit. The first thing to do is to talk directly to the creditor or bank that is involved. If you still can't manage the problem, you can turn to the federal agencies that deal with laws of consumer protection.

Filing a Complaint with Federal Enforcement Agencies

If there is a reason to complain about a bank the Federal Reserve System can help you. The Federal Reserve System will look into complaints by the consumer that are levied against state chartered banks that are members of the system.  There are 12 Federal Reserve Banks nationwide that will investigate the complaints.  The Federal Reserve will report complaints about financial institutions to a federal regulatory agency that is appropriate for that matter. They will also contact you when the complaint has been referred to the agency. You can also get in touch with the appropriate federal agency in writing. Many of these agencies will not handle complaints individually. But they will use the information in order to aid in enforcing the credit laws.

When writing a complaint to the Federal Reserve you should give it, when possible, to the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551. The complaint should have in it the name and the bank address  and a short description of the complaint you have with them and any relevant documentation that they can use in an investigation. When sending documentation make sure that it is copies and not the original. The Federal Reserve will let you know they received the complaint within 15 business days. They will also let you know if a Federal Reserve Bank will investigate your complaint or if they will pass it on to another federal agency.

Even though the Federal Reserve will investigate all the credit cards complaints given to them on the banks they regulate, they do not have the authority to take care of all of the problems. But if you file a complaint the bank may work with you by their free will in order to resolve the situation. If the matter of the complaint is not taken care of, you may consider legal action.

If a lawsuit is made against a creditor, there are some penalties that they must pay if you win the case.

• Truth in Lending and Consumer Leasing Acts. If creditors refuse to provide the information required by them under these acts, or they give information that is not accurate, or does not follow the rules for credit cards and the right to call off various loans that are home-secured, they can be sued for damages and money loss you have had.
• Equal Credit Opportunity Act. If you have the ability to prove that discrimination has happened against you for any reason by your creditor that is not allowed by this act that you can sue for damages that are actual and punitive. Class action suits are allowed.
• Fair Credit Billing Act. Any creditor that violates the rules for the correction of errors in billing automatically loses the amount that is owed on the item that is in question and any charges on it that relate to financing. Class action suits are allowed.
• Fair Credit Reporting Act. You have the ability to sue any agency that does credit reporting or creditor for violating the rules about the people that are privy to your credit records or for failing to correct inaccuracies in your credit file. An individual that gets a credit report without having the proper authorization or some one who works with a credit report agency and gives your credit report out may be fined $5,000 or given a year in prison or both.
• Electronic Fund Transfer Act. If a bank does not follow the rules laid out by the EFT Act it can be sued for the damages. There are certain cases where you can sue for the amount of the damages at three times increased if the financial institution does not re-credit the account or correct the error. Class action suits are allowed and you are entitled to attorney and court costs.

If a financial institution does not make a transfer on an electronic fund or halt payment of a transfer that is preauthorized when told to do so by you, you may sue for all the damages that are a result of the failure by the financial institution.

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Comments

Robert, 02:44 AM, August 24, 2007
I think that the procedure of filing a complaint to Federal Enforcement Agencies is too difficult and long. It's better to apply for a credit card to a well-tried banks. But of course if there is no such an opportunity and you have faced this situation it's possible to have a try.

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