FIGHT BACK!  BY DAVID HOROWITZ

New Credit-Reporting Law
        
        Congress is close to approving the first major overhaul  of the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 
nearly a quarter of a  century. All it requires is some adjustments between the  House and Senate 
versions and President Clinton's signature  to become law. The new law would make it easier for 
consumers  to gain access their credit reports and correct any  inaccuracies they may contain.
        Consumer protection groups have been pushing for reform  legislation for the past five years. 
The Federal Trade  Commission now receives more complaints about faulty credit  reports than 
anything else. Surveys show that one report in  four contains some sort of inaccurate information. 
Mistakes  often take as long as six months to correct -- when they're  corrected at all.
        Under the new law, it would be up to credit-reporting  agencies to verify disputed information 
in a consumer's his- tory or delete it within 30 days. These agencies would also  be required to set 
up toll-free phone numbers to take com- plaints from the public. Here are some other points in the 
 proposed law.
        -- Credit bureaus would be required to provide consumers  with free copies of their credit 
reports whenever those  people are denied a loan or other financial service because  of negative 
information in that report.
        -- Consumers could also request their own credit  histories for $3 for the first copy and $8 for 
each  additional copy.
        -- Employers or potential employers would have to obtain  an applicant's permission before 
looking into his or her  credit history.
        -- There would be new restrictions on the use of credit- agency data for direct marketing.
        -- Banks, retailers and other providers of credit data  could be sued in civil court if they fail 
to correct inac- curate entries in a person's record.
        -- The new law would pre-empt state and local credit-re- porting laws, even when the local 
law is stricter. (That pre- emption would expire after six years in the Senate bill and  eight years in 
the House bill.)
        The old credit-reporting law was drafted to regulate an  industry still in its infancy. Today, 
credit bureaus keep  computerized files on 450 million Americans. They process  nearly 2 billion 
individual data entries every month and  provide retailers and lenders with 1.5 million credit 
reports  every business day. This huge stream of credit data is  flowing constantly along the 
Information Superhighway --  carrying mistakes along with accurate information.
        With a database that large and that active, it becomes  extremely difficult to identify and 
correct errors in  individual files -- unless the individual consumer spots the  mistake and 
challenges it. That's why it's important to  review your own credit history periodically. You can get 
 copies directly from any of the four major national credit  bureaus: 
        -- TRW Consumer Assistance Center, P.O. Box 2350,  Chatsworth, Calif., 91313-2350. (800) 
392-1122.
        -- Equifax, P.O. Box 105873, Atlanta, Ga., 30348. (800)  685-1111.
        -- CSC Credit Service, P.O. Box 674402, Houston, Texas,  77267-4402. (713) 878-1990.
        -- Trans Union Corp., P.O. Box 390, Springfield, Pa.,  19064-0390. (800) 851-2674.
        Don't wait for the new law to take effect. Check your  credit history now -- before you have 
an unexpected problem  with a loan or credit application.
        If you have any questions or comments, please write to  David Horowitz in the Consumer 
Forum+ (go FIGHTBACK). COPYRIGHT 1994 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.