COMPLAINING ABOUT CREDIT

COMPLAINING ABOUT CREDIT



Complaining to Federal Enforcement Agencies


First try to solve your problem directly with a creditor.
Only if that fails should you bring more formal complaint
procedures. Here's the way to file a complaint with the Federal
agencies responsible for carrying out consumer credit
protection laws.

Complaints About Banks. If you have a complaint about a
bank in connection with any of the Federal credit laws--or if
you think any part of your business with a bank has been
handled in an unfair or deceptive way--you may get advice and
help from the Federal Reserve. The practice you complain about
does not have to be covered by Federal law. Furthermore, you
don't have to be a customer of the bank to file a complaint.

You should submit your complaint--in writing whenever
possible--to the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs,
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington,
D.C. 20551, or to the Reserve Bank nearest you, as listed on
page 43 of this handbook. Be sure to describe the bank practice
you are complaining about and give the name and address of the
bank involved.

The Federal Reserve will write back within 15
days--sometimes with an answer, sometimes telling you that more
time is needed to handle your complaint. The additional time is
required when complex issues are involved or when the complaint
will be investigated by a Federal Reserve Bank. When this is
the case, the Federal Reserve will try to keep you informed
about the progress being made.

The Board supervises only state--chartered banks that are
members of the Federal Reserve System. It will refer complaints
about other institutions to the appropriate Federal regulatory
agency and let you know where your complaint has been referred.
Or you may use the listing on page 42 of this booklet to write
directly to the appropriate agency.

Complaints About Other Institutions. On page 42 of this
booklet, you will also find the names of the regulatory
agencies for other financial institutions and for businesses
other than banks. Many of these agencies do not handle
individual complaints; however, they will use information about
your credit experiences to help enforce the credit laws.


Penalties Under the Laws


You may also take legal action against a creditor. If you
decide to bring a lawsuit, here are the penalties a creditor
must pay if you win.

Truth in Lending and Consumer Leasing Acts. If any
creditor fails to disclose information required under these
Acts, or gives inaccurate information, or does not comply with
the rules about credit cards or the right to cancel certain
home--secured loans, you as an individual may sue for actual
damages--any money loss you suffer. In addition, you can sue
for twice the finance charge in the case of certain credit
disclosures, or, if a lease is concerned, 25 percent of total
monthly payments. In either case, the least the court may award
you if you win is $100, and the most is $1,000. In any lawsuit
that you win, you are entitled to reimbursement for court costs
and attorney's fees.

Class action suits are also permitted. A class action suit
is one filed on behalf of a group of people with similar
claims.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act. If you think you can prove
that a creditor has discriminated against you for any reason
prohibited by the Act, you as an individual may sue for actual
damages plus punitive damages--that is, damages for the fact
that the law has been violated--of up to $10,000. In a
successful lawsuit, the court will award you court costs and a
reasonable amount for attorney's fees. Class action suits are
also permitted.

Fair Credit Billing Act. A creditor who breaks the rules
for the correction of billing errors automatically loses the
amount owed on the item in question and any finance charges on
it, up to a combined total of $50--even if the bill was correct.
You as an individual may also sue for actual damages plus twice
the amount of any finance charges, but in any case not less
than $100 nor more than $1,000. You are also entitled to court
costs and attorney's fees in a successful lawsuit. Class action
suits are also permitted.

Fair Credit Reporting Act. You may sue any credit
reporting agency or creditor for breaking the rules about who
may see your credit records or for not correcting errors in
your file. Again, you are entitled to actual damages, p]us
punitive damages that the court may allow if the violation is
proved to have been intentional. In any successful lawsuit, you
will also be awarded court costs and attorney's fees. A person
who obtains a credit report without proper authorization--or an
employee of a credit reporting agency who gives a credit report
to unauthorized persons--may be fined up to $5,000 or
imprisoned for one year, or both.

Electronic Fund Transfer Act. If a financial institution
does not follow the provisions of the EFT Act, you may sue for
actual damages (or in certain cases when the institution fails
to correct an error or recredit an account, for three times
actual damages) plus punitive damages of not less than $100 nor
more than $1,000. You are also entitled to court costs and
attorney's fees in a successful lawsuit. Class action suits are
also permitted.

If an institution fails to make an electronic fund
transfer, or to stop payment of a preauthorized transfer when
properly instructed by you to do so, you may sue for all
damages that result from the failure.


Glossary


Annual Percentage Rate (APR) -- The cost of credit as a
yearly rate.

Appraisal Fee -- The charge for estimating the value of
property offered as security.

Asset -- Property that can be used to repay debt, such as
stocks and bonds or a car.

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) -- Electronic terminals
located on bank premises or elsewhere, through which customers
of financial institutions may make deposits, withdrawals, or
other transactions as they would through a bank teller.

Balloon Payment -- A large extra payment that may be
charged at the end of a loan or lease.

Billing Error -- Any mistake in your monthly statement as
defined by the Fair Credit Billing Act.

Business Days -- Check with your institution to find out
what days it counts as business days under the Truth in Lending
and Electronic Fund Transfer Acts.

Collateral -- Property offered to support a loan and
subject to seizure if you default.

Cosigner -- Another person who signs your loan and assumes
equal responsibility for it.

Credit -- The right granted by a creditor to pay in the
future in order to buy or borrow in the present; a sum of money
due a person or business.

Credit Bureau -- An agency that keeps your credit record.

Credit Card -- Any card, plate, or coupon book used from
time to time or over and over again to borrow money or buy
goods or services on credit.

Credit History -- The record of how you've borrowed and
repaid debts.

Creditor -- A person or business from whom you borrow or
to whom you owe money.

Credit-related Insurance -- Health, life, or accident
insurance designed to pay the outstanding balance of debt.

Credit Scoring System -- A statistical system used to rate
credit applicants according to various characteristics relevant
to creditworthiness.

Creditworthiness -- Past and future ability to repay
debts.

Debit Card (EFT Card) -- A plastic card, looks similar to
a credit card, that consumers may use to make purchases,
withdrawals, or other types of electronic fund transfers.

Default -- Failure to repay a loan or otherwise meet the
terms of your credit agreement.

Disclosures -- Information that must be given to consumers
about their financial dealings.

Elderly Applicant -- As defined in the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act, a person 62 or older.

Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Systems -- A variety of
systems and technologies for transferring funds electronically
rather than by check.

Finance Charge -- The total dollar amount credit will
cost.

Home Equity Line of Credit -- A form of openend credit in
which the home serves as collateral.

Joint Account -- A credit account held by two or more
people so that all can use the account and all assume legal
responsibility to repay.

Late Payment -- A payment made later than agreed upon in a
credit contract and on which additional charges may be imposed.

Lessee -- A person who signs a lease to get temporary use
of property.

Lessor -- A company that provides temporary use of
property usually in return for periodic payment.

Liability on an Account -- Legal responsibility to repay
debt.

Open-End Credit -- A line of credit that may be used over
and over again, including credit cards, overdraft credit
accounts, and home equity lines.

Open-End Lease -- A lease which may involve a balloon
payment based on the value of the property when it is returned.

Overdraft Checking -- A line of credit that allows you to
write checks or draw funds by means of an EFT card for more
than your actual balance, with an interest charge on the
overdraft.

Point-of-Sale (POS) -- A method by which consumers can
pay for purchases by having their deposit accounts debited
electronically without the use of checks.

Points and Origination Fees -- Points are finance charges
paid at the beginning of a mortgage in addition to monthly
interest. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. An
origination fee covers the lender's work in preparing your
mortgage loan.

Punitive Damages -- Damages awarded by a court above
actual damages as punishment for a violation of law.

Rescission -- The cancellation or "unwinding" of a
contract.

Security -- Property pledged to the creditor in case of a
default on a loan; see collateral.

Security Interest -- The creditor's right to take property
or a portion of property offered as security.

Service Charge -- A component of some finance charges,
such as the fee for triggering an overdraft checking account
into use.


Subject Index


Age
APR
Balloon Payment
Cancellation (Rescission)
Complaints
Credit Applications
Credit Bureaus
Credit Cards
Billing Errors
Liability for Loss or Theft
Credit Laws
Consumer Leasing
Electronic Fund Transfers
Equal Credit Opportunity
Fair Credit Billing
Fair Credit Reporting
Truth in Lending
Credit Records
Confidentiality
Correcting Errors
Women
Credit Records
Time Limits on Information
Credit Scoring
Crediting of Payments
Creditworthiness
Debit Cards
Defective Merchandise
Denials of Credit
Discrimination
Division of Consumer and Community Affairs
EFT
Errors on Account
Liability for Loss or Theft
Preauthorized Transfers
Record of Transaction
Enforcement Agencies
Finance Charge
Housing Loans
Leasing
Open-end Credit
Penalties
Point-of-Sale
Public Assistance
Reserve Banks
Settlement Costs
Women
Alimony and Support Payments
Change in Marital Status
Cosigners
Credit Histories
Information About Spouse
Separate Accounts



Directory of Federal Agencies


National Banks
Compliance Management
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
250 E Street, S.W.
Mail Stop 7-5
Washington, D.C. 20219
(202) 874-4820

State Member Banks of the Federal Reserve System
Division of Consumer and Community Affairs
Federal Reserve Board
Washington, D.C. 20551
(202) 452-3693

Nonmember Federally Insured State Banks
Office of Consumer Programs
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Washington, D.C. 20456
(202) 898-3536 or (800) 934-FDIC

Savings and Loan Associations
Division of Consumer and Civil Rights
Office of Community Investment
Office of Thrift Supervision
1700 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20552
(202) 906-6237

Federal Credit Unions
Office of Public and Congressional Affairs
Office of Consumer Programs
National Credit Union Administration
1776 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20456
(202) 682-9640

Other Lenders
Division of Credit Practices
Bureau of Consumer Protection
Federal Trade Commission
Washington, D.C. 20580
(202) 326-3233

Department of Justice
Civil Division
Office of Consumer Litigation
550 11th St., N.W.
The Todd Building
Room No. 6114
Washington, D.C. 20530
(202) 514-6786


Federal Reserve Banks


BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Publication Services MS-138
Washington, DC 20551
(202) 452-3000

ATLANTA, Georgia
Public Affairs Department
104 Marietta Street, N.W.
ZIP 30303-2713
(404) 521-8500

BOSTON, Massachusetts
Public Services Department
P.O. Box 2076
ZIP 02106-2076
(617) 973-3000

CHICAGO, Illinois
Public Information Center
230 South LaSalle Street
P.O. Box 834
ZIP 60690-0834
(312) 322-5322

CLEVELAND, Ohio
Public Affairs Department
P.O. Box 6387
ZIP 44101-1387
(216) 579-2000

DALLAS, Texas
Public Affairs Department
2200 North Pearl Street
Zip 75201
(214) 922-6000

KANSAS CITY, Missouri
Public Affairs Department
925 Grand Avenue
ZIP 64198-0001
(816) 881-2000

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota
Public Affairs Department
250 Marquette Avenue
ZIP 55401-0291
(612) 340-2345

NEW YORK, New York
Public Information Department
33 Liberty Street
ZIP 10045
(212) 720-5000

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania
Public Information Department
P.O. Box 66
ZIP 19105
(215) 574-6000

RICHMOND, Virginia
Public Services Department
P.O. Box 27622
ZIP 23261
(804) 697-8000

ST. LOUIS, Missouri
Public Information Office
P.O. Box 442
ZIP 63166
(314) 444-8444

SAN FRANCISCO, California
Public Information Department
P.O. Box 7702
ZIP 94120
(415) 974-2000