What rights do I have under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act?

Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, a federal law, you have the right to be treated fairly when it comes to obtaining credit. This law makes it illegal for creditors to discriminate against you based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or receipt of public assistance. In addition, the law protects you by requiring creditors to give you notice of the action they take in response to an application you make for credit, such as denying your application or charging you a higher interest rate than they give other applicants. Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, creditors are required to explain why they have denied your application or why they are charging you a higher rate, and they must also tell you about any other options available to you. If you are denied credit, then you have the right to get a free copy of the credit report used by the creditor in making its decision. This law also protects you against discrimination when creditors send out pre-screened promotional lists of credit offers that are tailored according to various factors such as age and income. Finally, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act makes it illegal for creditors to send out credit applications that are written in a confusing or misleading way or ask for any unnecessary information about an applicant that might lead a creditor to discriminate against that person.

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What rights do I have under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act?

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