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1、This webinar is brought to you by CLEONet www.cleonet.ca,CLEONet is a web site of legal information for community workers and advocates who work with low-income and disadvantaged communities in Ontario.,About our presenter,Margaret Capes, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B., M.Ad.Ed, is Legal Education Coordinator
2、of Community Law School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc. She also acts as Review Counsel for Community Legal Services, as an adjunct professor in the clinical law program, and as faculty advisor for Pro Bono Students Canada and the Dispute Resolution Centre, all at the Faculty of Law, University of Western Ont
3、ario. She is the former Executive Director of Community Legal Assistance Sarnia.,Hot Topics in Consumer Protection:,Credit Reporting and Consumer Reporting,2010, Community Law School (Sarnia Lambton) Inc.,4,Webinar Overview,The importance of healthy credit records How to keep your credit score healt
4、hy. What is a credit repair agency (and what can it do for you)? Credit repair agreements: required terms. Credit repair agreements: payments and promises The Consumers Toolbox: credit repair agencies. What are consumer reporting agencies? What may (and may not) reporting agencies report? The Consum
5、ers Toolbox: consumer reporting agencies.,2010, Community Law School (Sarnia Lambton) Inc.,5,Healthy Credit Records Are Important!,Almost everyone who extends credit-your landlord, charge card issuer, bank, furniture store, auto lender-relies on your credit record to decide if you are a good or a ba
6、d credit risk. Your credit record includes everything from your auto loan payment history to whether you pay your hydro bill on time. Your credit record will determine your credit score-a statistical formula that converts your credit record into a 3-digit score indicating the statistical probability
7、 that you will (or wont) become delinquent if granted credit. Your payment history, amounts owed to various creditors, the length of time youve had credit accounts, how often you get or seek new credit, and the types of credit accounts you have, are all considered when determining your credit score.
8、,2010, Community Law School (Sarnia Lambton) Inc.,6,Keeping Your Credit Score Healthy,There are many things we can do to keep a good credit score or to improve a poor one, including: Pay all bills on time; Keep account balances below 75% of available credit; Avoid applying for credit unless there is
9、 a genuine need for a new account; Review your credit report from time-to-time to make sure that it is accurate; If you find yourself in financial difficulty, work with your creditors to find acceptable solutions; Get unbiased advice and assistance with debt problems from a nonprofit credit counsell
10、ing service-you can find one through the Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services (OACCS) ().,2010, Community Law School (Sarnia Lambton) Inc.,7,What is a Credit Repair Agency?,Credit repair agencies promise to clean up or erase bad credit, usually for a substantial fee. Governed by the Co
11、nsumer Protection Act, 2002 and regulated by the Ministry of Consumer Services. Cannot change or erase information on a credit report that is correct. Unfavourable but accurate information will remain in a consumers credit file for as long as permitted under the Consumer Reporting Act regardless of
12、efforts to eliminate it.,2010, Community Law School (Sarnia Lambton) Inc.,8,Credit Repair Agreements: Required Terms,The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 sets specific requirements for valid credit repair agreements, including: The name of the consumer; The name of the credit repair agency, and its add
13、ress, telephone number, or other contact information; An itemized list of services and goods that the credit repairer is to supply to the consumer; The date by which the credit repairer is to cause a material improvement to the consumers credit report; and The total amount payable by the consumer to
14、 the credit repairer, as well as the terms and method of payment.,2010, Community Law School (Sarnia Lambton) Inc.,9,Credit Repair Agreements: Payments and Promises,A credit repair agency may not require advance payment. A consumer who has made an advance payment may request a refund, which must be
15、paid within 15 days. A credit repair agency may not charge a fee at all unless its services result in a material improvement to the consumers credit file. A credit repair agency may not represent to a consumer that it can cause a material improvement to the consumers credit file until it has actuall
16、y reviewed the file.,2010, Community Law School (Sarnia Lambton) Inc.,10,Consumers Toolbox: Credit Repair Agencies,Dont be fooled by false promises: Credit repair agencies cannot do anything that a consumer could not do for himself or herself. The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 gives consumers a 10-day cooling off period within which to cancel a contract with a credit repair agency. Under the Act, if the contract is not delivered, the consumer may cancel at any t
