The Secret World of Consumer Credit

This is the first of hopefully several posts on SBFC Law Group, PLLC’s blog. SBFC Law Group, PLLC is a small law firm that was founded with the purpose of providing a solution for small business owners and consumers and their credit needs. The world of credit is, in our opinion, a dark and gloomy world to most consumers. Our goal is to educate while aiding our clients in exercising their legal rights with regards to the information reported by each credit bureau on their credit profile.  

The world of consumer credit is regulated primarily by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This is a federal law that, among other things, provides limitations on both creditors and credit bureaus as to what MAY be reported on a consumer’s credit profile. Generally, consumers understand that information is reported by creditors to credit bureaus or credit repositories and the information is then reported on credit reports. Aside from this, most consumers are not completely aware of how the information is reported on a credit report, what information can be reported on a credit report, how to read a credit report, what credit scores mean and how they are calculated and so on.  For example, does the average consumer understand why the credit scores they see when subscribing to a credit monitoring service are typically higher than the scores they are given when a Mortgage Broker or Auto Financier pulls their credit? Or how about whether or not credit inquiries affect your credit score? One of the most commonly asked questions is “should I close old accounts that I do not use?” The answers to these questions are important and every American should understand how credit reports are created and the factors that affect their credit scores. However, the world of credit is truly a secret world that is difficult to understand without spending hours upon hours in it. That is the purpose of this blog – to help educate everyone and anyone about their credit report and how to improve their credit.  I will try to update this blog with new posts at least every week, but hopefully more frequently.