The Equal Credit Opportunity Act
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The Equal Credit Opportunity Act
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act mandates that individual creditors must apply credit standards in a fair manner so that all people are given the same chance to obtain credit. This does not mean that all creditors have to use the same standards.
It does, however, prevent them from basing their decision to approve you or not on race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, marital status or a host of other factors. It is a violation of credit report laws for a lender to base their decision on anything other than your ability and intent to repay the money that you borrow.
This is why it is important to use a credit report service, maintain a good credit score by paying your bills on time, not accruing large amounts of debt or letting accounts become delinquent. Using this criteria and excluding others, like sex or race, is meant to level the playing field and give you an opportunity to receive fair consideration for credit without being discriminated against for something that has no bearing on your credit worthiness.
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| Patricia Walters-Fischer |
