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How You Benefit from the Truth in Lending Act

by on August 11, 2008

The Truth in Lending Act was created in the late 1960’s so there is a good chance that you have been protected by this act for as long as you have been using credit cards. If you don’t know what this act is then you may not realize that this important piece of legislation has greatly reduced your chances of being financially harmed by the credit card industry. You also may not realize that these benefits are something that many people don’t bother to take advantage of because they don’t bother to learn the laws.

What Is The Truth In Lending Act?

The Truth in Lending Act is one part of the Consumer Credit Protection Act which is legislation that serves to protect credit card consumers from a predatory credit card industry. The Truth in Lending Act is the portion of the legislation which covers the rules about what information credit card companies must disclose to their customers and how they must make those disclosures. It is because of the Truth in Lending Act that the APR (interest rate) on your credit cards is made so clear to you both on credit card applications and on your credit card statement. The Truth in Lending Act also sets guidelines for how customers can dispute charges, how credit card companies must deal with those disputes and what the timeline is for such situations.

How The Truth in Lending Act Helps You

The Truth in Lending Act serves to protect you from harm by requiring that credit card companies make certain information available to you. Some of the ways that this is accomplished include:

• Your credit card’s interest rate must be disclosed to you. This means that you as a smart credit card consumer can see whether or not you are getting a good deal on your loans and you can make wise choices about credit card applications and the use of credit cards with high interest rates.

• You have the right to dispute charges on your credit report. This means that you have the right to see all of the information on your credit report and to challenge those charges that are not appropriate or true on the report. This right gives you the chance to make sure that any information reported to others about your credit history is accurate which protects you from getting bad loans without reason.

• You have the right to timely resolution of disputes. Not only do you have the right to dispute bad credit card charges but you have the right for that dispute to be settled within a relatively short time period. This saves you hassles and frustration and also reduces potential damage to your credit.

Using the Truth in Lending Act

The Truth in Lending Act is a series of laws that govern how credit card companies must behave towards you. By reading the specifics of the act and knowing your rights, you can make better use of those laws. The more that you know about how credit card companies are supposed to behave, the more likely it is that you can guarantee that your rights will not be trampled upon.

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