Unscrupulous Companies and Reporting Requirementsc
In today's market there are great trustworthy companies and unscrupulous companies that will turn around and bite the consumer. Before buying, leasing, renting, or borrowing anything, complete a background check on the company. Companies perform background checks on consumers; why wouldn't consumers want to complete back ground checks on companies? How does a consumer complete a background check?
Why perform background checks on companies?
Many companies will act in the consumers' best interest. However, there are many companies that will act against the consumer.
For example: a case in Oregon where a property management company sent bills owed by a tenant to an address known to be vacated. A forwarding address was given to the property manager, however, that manager failed to incorporate the information in with the company records therefor sending all information about amounts owed to an address known to be vacated by the tenant. The property management company was hoping that the tenant would have set up mail forwarding through the postal system, however, the tenant had no need to do so considering the tenant never receives mail. You might think this would be an easy fix, however, due to the unscrupulous nature of the company and the lack of credit reporting requirements posed on companies, this was a very easy mistake to make.
When reporting this information to the Credit Reporting Agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion), the CRA must investigate the dispute within 30 days. The dispute process is as follows: CRA contacts the information furnisher (in this case the property management company) and simply asks if any information is incorrect. The end. That is the extent of the dispute process. So you see, there really is, without a doubt, absolutely no reporting requirements for a company to furnish illegitimate claims against ones' credit report. So do your best to check the background of every merchant you come into contact with that requires your credit history and who requires the ability to report information to associated credit bureaus.
How do you complete a background check?
The Better Business Bureau is a great source for this information. Many consumers report unscrupulous acts of businesses to the BBB and all information, if the claim is legitimate, is incorporated into public reports assembled by the BBB. A background check tool created by the Better Business Bureau is a great tool to use before trusting a merchant with your personal credit life!
If you feel as though you have a legitimate claim against a company, do not hesitate to report it to the BBB. If the company does not want a permanent public scar on their record, they will be sure to resolve the claim promptly.
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