§ 458-d. Information statement; contents. The information statement shall be printed in at least ten point type and shall include the following:

Terms Used In N.Y. General Business Law 458-D

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Consumer: means any natural person who is solicited to purchase or who purchases the services of a credit services business. See N.Y. General Business Law 458-B
  • Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. Source: OCC
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. Source: OCC
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, or any business entity. See N.Y. General Business Law 458-B

"RIGHT TO REVIEW YOUR FILE"

"The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to know what your credit file contains, and the consumer reporting agency must provide someone to help you interpret the data. The New York Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to receive an actual copy of your credit report. You will be required to identify yourself to the consumer reporting agency and you may be charged a small fee. There is no fee, however, if you have been turned down for credit, employment, or insurance because of information contained in a report within the preceding thirty days."

"INCORRECT INFORMATION"

"Consumer reporting agencies are required to follow reasonable procedures to ensure that subscribing creditors report information accurately. However, mistakes may occur.

When you notify the consumer reporting agency in writing that you dispute the accuracy of information, it must reinvestigate and modify or remove inaccurate data. The consumer reporting agency may not charge any fee for this service. Any pertinent data you have concerning an error should be given to the consumer reporting agency.

If reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute to your satisfaction, you may enter a statement of one hundred words or less in your file, explaining why you think the record is inaccurate.

The consumer reporting agency must include your statement about disputed data — or a coded version of it — with any reports it issues about you. New York law also provides that, at your request, the consumer reporting agency must notify any person who has received a report in the previous year that an error existed and furnish such person with the corrected information."

"TIME LIMITS ON ADVERSE DATA"

"Most kinds of information in your file may be reported for a period of seven years. If you have declared personal bankruptcy, however, that fact may be reported for ten years.

After seven years or ten years, the information can't be disclosed by a credit reporting agency unless you are being investigated for a credit application of $50,000 or more, for an application to purchase life insurance of $50,000 or more, or for employment at an annual salary of $25,000 or more."