1. Complete the sentences, using the appropriate words from the box:

Discrimination; deny; investigate; human rights commission; reinvestigating; file; turned down; key; repaid.

1. Any store, bank, or credit card company that extends credit to consumers wants to know that the money will be … .

2. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, protects consumers against credit … based on sex, marital status, race, color, religion, national origin, old age, or source of income.

3. Complaints should be directed to the state or local consumer affairs office or … .

4. The creditor may … you personally.

5. Information about you in a credit bureau’s files can be a … factor in determining whether you get loans, credit cards, or other forms of credit in the future.

6. If a credit report indicates that you are a poor risk, the creditor will probably … credit.

7. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act says that creditors must tell consumers why they were … .

8. Every consumer has the rights to learn the nature of information in his or her credit … .

9. If the credit bureau does not cooperate in correcting your credit file, you may complain to … the information.

2. Are the statements true (+) or false (-)? Correct the false statements.

1. A person who moves or changes jobs frequently might be considered reliable.

2. Bank regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Reserve Board and the Comptroller of the Currency, handle complaints against banks and bank credit cards.

3. Many states have laws that forbid credit discrimination.

4. Financial and personal information about consumers is often stored in computers but it can not be passed among the various bureaus.

5. If a credit report indicates that you are a poor risk, the creditor will probably give you credit.

6. Another federal law protects you from inaccurate credit bureau reporting.

7. The creditor can give you the name and address of the credit bureau that supplied the report.

8. Credit bureau are required to show consumers copies of the actual file.

9. If you discover false, misleading, incomplete, irrelevant, or out–of–date information in your file, you can require the credit bureau to recheck its information and correct the errors.

UNIT 25. Default And Collection Practices

1. Complete the sentences, using the appropriate words from the box:

Pay off; bankruptcy; default; consequences; reassess; wiped out; overextended.

1. Consumers who use credit sometimes have difficulty making all their payments because consumers are … .

2. A consumer who is unable or unwilling to pay a debt goes into … .

3. If you have problems paying your bills, you should … your financial lifestyle to determine where the problem arose.

4. … is a procedure through which a person places assets under the control of a federal court in order to be relieved of debt.

5. A wage earner can make an arrangement, supervised by a federal court, to … some or all of what is owed to creditors over an extended period of time.

6. A declaration of bankruptcy has serious long–term … for the debtor.

7. Some debts are not … through bankruptcy.

2. Are the statements true (+) or false (-)? Correct the false statements.

1. Problems with making payments can arise because of unexpected unemployment, family illness, or a variety of other reasons.

2. If you have problems paying your bills, you should not notify each creditor of the problem.

3. A consumer who is unable or unwilling to pay a debt goes into bankruptcy.

4. In recent years, a few bankruptcies have been filed in the United States.

5. A more severe form of bankruptcy is called a Chapter 7 bankruptcy when the federal court takes control of most of the debtor’s assets, sells them, and pays off as much debt as possible.

6. Records of personal bankruptcy remain in credit reports for 15 years.

7. All debts (taxes, alimony, child support, and student loans) are wiped out through bankruptcy.

UNIT 26. Creditor Collection Practices