There are many rules that credit card issuers need to comply to in order to do business in the credit card industry.
Most of these rules are meant to protect consumers from abuse and should be known by everyone in order to exercise the rights that originate from them.
Reasons for Denial If a lender denies your request for a credit card, they must indicate you specifically why you were turned down or tell you how to get this information.
When the denial is based on information in your credit report, you're entitled to a free copy of the report from the credit bureau that issued it.
Make sure to get the report and look for errors.
If you find errors, dispute them.
Then contact the lender to let them know about the mistakes.
You would be surprised at home many denials where originated from wrongful information contained on credit reports.
It won't hurt you to check your credit report regularly to prevent these problems either.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects your right to know what information is in your credit report and sets up procedures to make sure that credit reporting agencies or credit bureaus provide correct information about your financial situation.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) enforces guides to make sure you won't be discriminated against because of your gender, race, marital status, or age when you apply for credit.
Any information regarding these topics should be excluded from data bases and not used during the approval process.
If you get to know that any of the above was used to determine approval, you should inform on this immediately.
Billing and Wrongful Charges The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) offers protection against billing errors.
It also helps limit your liability for goods or services purchased if your card is stolen.
The law also can help you reverse the charges of inferior products or services you bought with your credit card.
Debt Collection and Unfair Practices The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) outlines what tactics collection agents may and may not use to collect debt.
Be sure to review these laws to make sure that your credit card company is following them.
Harassing calls and threats of any nature are strictly forbidden and should also be informed immediately.
If you think your rights as a consumer have been violated, try to work it out with your creditor first.
If that is impossible, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or contact the attorney general's office in your state.
Doing so is not only your right but also a duty as a citizen, what happens to you is probably happening to many other consumers at the same time.