Did a consumer reporting agency give you a bad time regarding an identity theft complaint? Now is the time to tell the FTC!
Were you a victim or potential victim of identify theft?
Sometimes consumer reporting agencies can seem that they are blind and deaf when it comes to assisting the consumer who has been a victim of identify theft.
Were you inconvenienced by one of the major consumer reporting agencies (Experian, Trans Union, Equifax) when you tried to report a case of identity theft or attempt to clean up your credit record after your identity was stolen?
The Federal Trade Commission wants to hear from you …
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) intends to conduct consumer survey research to advance its understanding of the experiences of consumers who interact with consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) following an incident of identity theft. The results of this research will inform and guide the FTC’s future enforcement and education efforts.
And now is the time to tell your story …
Most of the time, a government agency will accept your complaint where it will languish in a file with other related complaints until the agency is ready to pursue the matter further. Most government agencies only want to file cases which are “sure things,” involve large sums of money to attract media attention and yield record fines. However, this is an opportunity to tell your story to willing ears belonging to people who will scrutinize every entry for the purposes of crafting new legislation, imposing sanctions on the consumer reporting agencies and developing disclosures and other materials for consumer educational purposes.
Revenge?
Think of your cooperation, not as revenge for a bad experience with a credit reporting agency, but as your public duty in helping craft legislation and provide education which will protect other consumers like yourself. Then, of course, if you are motivated more by revenge: have at it!
How to reply …
There are two basic methods for filing comments with government agencies: one, using old-fashioned paper and two, electronically on the designated web site.
WARNING: If your comments include confidential information which you want to protect, you must file your comments in paper form and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential.”
A most important tip …
No matter how you file your comment, to avoid getting caught in the bureaucratic maze of paper shuffling, you must clearly indicate the specific government project upon which you are commenting.
In this particular instance, comments must refer to:
“Consumer Experiences with CRAs Research: FTC File No. P065405”
This is necessary whether you file in a paper format by mail or by using an electronic submission.
To file a comment in paper format …
Comments should refer to ‘‘Consumer Experiences with CRAs Research: FTC File No. P065405,’’ to facilitate the
organization of comments.
A comment filed in paper form should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope and should be mailed or delivered to the following address:
Consumer Experiences with CRAs Research: FTC File No. P065405
Federal Trade Commission,
Room H-135 (Annex J)
600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580.
Because paper mail in the Washington area and at the
FTC is subject to delay, please consider submitting your comments in electronic form. It has been my experience that comments sent in letter carrier envelopes via Federal Express or United Parcel Service get faster treatment and reach the designated destination sooner than snail mail sent via the United States Postal Service.
Should you wish to file electronically …
Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted by following the instructions on the secure web-based form at:
https://secure.commentworks.com/ftcfactasurvey.
Again, make sure you include a reference to “Consumer Experiences with CRAs Research: FTC File No. P065405” when entering your comments.
WARNING: YOUR COMMENTS MAY APPEAR ON THE FTC WEB SITE FOR OTHERS TO SEE…
All timely and responsive public comments will be considered by the Federal Trade Commission and will be available to the public on the FTC website, to the
extent practicable, at www.ftc.gov.
As a matter of discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from the
public comments it receives before placing those comments on the FTC website.
DEADLINE …
Your comments on your “identity theft” experiences with consumer reporting agencies must be received by the FTC by September 2, 2008. No exceptions are allowed.
For additional information, this information is also contained PDF format in the Federal Register which may be accessed at the FTC website.
What can YOU do?
Consider this your public duty. It is one of the few times that the government actually solicits consumer comments prior to rulemaking… unlike Congress where they pretend they know everything there is to know.
By responding to the Federal Trade Commission you are making life much easier for all consumers who are faced with consumer reporting agencies when dealing with the issues surrounding identity theft.
-- steve
Quote of the day: “There will always be a part, and always a very large part of every community, that have no care but for themselves, and whose care for themselves reaches little further than impatience of immediate pain, and eagerness for the nearest good.” -- Samuel Johnson
A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…
The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius
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