Bankruptcy And Debts

In fact, the insurance industry says that stress, stemming from financial problems, can cause auto accidents, and therefore justifying its use of credit reports in setting insurance rates. consolidation debt mortgage

ITRC Study

In September 2003, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) published research that enumerated the many harms that victims suffer, and concluded that the emotional distress might be the worst of all. In the largest survey of its kind, the ITRC surveyed 173 actual victims of identity theft, and then had two experts review their responses.³³⁷ One was Paul Colins, a credit industry analyst. The range of emotions is wide and rather painful to read. Three-fourths of victims were left with a feeling of financial insecurity, 88% experienced anger, and 75% expressed a feeling of helplessness, Colins commented. consolidation debt help

While these feelings do appear to subside a little over time, the survey clearly shows for many victims the feelings linger on. While most surveys have focused on the financial costs to victims, these psychological impacts are generally unreported. They may, however, have far worse consequences for victims. ³³⁸ consolidation credit debt

While each crime has its own specific triggers and emotional responses, upon examination of these results, this study clearly proves that the impact of identity theft on its victims leaves similar scars and long-term impact as demonstrated by victims of violent crime. bill consolidation debt

³³⁷

Identity Theft: The Aftermath 2003, Identity Theft Resource Center (Sept. 2003); http://www.idtheftcenter.org/idaftermath.pdf ³³⁸ Id. ³³⁹ Id. This comes as no surprise to victims of identity theft. Although there is no direct physical injury in this crime, identity theft victims know all too well the psychological, emotional, and social destructive swath of pain that has been cut through their lives. Furthermore, it is clear that this crime has a ripple effect on the relationships in the victims lives. This study found that numerous victims of this crime suffered a significant strain in the relationship with their significant other. Anecdotally, during ITRC focus groups victims have shared that this crime was a major contributing factor in a divorce due to the intense strain on one or both of the partners, he continued. consolidation debt quote

Nelson noted that some ID Theft victims said they felt dirty or defiled, guilty, ashamed or embarrassed, being an outcast, undeserving of assistance or having brought this crime upon myself responses similar to the ones we saw after an extensive media information campaign on rape and sexual assault prevention. consolidation debt lead

Consumers are being told that they are the responsible party, if a crime occurs. Top ten lists of how to avoid victimization add to this perception, he wrote. For the self-blaming response to stop, victims need to learn that they are not the responsible party for this crime. Victims are victims, each with his or her own fingerprint of painful responses to the crimes committed. There are commonalities within the victimization responses found in each category of crime victims. This study discovered that there are also far more response similarities that identity theft victims share with ALL victims than previously realized. ³⁴⁰ consolidation debt non profit

³⁴⁰ Id

. It Shows In The Statistics The high value that Americans place in protecting and preserving their good names is reflected in FTC complaint statistics. As the 1993 U.S. PIRG studies revealed, in the early 1990s, the leading cause of complaints to the FTC was inaccuracy in credit reports. Notice how complaints about mistakes, which do not always involve out-of-pocket loss, outpaced other categories which did entail loss of money. consolidation debt loan online

1. Credit Bureaus (30, 901); consolidation debt home loan

2. Misc. Credit (22, 729); christian consolidation debt

3. Investment Fraud (12, 809); consolidation debt information

4. Equal Credit Oppt. (11, 634); agency consolidation debt

5. Automobiles (6, 901); consolidation debt solution

6. Truth-In-Lending (6, 303); california consolidation debt

7. Household Supplies (5, 835); consolidation debt loan uk

8. Recreational Goods (5, 747); consolidation debt equity home

9. Mail Order (4, 687) consolidation debt government

10. Food/Beverage (2, 738). consolidation debt firm

Starting in 2000, and continuing for four consecutive years, complaints about identity theft far exceeded all other categories. Again, notice how an issue that is more concerned with one s good name than it is with out-of-pocket loss, far exceeded categories where consumers lost money. Here are the 2001 numbers: consolidation debt financing

³⁴¹

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/01/idtheft.htm The 2002 numbers were 43% of the complaints, identity theft, and 13%, Internet Auctions.³⁴² For 2003, 42 % of the complaints were about identity theft. The FTC received more than half a million complaints in 2003, up from 404, 000 in 2002.³⁴³ A Formula For Identifying and Measuring Damages In a 2003 FCRA case, ³⁴⁴ plaintiff s counsel calculated that Plaintiff worried about or was tormented for 15 hours per week, or slightly less than 2.5 hours per day, about inaccuracies in her consumer report. While this was a good start, a more robust formula is needed to fairly gauge damages. consolidation consumer credit

It seems logical that since we are relying so heavily on credit scores to summarize a consumer s credit-worthiness, we also should have a scoring model for measuring the damages and costs to consumer caused by defects in the national credit reporting system. Perhaps such a scoring model would finally help the financial services industry appreciate the extremely damaging nature of credit report inaccuracy. consolidation debt free quote

To that end, this author in 2003 unveiled the following proposed methodology, which first requires one to identify the applicable categories of damage in the given case, and then determine which of the factors listed below are appropriate multipliers.³⁴⁵ card consolidation counseling

³⁴²

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/01/top10.htm ³⁴³ http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/01/top10.htm ³⁴⁴ Boris v. ChoicePoint: USDC-W.D. Kentucky (Louisville) - No. 3:01CV-342-H; March 14, 2003 ³⁴⁵ Prepared Statement of Evan Hendricks, The Accuracy of Credit Report Information and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Senate Banking Committee; July 10, 2003 http://banking.senate.gov/03_07hrg/071003/index.htm; and, Presentation of Evan Hendricks, Information Flows: The Costs and Benefits to Consumers and Businesses of The Collection and Use of Consumer Information. Federal Trade Commission National Workshop; June 18, 2003. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/infoflows/030618agenda.html consolidation debt lender

Some Categories of Typical Damages/Costs of ID Theft Inaccuracy:

1. Inaccurately described as not creditworthy to third parties calculator consolidation debt

2. Improperly denied credit because of inaccurate data best consolidation debt loan

3. Expended time and energy to correct errors not of one s making consolidation counseling

4. Wrongfully received debt collection calls best consolidation debt

5. Chilled from applying for credit best company consolidation

6. Sleeplessness, physical symptoms consolidation debt lending

7. Sense of helplessness, loss of control over personal data business consolidation debt

8. The emotional distress stemming from, and associated, with all of the above advice consolidation debt

I propose a formula that takes into account the following factors. consolidation debt interest

FACTORS

1. The nature and substance of the category of damage consolidation debt refinance

2. Time energy to solve the immediate problem consolidation debt finance

3. The expectation that the problem was solved consolidation debt plan

4. The number of recurrences consolidation debt personal

5. The period of time over which the problem persists consolidation debt management

In essence, the formula, like a credit scoring model, would need to assign weights or points to each factor and then multiply Factor (1) by Factor (2); then that result would be multiplied by Factor (3), and then by Factor (4), etc. The purpose is to measure the compounding nature of the damage. consolidation debt secured

As a preliminary example, take the Category 1 inaccurate characterization. Let s say John Doe, a victim of identity theft, discovers in January 2001 that his credit report was polluted with highly negative collection and charge-off accounts generated by a fraudster. This would be a momentous event, deserving a significant assignment of points under the formula. After all, the inaccurate credit report was not the result of anything done by John Doe and was totally unexpected, so the shock value (Category #8, emotional distress) was relatively high. consolidation debt florida

Rather than routinely extending him credit, the system falsely branded him unworthy of credit. Further points are assigned because this inaccurate characterization coincided with the unjust denial of credit (Category #2). It s possible that this unjust denial resulted in being humiliated in front of a store clerk or others (Category #8), and with being unable to do anything about it (Category #7). Thus, the formula assigns a relatively large number of damage points for John Doe s first interaction under Factor #1, as compared to a consumer who only finds a few minor inaccuracies on his credit report that did not result in a denial of credit, humiliation and sense of helplessness. canada consolidation debt loan

If John Doe s credit reports worsens because of the addition of an imposter-caused bankruptcy, Category 1 later earns additional points. The other multipliers come into play, as John Doe must expend time and energy to solve the problems (Factor 2), and develops an expectation that the problem was solved (Factor 3); instead there are recurrences of being mischaracterized (Factor 4) and the problem persisted over a defined period of time (Factor 5). consolidation debt nonprofit

Invasion of Privacy = Emotional Distress

Many thoughtful commentators have reached the conclusion that it is emotionally distressful, and therefore damaging, to have your privacy invaded. As Judge J. Michael Blane pointed out in his dissent in 4th Circuit s ruling in Doe v. Chao, a Privacy Act case, First, Congress created the statutory damages remedy as an incentive to suit because it recognized that damages from government invasions of privacy are hard to prove. Second, Congress recognized that the typical injury caused by the invasion of privacy is emotional distress. consolidation debt reduction

The Members of Congress who were most active in the 2003 FCRA Amendments, known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), consistently spoke of the harms flowing to consumers and to society from inaccurate credit reports and/or identity theft. calculator card consolidation

Shelby and Sarbanes

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee opened the July 10, 2003 hearing by stating, This morning, we take up one of the most important issues, if not the most important, associated with the FCRA: the accuracy of the information contained in consumer credit reports. Changes in our financial services industries have made accuracy more important than ever. Credit report information is increasingly used as the key determinant of the cost of credit or insurance... With the rewards for good credit so meaningful, and the penalties for bad credit so severe, it is absolutely critical that credit reports accurately portray consumers true credit histories. ³⁴⁶ consolidation debt unsecured

Sen. Paul Sarbanes, the committee s Ranking Democrat from Maryland, said, Erroneous negative information on credit reports can often take a significant investment of time and money to remove. They can also be extremely costly to consumers by significantly raising borrower costs. Not only do such inaccuracies raise the cost of borrowing, but they may also actually cost the consumer a loan. Insurers, mortgage banks, and other financial institutions rely heavily on credit scores to make credit decisions. consolidation debt free loan

³⁴⁶

Senate Banking hearing, July 10, 2003, op. cit.; http://banking.senate.gov/index.cfm Fuseaction=Hearings.Testimony TestimonyID=264 HearingID=49 Inaccuracies in the underlying credit reports can therefore make it more difficult and significantly more expensive for Americans to purchase insurance, homes, cars, and other big-ticket items. ³⁴⁷ Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), stated, In addition, when that information is not accurate, consumers need a quick and easy resolution process. In a fast-paced society like ours, unnecessarily long delays in correcting inaccurate credit reports have profound consequences. They can lead to denial of a mortgage to buy a home or the steering into a subprime loan. They can lead to the inability to get a credit card or an unwarranted increase in interest rates on an existing credit card. They can also create reduced work productivity and extreme stress as consumers must take off work and spend countless hours trying to correct mistakes that occurred through no fault of their own. ³⁴⁸ consolidation debt high loan

On identity theft, Shelby said, Soon thereafter, when the criminals handiwork shows up on their credit reports, they face the considerable task of restoring their good name and credit. Plainly, this crime has many victims. Firms lose profits. Individuals lose time, money, and peace of mind when their good name and reputation are tarnished. consolidation debt free help

In light of the serious nature of the consequences of identity theft, this issue would merit attention even if there were only a limited number of victims. Unfortunately, there are thousands of victims whose numbers are growing at an increasingly faster pace. Indeed, it has been asserted that identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. consolidation debt ohio

This issue tracks across credit reporting in so many ways that it is essential that we consider it in the context of the reauthorization of the preemption provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. ³⁴⁹ advice consolidation debt free

monebaggasse