Victim of discrimination

Lenders would be acting illegally under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act if they advertised for a particular “type” of the borrower, or even worse openly stated that only one type of applicant may apply. There are, as ever some exceptions, such as specific saving accounts for the over 55s, Young Savers, Student accounts etc. Discrimination by credit card staff is thankfully rare but if someone feels that a lender has treated them differently due to a protected characteristic then they should complain.

 

Protected Characteristics include: -

• Age;
• National origin / race / colour;
• Sex / Sexuality / Identified gender;
• Religion / religious beliefs;
• Marital status / civil partnerships;
• Customers who identify under the LGBTQ or BAME community; or
• Disabled (although there are some other layers to this such as the Mental Capacity Act, Autism Act, Power of Attorney etc which may come into play).

 

It is important to understand that you cannot be held liable for complaining about illegal practices, provided the accusation was sincere then this holds even if your accusation is ultimately proven incorrect. If an application for a card is declined, you have 60 days to request a reason if you haven't received one already. They then have 30 days to explain why they refused the application. Then, by law, they are required to send you an "Adverse Action Notice", informing you of how to appeal the decision.

 

Right to credit without discrimination

The first credit right one can have is the ability to access it in the first place. Discrimination, unfortunately, has a long history of blocking equal access to all kinds of goods and services. Credit is no exception. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (enacted on Oct. 28, 1974) protects credit card applicants from discrimination based on race, colour, religion, national origin, sex, marital status or age.In addition to those protections, an applicant cannot be discriminated against for receiving public assistance or for exercising their rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. We will describe that law more later. For now, just know that you can’t be penalized for calling out illegal policies. That’s true even if your accusation was incorrect, provided the accusation was sincere.After receiving a credit application, an issuer has 30 days to respond. If your application is declined, you have 60 days to request a reason (if you didn’t receive one in the first place). The issuer then has 30 days to explain the reason they declined the application, and by law is required to either send you what’s known as an “Adverse Action Notice” telling you why or inform you that you are allowed to make the request. You also have the right to dispute the application decision after you receive the reason.

 

How we can help

Bank and building society staff are usually well trained in all such matters, however if you feel that you have a valid complaint then you can send then a letter of complaint, if you have progressed such an action already, or feel so aggrieved by the staff members actions then we would be delighted to receive your instructions. We have staff trained in the Equality Act 2010 and all its elements and can help you find the best solution.

Please note your caseworker is not legally trained and can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our trainee and qualified solicitors and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.