Subdivision 1. Requirement. Before the execution of a contract or agreement between the buyer and a credit services organization or before the receipt by the credit services organization of any money or other valuable consideration, whichever occurs first, the credit services organization shall provide the buyer with a statement in writing containing all of the information required by subdivision 2. The credit services organization shall maintain on file for a period of two years an exact copy of the statement, personally signed by the buyer, acknowledging receipt of a copy of the statement.

Subd. 2. Contents. The disclosure statement required under subdivision 1 must be printed in boldface and in at least 10-point type and must include the following statement:

"CONSUMER CREDIT FILE RIGHTS UNDER MINNESOTA AND FEDERAL LAW

You have a right to obtain a copy of your credit report from a credit bureau. You may be charged a reasonable fee. There is no fee, however, if you have been turned down for credit, employment, insurance, or a rental dwelling because of information in your credit report within the preceding 30 days. The credit bureau must provide someone to help you interpret the information in your credit file.

You have a right to dispute inaccurate information by contacting the credit bureau directly. However, neither you nor any "credit repair" company or credit services organization has the right to have accurate, current, and verifiable information removed from your credit bureau report. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, the credit bureau must remove accurate, negative information from your report only if it is over seven years old. Bankruptcy can be reported for ten years.

You have a right to sue a credit repair company that violates Minnesota's Credit Services Organization Act. This law prohibits deceptive practices by credit repair companies and gives you a right to cancel your contract for any reason within five working days from the date you signed it.

Credit bureaus are required to follow reasonable procedures to ensure that creditors report information accurately. However, mistakes may occur.

You may, on your own, notify a credit bureau in writing that you dispute the accuracy of information in your credit file. The credit bureau must then reinvestigate and modify or remove inaccurate information. The credit bureau may not charge any fee for this service. Any pertinent information and copies of any documents you have concerning an error should be given to the credit bureau.

If reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute to your satisfaction, you may send a brief statement to the credit bureau to keep in your file, explaining why you think the record is inaccurate. The credit bureau must include your statement about disputed information with any reports it issues about you."

History: 1991 c 314 s 6