Free Credit Reports in English

Free Credit Reports in English

Country:

USA


Source:

Que? Credit reports available only in English

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Sunday, May 14, 2006
Copyright © 2006 AP Wire

© 1997-2006 American-Republican Inc.


Story:
Under Federal law consumers are entitled to a free credit report, but these are only available in English. Only one of the three major credit agencies can provide reports in Spanish if requested.

Facts:
- 20 million files are constantly being updated.
- No language provision exists in the relevant legislation.

Language Issues:
- Do we have a right to exercise our rights in our language (if applicable) or are rights independent of language?
- If there is a language right is this relative or absolute? For example, should all languages be treated equal or only those with a big enough population; compare Welsh or Catalan with Mandarin or Russian.
- Are we heading towards a global language? Do we need a global language?
- Can we really discriminate because of language? We can do something about our language skills, but not our race or colour of our skin.


Comments:
- What would be the business costs to introduce a multi language service for these free reports?
- Is this an opportunity to introduce some intelligent software for this service?
- Should the government pay for a multi language service?
- If reports are provided in different languages, which would be the legally binding report in a court of law?

Bottom-Line:
How big is the demand for credit reports in other languages?

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