The Consumer Credit Protection Act was created in 1968 to help guarantee American consumers fair and honest credit practices. This federal legislation standardized practices to ensure that lenders throughout the country followed the same sets of regulations.

 
As banking and credit reporting evolved, additional laws were developed and put into place under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Although each has a special niche among the financial guidelines, they share a common trait. They were put in place to protect consumers.
 
Now the CCPA is an overarching law that contains several acts with more precise scopes. Among these specific laws are the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.

The Fair Credit Billing Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1974 as an amendment to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). Its purpose is to protect consumers from unfair billing practices and to provide a mechanism for addressing billing errors in “open end” credit accounts, such as credit card or charge card accounts.

The Fair & Accurate Credit Transactions Act is an amendment to the FCRA that allows for consumers to obtain a free credit report from each of the three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) once every 12 months. The act also contains provisions to help reduce identity theft, such as the ability for individuals to place alerts on their credit histories if identity theft is suspected, or if deploying overseas in the military, thereby making fraudulent applications for credit more difficult. Further, it requires secure disposal of consumer information.

A short-term loan in which the borrower’s car title is used as collateral. The borrower must be the lien holder (i.e. own the car outright). Loans are usually for less than 30 days. If the loan is not repaid, the lender can take ownership of the car and sell it to recoup the loan amount.

These loans are also known as “auto title loans” or just “title loans”.

A regulatory agency charged with overseeing financial products and services that are offered to consumers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is divided into several units, including: research, community affairs, consumer complaints, the Office of Fair Lending and the Office of Financial Opportunity. These units work together to protect and educate consumers about the various types of financial products and services that are available.

A mortgage loan program established by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans and their families obtain home financing. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not directly originate VA loans; instead, they establish the rules for those who may qualify, dictate the terms of the mortgages offered and insure VA loans against default.

A mortgage issued by federally qualified lenders and insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). FHA loans are designed for low to moderate income borrowers who are unable to make a large down payment. FHA loans allow the borrower to borrow up to 97% of the value of the home. The 3% down payment requirement can come from a gift or a grant, which makes FHA loans popular with first-time buyers.

Just as it sounds, short sale is selling real estate property short of the loan balance. Short sale is an alternative to foreclosure. Once a foreclosure judgement has been made, the homeowner no longer has options. But if he falls on hard times and contacts the lender before the foreclosure is complete, he and the lender can agree to sell the property short of the loan amount owed and part company.

The law’s purpose is to: eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection, and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information’s accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.