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CONSUMERS...
- Credit Reports are your lifeline to financial mobility.
- See that your information is kept Private and Accurate!
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Has your credit report been accessed without your authorization?
FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT (FCRA)
The FCRA is federal law which controls how your credit history is kept, used and shared with lenders, employers, insurance companies and others. This law is designed to promote accuracy and ensure the privacy of information used in credit reports. If a Credit Reporting Agency (CRA), a user of the data, or in some cases a furnisher of the CRA data, violates the federal law's requirements, you may sue the individual or entity in state or federal court. The FCRA also requires the entity to pay your attorney fees in any successful case.
Credit reports are detailed profiles of your financial information.
Credit reports contain the following information:
- Name, Address, Phone, Social Security Number
- Employers: Past and present, as well as positions held
- Credit Accounts: Creditors, account number, balance, monthly payment & history
- Public Record Reports: Mortgages, judgments, lawsuits and bankruptcies
- Name of all firms that obtained a copy of your credit report in the past 2 years
(Shown on the last page of the report.)
Your Financial information is private and should not be released without your authorization.
Under the law, a CRA can give information to businesses to whom you have applied for credit, insurance, employment or housing. You generally must give your consent to have the information released. Yet, others sometimes access a consumer's report unlawfully, including insurance claims adjusters, business competitors or ex-spouses. Accessing a consumer's report without a legally permissible purpose, under false pretenses, is a criminal offense and entitles the consumer to sue for potentially substantial money damages, including attorney fees.
Request a copy of your credit report at least once a year.
Upon request, a CRA will send your complete file and a list of who has requested your information. Make certain that it is accurate! If information in the report has caused you to be denied credit within 60 days of your request, or have been the victim of credit fraud, there is no charge for the report. Otherwise there is a small charge for the report. Click here to view a sample request letter.
Negative information can lower your credit score and ability to get credit.
Lenders determine interest rates and financing terms for you based largely on your credit report and credit score. If there is incorrect or inaccurate information on your report, see that it is corrected or removed. As well, if another person's data is included in your credit report - called a mismerged file - this information must be removed. Negative information that is more than seven years old must be removed by a CRA. Bankruptcies can be reported for 10 years.
Dispute the accuracy of an item on your report.
WRITE to the CRA and the bank or firm who furnished the information with a "Request to Reinvestigate." Inaccurate or unverified information must be removed or corrected. Once disputed, this usually takes about 30 days. Write the creditor also. Once notified, the creditor may not report the negative information to the CRA without noting the disputed status. If a creditor confirms inaccurate information to a CRA, you may have the basis for a lawsuit.
TO DISPUTE:
- Communicate in writing
- Keep copies of all letters that you send or receive
- Send letters via Certified Mail, return receipt requested
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