A credit report is a collection of information on you: where you live, who you work for, what bills you have and whether you pay them on time, and whether you've been sued or filed for bankruptcy. Sometimes your report may even show information on criminal charges or convictions. Nationwide credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - not only collect and store information on you, they sell it to others. Lenders, employers, insurers and others may use it to evaluate your applications for credit, employment, insurance or when applying to rent a place to live. A credit report can affect many aspects of your adult life - whether you get the job you're applying for, where you live, your interest rate on credit cards, and whether you can even get a credit card.
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The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is intended to ensure that the information in the files of reporting agencies is accurate, fair, and kept private. The FCRA, along with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, can protect you against strong-arm tactics used by debt collectors.
Some of the protections in the FCRA are:
* You need to be notified if any information in your credit report has been used by anyone in a negative way. Anybody using your report to turn down your credit application, an application for employment or insurance, or taking any negative action against you, must inform you and give you the contact information for the agency that provided them with the information they relied on.
* You have the right to be informed. You have the right to receive a free copy of your report if anyone has taken negative action against you based on your credit report; if you're an identity theft victim and insert a fraud alert in your credit file; if there is inaccurate information in your report due to fraud; you receive public assistance; or if you are without a job and expect to apply for work in the next 60 days.
* Every adult is entitled to obtain a copy of his or her credit report, without charge, once a year from each of the three major credit agencies. You can order your annual report, at no charge, online at annualcreditreport.com, or call 1-877-322-8228 for instructions on how to receive your free credit report by mail.
* You have the right to challenge information that is incomplete or inaccurate. If you find that your report is incomplete or inaccurate, and report it to the credit reporting agency, they must investigate all serious claims.
* Credit reporting agencies have to correct or remove information that is not accurate, complete, or that cannot be verified, usually within 30 days. They can, however, continue to report information once they have verified it as accurate.
* Credit reporting agencies can't report negative information that is outdated. Usually, the agency can't report negative information that is older than seven years or bankruptcies that happened more than 10 years ago.
These are just a few of the protections provided in the FCRA. Victims of identity theft and servicemembers on active military duty have extra rights that they are entitled to under separate federal legislation. Many states have their own laws to protect consumers, and you might have additional rights under the laws of your state. If you feel you have been the victim of illegal or deceptive reporting practices, you can contact your state's agency for consumer protection, your state's attorney general or a fair credit lawyer.
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