Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) of 1970, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), establishes procedures for correcting mistakes on a person's credit record and requires that a consumer's record only be provided for legitimate business needs. It also requires that the record be kept confidential.

There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records.

A credit record may be retained seven years for judgments, liens, suits, and other adverse information except for bankruptcies, which may be retained ten years.

If a consumer has been denied credit, a cost free credit report may be requested within 30 days of denial.

Your Major Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

• You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment - or to take another adverse action against you - must tell you, and must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information.
• You have the right to know what is in your file. You may request and obtain all the information about you in the files of a consumer reporting agency (your "file disclosure"). You will be required to provide proper identification, which may include your Social Security number. In many cases, the disclosure will be free. You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:
  • A person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report
  • You are the victim of identify theft and place a fraud alert in your file
  • Your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud
  • You are on public assistance
  • You are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.
    
    In addition, by September 2005 all consumers will be entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months upon request from each nationwide credit bureau and from nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. See the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website at www.ftc.gov/credit for additional information.
• You have the right to ask for a credit score. Credit scores are numerical summaries of your credit-worthiness based on information from credit bureaus. You may request a credit score from consumer reporting agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential real property loans, but you will have to pay for it. In some mortgage transactions, you will receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.
• You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate, and report it to the consumer reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See www.ftc.gov/credit for an explanation of dispute procedures.
• Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. Inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency may continue to report information it has verified as accurate.
• Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
• Access to your file is limited. A consumer reporting agency may provide information about you only to people with a valid need - usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need for access.
• You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers. A consumer reporting agency may not give out information about you to your employer, or a potential employer, without your written consent given to the employer. Written consent generally is not required in the trucking industry. (The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) prohibits consumer reporting agencies from providing consumer reports that contain medical information for employment purposes, or in connection with credit or insurance transactions, without the specific prior consent of the consumer who is the subject of the report. In the case of medical information being sought for employment purposes, the consumer must explicitly consent to the release of the medical information in addition to authorizing the obtaining of a consumer report generally). For more information, go to www.ftc.gov/credit.
• You may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report. Unsolicited "prescreened" offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on. You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).
• You may seek damages from violators. If a consumer reporting agency, or, in some cases, a user of consumer reports or a furnisher of information to a consumer reporting agency violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.
• Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights. For more information, visit www.ftc.gov/credit

States may enforce the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and many states have their own consumer reporting laws. In some cases, you may have more rights under state law. For more information, contact your state or local consumer protection agency or your state Attorney General. Federal enforcers are:

Type of Business

Report Violations of the Law

Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can not act as your lawyer in private disputes, information about your experiences and concerns is vital to the enforcement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Send your questions or complaints to:

• Consumer Response Center - FCRA
  Federal Trade Commission
  Washington, D.C. 20580

For more information on federal credit regulations and consumer rights go to www.ftc.gov or www.federalreserve.gov
Some state laws may provide you with additional rights. For information go to the website of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) at www.naag.org.

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