Your Credit Rights Under the FCRA
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that regulates how credit bureaus use your information. Enacted in 1970 and substantially amended in the late 1990s and again in 2003, the FCRA restricts who has access to your personal consumer credit information and how that information can be used.
This legislation, like any other, is full of complicated provisions, the following is a summary in plain English about some of the credit rights extended to consumers by this act:
- Your credit report must be disclosed to you upon request - credit bureaus are under the legal obligation to give you the information in your credit file if you properly identify yourself and the rightful owner of the information and make a formal request.
- Restrict access to your credit files - credit bureaus must never provide your credit report to anyone that does not have a permissible purpose. Only verified third parties who have business intentions are allowed to request and obtain your information and bureaus must make certain your information is never released to anyone else.
- Credit bureaus must get your permission to release your information to an employer - You must give that employer written permission before they can request your credit report, the paperwork is exchanged between the employer and the credit bureau.
- Dispute erroneous information - if you detect inaccurate or erroneous information on your credit file with either one of the bureaus, you are allowed to dispute them. The credit bureau must by law investigate the disputed account within a reasonable amount of time, if the bureau is not able to verify the information is correct, then it must be removed.
- Outdated information must be deleted - In general, negative information that is more than 7 years old (10 years for bankruptcies) must be removed from your file, if still there, make a formal request to remove them.
- You can request to have your name removed from marketing lists - Creditors and insurers may share information in your credit file with marketers who send you unsolicited offers. To request that the three credit reporting bureaus stop sharing and selling your information with marketers, call 888-567-8688.
- You can get your credit report upon request - For a fee, you may get your credit score. In some mortgage transactions, you will get credit score information without charge. But you can get your credit report anytime you request it and once a year for free from each credit bureau.
- You can put credit freezes and active duty alerts - Identity theft victims may place fraud alerts, credit freezes and active duty military personnel serving away from their regular duty station may place "active duty" alerts to help keep their identities secure while away.
- Resolve the Effects of Identity Theft - If you are, or believe that you are, the victim of identity theft, you have specific rights under the FCRA. These rights will help you deal with the effects of identity theft.