Your Credit Rights

Your access to credit and how you use credit goes beyond shopping. Whether your credit is good or poor can affect where you live and possibly, where you work, when used by your employer. Therefore, it is important to understand how credit is extended or denied and what your choices are when you are treated unfairly. For this reason, laws have been passed to protect your credit rights.

What law ensures accurate information on my credit report?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) exists to promote the accuracy and privacy of information in consumer credit reports. It requires credit reporting agencies to maintain correct and complete files.

You have the right to review your credit report and correct improper information. This is essentially the FCRA, which controls the use of credit reports, promotes accuracy, fairness, and privacy of your credit information.

Issuing a Credit Report.

Credit reporting agencies (CRAs) are institutions that compile and issue credit reports. They are required to help you understand your credit report. They are issued only to those with a legitimate business need, which includes creditors, employers, insurers, and government agencies.

Errors on Your Credit Report.

If there is an error on your credit report, notify the CRA in writing, immeditaely! They are responsible for investigating and changing or removing inaccurate information. Next, they MUST notify the other CRAs of the error. If you are not satisfied with the correction, you have the right to add a brief statement about the dispute.

Denying Credit.

If your credit application is denied because of information on your credit report, the lender MUST provide the name, address, and phone number of the credit bureau that issued the credit report. From that point, you have 60 days to request a free credit report from that CRA. It must contain all the information in the credit report, its source, and who has recently received the credit report.

Notificaton.

CRAs MUST give you access to the information in your credit report. This includes identifying any who have requested it. There is no charge for getting your credit report if you have been denied credit.

Restricted Access

You can exclude your name and address from CRA lists used by creditors and insurers who use your information for marketing and advertising purposes. Phone requests are good for two years. To be permanently excluded, you MUST complete a form available from each CRA.

Right to Sue

You have the right to sue credit reporting agencies, users, and providers in state and Federal court for violation of this law (FCRA).