Credit Repair and The Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (known as FCRA) goes back to 1970 as an amendment to the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The FCRA provides consumer protection in the areas of fairness, accuracy, and privacy of the information collected by the credit bureaus. It also governs the credit repair and maintenance processes, verifying that the information in your credit report is correct.

Federal consumer rights under the FCRA include:

• Access to your credit report. You have the right to know what is in your credit file. The FCRA requires Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax to provide you with a free copy of each report once per year. You are also entitled to receive a free copy of your report if:
  
  
  • A potential lender views it
  • You are the victim of identity theft and/or want to place a fraud alert in your credit file
  • You request public assistance
  • You are unemployed and plan to apply for a new job within 60 days

• Access to your credit score. Your credit score provides potential creditors with a numerical indication of how likely you are to repay borrowed money. Based upon information found within your credit report, this number helps lenders, insurance companies, and other businesses decide whether or not to do business with you. The credit bureaus are required to provide your credit score if you request it, however it may come with a small fee attached.

• Notification when your credit information is used against you. If your application for insurance coverage, auto loan, mortgage, or other type of credit is denied, the lender must inform you of the decision. They must also provide the contact information of the credit bureau that gave them access to your report.

• The right to dispute information on your credit report. Incomplete or false information can drag your credit score down. In addition to viewing your credit report, the FCRA allows you to trigger an investigation with the credit bureaus if you spot an error. Once the information is verified as false or inaccurate, it must be deleted or corrected within 30 days. Keep in mind that our service demands that creditors and bureaus uphold two additional reporting standards pursuant to other applicable laws -fairness and substantiation - in addition to simple accuracy.

• The right to delete outdated information. Negative citations such as collections and bankruptcies can remain on your credit report for a maximum of 7 to 10 years. After this time period has passed, the credit bureaus must remove them from your report. Remember, though, that there is no minimum reporting period, so creditors or credit bureaus can remove information even earlier if they choose to do so.

• The right to decide who views your credit report. No one can view your credit report without your permission. The FCRA requires lenders, landlords, employers, and other interested parties to obtain consent before viewing your credit report.

• The right to opt out of unsolicited offers. If you're tired of receiving pre-approved credit applications and insurance coverage offers, you have legal recourse. Businesses that send these offers must include a toll-free number that allows you to remove your name from their solicitation list.

• The right to legal action. Your credit report is valuable, and the FCRA prevents outsiders from misusing it. For more information, contact a credit repair professional, or visit the Federal Trade Commission website:www.ftc.gov/credit.

We are not experts on the FCRA. The FCRA is a broad and detailed legislation with many areas. FCRA compliance and the details and requirements of the enforcement actions of the government regulators that handle FCRA are outside the scope of our knowledge.