Do It Yourself Credit Repair
...Through the
Fair Credit Reporting Act
If you've ever applied for
a charge account, a personal loan,
insurance, or a job, there's
a file about you. This file
contains information on where
you work and live, how you
pay your bills, and whether
you've been sued, arrested, or
filed for bankruptcy.
Companies that gather and sell
this information are called
Consumer Reporting Agencies
(CRAs). The most common
type of CRA is the credit
bureau. The information CRAs sell
about you to creditors, employers,
insurers, and other
businesses is called a consumer
report.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA), enforced by the
Federal Trade Commission,
is designed to promote
accuracy and ensure the privacy
of the information used in
consumer reports. Recent amendments
to the Act expand
your rights and place additional
requirements on CRAs.
Businesses that supply information
about you to CRAs and
those that use consumer reports
also have new
responsibilities under the
law.
Here are some questions consumers
commonly ask about
consumer reports and CRAs-and
the answers. Note that you
may have additional rights
under state laws. Contact your
state Attorney General or
local consumer protection agency
for more information.
Q.
How do I find the CRA that has my
report?
A.
Contact the CRAs listed in the Yellow Pages under
"credit" or "credit rating
and reporting." Because more than
one CRA may have a file on
you, call each until you locate
all the agencies maintaining
your file. The three major
national credit bureaus are:
Equifax
P.O. Box 740241,
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
(800) 685-1111.
Experian (formerly
TRW),
P.O. Box 949,
Allen, TX 75013
(800) 682-7654.
Trans Union,
760 West Sproul
Road,
P.O. Box 390,
Springfield,
PA 19064-0390
(800) 916-8800.
In addition, anyone who takes
action against you in
response to a report supplied
by a CRA-such as denying
your application for credit,
insurance, or employment-must
give you the name, address,
and telephone number of the
CRA that provided the report.
Q.
Do I have a right to know what's in
my report?
A.
Yes, if you ask for it. The CRA must tell you everything in
your report, including medical
information, and in most
cases, the sources of the
information. The CRA also must
give you a list of everyone
who has requested your report
within the past year-two years
for employment related
requests.
Q.
Is there a charge for my report?
A.
Sometimes. There's no charge if a company takes
adverse action against you,
such as denying your
application for credit, insurance
or employment, and you
request your report within
30 days of receiving the notice of
the action.
The notice will give you the
name, address, and phone
number of the CRA. In addition,
you're entitled to one free
report a year if you can prove
that
(1) you're unemployed
and plan to look for a job within
60 days,
(2) you're on
welfare, or
(3) your report
is inaccurate because of fraud.
Otherwise, a
CRA may charge you up to $8 for a copy of
your report.
Q.
What can I do about inaccurate or incomplete
information?
A.
Under the new law, both the CRA and the information
provider have responsibilities
for correcting inaccurate or
incomplete information in
your report. To protect all your
rights under this law, contact
both the CRA and the
information provider.
First, tell the CRA in writing
what information you believe is
inaccurate. CRAs must reinvestigate
the items in
question-usually within 30
days- unless they consider your
dispute frivolous. They also
must forward all relevant data
you provide about the dispute
to the information provider.
After the information provider
receives notice of a dispute
from the CRA, it must investigate,
review all relevant
information provided by the
CRA, and report the results to
the CRA. If the information
provider finds the disputed
information to be inaccurate,
it must notify all nationwide
CRAs so that they can correct
this information in your file.
When the reinvestigation is
complete, the CRA must give
you the written results and
a free copy of your report if the
dispute results in a change.
If an item is changed or
removed, the CRA cannot put
the disputed information back
in your file unless the information
provider verifies its
accuracy and completeness,
and the CRA gives you a
written notice that includes
the name, address, and phone
number of the provider.
Second, tell the creditor or
other information provider in
writing that you dispute an
item. Many providers specify an
address for disputes. If the
provider then reports the item to
any CRA, it must include a
notice of your dispute. In
addition, if you are correct-that
is, if the information is
inaccurate-the information
provider may not use it again.
Q.
What can I do if the CRA or information provider won't
correct the information I
dispute?
A.
A reinvestigation may not resolve your dispute with the
CRA. If that's the case, ask
the CRA to include your
statement of the dispute in
your file and in future reports. If
you request, the CRA also
will provide your statement to
anyone who received a copy
of the old report in the recent
past. There usually is a fee
for this service.
If you tell the information
provider that you dispute an item,
a notice of your dispute must
be included anytime the
information provider reports
the item to a CRA.
Q.
Can my employer get my report?
A.
Only if you say it is okay. A CRA may not supply
information about you to your
employer, or to a prospective
employer, without your written
consent.
Q.
Can creditors, employers, or insurers get a report that
contains medical information
about me?
A.
Not without your approval.
Q.
What should I know about "investigative consumer
reports"?
A.
"Investigative consumer reports" are detailed reports
that involve interviews with
your neighbors or
acquaintances about your lifestyle,
character, and
reputation. They may be used
in connection with insurance
and employment applications.
You'll be notified in writing
when a company orders such
a report. The notice will
explain your right to request
certain information about the
report from the company you
applied to. If your application
is rejected, you may get additional
information from the
CRA. However, the CRA does
not have to reveal the
sources of the information.
Q.
How long can a CRA report negative
information?
A.
Seven years. There are certain exceptions:
Bankruptcy information
may be reported for 10 years.
Information reported
in response to an application for a
job with a salary
of more than $75,000 has no time limit.
Information reported
because of an application for more
than $150,000
worth of credit or life insurance has no
time limit.
Information about
a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment
against you can
be reported for seven years or until the
statute of limitations
runs out, whichever is longer.
Q.
Can anyone get a copy of my report?
A.
No. Only people with a legitimate business need, as
recognized by the FCRA. For
example, a company is allowed
to get your report if you
apply for credit, insurance,
employment, or to rent an
apartment.
Q.
How can I stop a CRA from including me on lists for
unsolicited credit and insurance
offers?
A.
Creditors and insurers may use CRA file information as a
basis for sending you unsolicited
offers. These offers must
include a toll-free number
for you to call if you want to
remove your name and address
from lists for two years;
completing a form that the
CRA provides for this purpose
will keep your name off the
lists permanently.
Q.
Do I have the right to sue for
damages?
A.
You may sue a CRA, a user or-in some cases-a provider
of CRA data, in state or federal
court for most violations of
the FCRA. If you win, the
defendant will have to pay
damages and reimburse you
for attorney fees to the extent
ordered by the court.
Q.
Are there other laws I should know
about?
A.
Yes. If your credit application was denied, the Equal
Credit Opportunity Act requires
creditors to specify why-if
you ask. For example, the
creditor must tell you whether you
were denied because you have
"no credit file" with a CRA or
because the CRA says you have
"delinquent obligations."
The ECOA also requires creditors
to consider additional
information you might supply
about your credit history. You
may want to find out why the
creditor denied your
application before you contact
the CRA.
Q.
Where should I report violations of
the law?
A.
Although the FTC can't 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.
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