A Summary of Your Rights Under the
Fair Credit Reporting Act
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is
designed to promote accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information
in the files of every "consumer reporting agency" (CRA). You can
find the complete text of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681-1681u, at the
Federal Trade Commission's web site (http://www.ftc.gov). The FCRA
gives you specific rights, as outlined below. You may have
additional rights under state law. You may contact a state or local
consumer protection agency or a state attorney general to learn
those rights.
- You must be told if information in your file has been used
against you.
Anyone who uses information from a CRA to take
action against you -- such as denying an application for credit,
insurance, or employment -- must tell you, and give you the name,
address, and phone number of the CRA that provided the consumer
report.
- You can find out what is in your file.
At your request, a
CRA must give you the information in your file, and a list of
everyone who has requested it recently. There is no charge for the
report if a person has taken action against you because of
information supplied by the CRA, if you request the report within
60 days of receiving notice of the action. You also are entitled
to one free report every twelve months upon request if you certify
that (1) you are unemployed and plan to seek employment within 60
days, (2) you are on welfare, or (3) your report is inaccurate due
to fraud. Otherwise, a CRA may charge you up to eight dollars and
fifty cents ($8.50). click here for: Producer
Report Request Form
- You can dispute inaccurate information with the CRA.
If
you tell a CRA that your file contains inaccurate information, the
CRA must investigate the items (usually within 30 days) by
presenting to its information source all relevant evidence you
submit, unless your dispute is frivolous. The source must review
your evidence and report its findings to the CRA. (The source also
must advise national CRAs -- to which it has provided the data --
of any error.) The CRA must give you a written report of the
investigation, and a copy of your report if the investigation
results in any change. If the CRA's investigation does not resolve
the dispute, you may add a brief statement to your file. The CRA
must normally include a summary of your statement in future
reports. If an item is deleted or a dispute statement is filed,
you may ask that anyone who has recently received your report be
notified of the change. click here for: Dispute
Notification Form
- Inaccurate information must be corrected or deleted.
A CRA
must remove or correct inaccurate or unverified information from
its files, usually within 30 days after you dispute it.
However, the CRA is not required to remove accurate data from
your file unless it is outdated (as described below) or cannot be
verified. If your dispute results in any change to your
report, the CRA cannot reinsert into your file a disputed item
unless the information source verifies its accuracy and
completeness. In addition, the CRA must give you a written notice
telling you it has reinserted the item. The notice must include
the name, address and phone number of the information source.
- You can dispute inaccurate items with the source of the
information.
If you tell anyone -- such as a creditor who
reports to a CRA -- that you dispute an item, they may not then
report the information to a CRA without including a notice of your
dispute. In addition, once you've notified the source of the error
in writing, it may not continue to report the information if it
is, in fact, an error.
- Outdated information may not be reported.
In most cases, a
CRA may not report negative information that is more than seven
years old; ten years for bankruptcies.
- Access to your file is limited.
A CRA may provide
information about you only to people with a need recognized by the
FCRA -- usually to consider an application with a creditor,
insurer, employer, landlord, or other business.
- Your consent is required for reports that are provided to
employers, or reports that contain medical information.
A CRA
may not give out information about you to your employer, or
prospective employer, without your written consent. A CRA may not
report medical information about you to creditors, insurers, or
employers without your permission.
- You may choose to exclude your name from CRA lists for
unsolicited credit and insurance offers.
Creditors and
insurers may use file information as the basis for sending you
unsolicited offers of credit or insurance. Such offers must
include a toll-free phone number for you to call if you want your
name and address removed from future lists. If you call, you must
be kept off the lists for two years. If you request, complete, and
return the CRA form provided for this purpose, you must be taken
off the lists indefinitely.
- You may seek damages from violators.
If a CRA, a user or
(in some cases) a provider of CRA data, violates the FCRA, you may
sue them in state or federal court.
The FCRA gives several different federal agencies authority to
enforce the FCRA:
FOR QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS REGARDING: |
PLEASE CONTACT: |
CRAs, creditors and others not listed below |
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center –
FCRA Washington, DC 20580
202-326-3761 |
National banks, federal branches/agencies of foreign banks
(word "National" or initials "N.A." appear in or after bank’s
name) |
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Compliance
Management, Mail Stop 6-6 Washington, DC 20219
800-613-6743 |
Federal Reserve System member banks (except national banks,
and federal branches/agencies of foreign banks) |
Federal Reserve Board Division of Consumer &
Community Affairs Washington, DC 20551
202-452-3693 |
Savings associations and federally chartered savings banks
(word "Federal" or initials "F.S.B." appear in federal
institution’s name) |
Office of Thrift Supervision Consumer
Programs Washington, DC 20552
800-842-6929 |
Federal credit unions (words "Federal Credit Union" appear
in institution’s name) |
National Credit Union Administration 1775 Duke
Street Alexandria, VA 22314
703-513-6360 |
State-chartered banks that are not members of the Federal
Reserve System |
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Division of
Compliance & Consumer Affairs Washington, DC 20429
800-934-FDIC |
Air, surface, or rail common carriers regulated by former
Civil Aeronautics Board or Interstate Commerce
Commission |
Department of Transportation Office of Financial
Management Washington, DC 20590
202-366-1306 |
Activities subject to the Packers and Stockyards Act,
1921 |
Department of Agriculture Office of Deputy Administrator
– GIPSA Washington, DC 20250
202-720-7051 | |