The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), such as the nationwide credit bureaus. Below is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For the complete federal text and more information, visit www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore.
- You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report to take adverse action against you — such as denying an application for credit, insurance, or employment — must tell you, and must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information.
- You have the right to know what is in your file. You may request and obtain all the information about you in a CRA’s files (your “file disclosure”). You are entitled to a free file disclosure if adverse action was taken because of your report, if you are the victim of identity theft, if your file contains inaccurate information due to fraud, if you are on public assistance, or if you are unemployed and expect to apply for employment within 60 days. All consumers are also entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months from each nationwide credit bureau — visit annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.
- You have the right to ask for a credit score. Credit scores are numerical summaries of your creditworthiness based on information from the credit bureaus. You may request a score from CRAs that create or distribute scores; in some cases a fee may apply.
- You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate and report it to the CRA, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous.
- CRAs must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information — usually within 30 days.
- CRAs may not report outdated negative information. In most cases, a CRA may not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies more than ten years old.
- Access to your file is limited. A CRA may provide information about you only to people with a valid need — usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business.
- You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers. A CRA may not give out information about you to your employer, or a potential employer, without your written consent.
- You may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in your credit report. Call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) to opt out.
- You have the right to place a security freeze or fraud alert on your credit file, free of charge. A freeze prevents new credit from being opened in your name without your authorization.
- You may seek damages from violators. If a CRA, a user of consumer reports, or in some cases a furnisher of information violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.
- Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have additional rights.
States may enforce the FCRA, and many states have their own consumer reporting laws — in some cases you may have more rights under state law. For more information or to submit a complaint, contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street N.W., Washington, DC 20552, or visit consumerfinance.gov.
This summary is provided by S.O.S. Loans, Inc. (NMLS ID: 2222125) in connection with applications that involve a consumer credit report.