Credit Report Laws

The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is one of the strongest consumer protection laws in America.  The FCRA regulates credit bureaus such as Equifax, TransUnion and Experion (known as Consumer Reporting Agencies or "CRAs"), and it also regulates how the information received from them may e used, and who may use it.

The FCRA is designed to help make background reports for credit, employment, housing and insurance as accurate as possible, and when they do contain inaccurate information, the FCRA ensures there is a standard process to correct inaccuracies.

Although Equifax, TransUnion and Experion are the most common Consumer Reporting Agencies, there are many other types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies, such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records.

Rights Under The Fair Credit Reporting Act ("Fcra")

The summary of your major rights under the FCRA:

• No person or company may obtain your consumer report (credit report) without your written authorization.
  
• If a person or company is making a decision about you regarding extending credit, making an employment offer, providing insurance or providing you housing (rent), their background check information MUST be obtained from a Consumer Reporting Agency, and they must inform you of the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided your credit report information or consumer report that led to denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment.
  
• You are entitled to a free disclosure of your consumer report and credit report information from all Consumer Reporting Agencies.
  
• You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:
  • You are adversely affected by the action taken against you on account of the misinformation in your credit report.
    
  • You are the victim of identify theft and a fraud alert is added in your file.
    
  • Your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud.
    
  • You are on public assistance.
    
  • You are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.

All consumers are entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months upon request from each nationwide credit bureau and specialty consumer reporting agencies.

• You have the right to ask for your credit score:
  • Credit scores are numerical summaries of your credit-worthiness based on information from credit bureaus.
  • You may request a credit score from consumer reporting agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential real property loans, but you will have to pay for it.
  • In some mortgage transactions, you will receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.

• You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information on your credit report. If you identify incomplete or inaccurate information on your credit score, report it to the consumer reporting agency for it to investigate to correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information within 30 days continue to report accurate information.
  
• Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
  
• The FCRA specifies that only those with a valid need for access to a consumer report or credit report may access it - a valid need is to make a determination about granting credit, employment, insurance or housing (landlord).
  
• A consumer reporting agency may not give out information about you to your employer, or a potential employer, unless you give a written consent to the employer.
  
• Unsolicited "prescreened" offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number to opt out from the lists these offers are based on. You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688)
  
• If a consumer reporting agency, user of consumer reports, or the informant to a consumer reporting agency violates the FCRA, you may file a lawsuit in a state or a federal court.
  
• Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights.

The FCRA provides consumers with many rights.  If you believe you have been treated unfairly because of errors in your consumer report or credit report, call the credit report attorneys at the Byrne Law Group.  Attorney John Byrne has years of experience in Fair Credit Reporting Act law, including representing one of the largest consumer reporting agencies in the U.S.  Contact him at 813-413-6565 today for a FREE consultation.  Many times the Byrne Law Group will represent consumers on a contingency fee basis - which means you won’t need to pay any attorneys fees upfront!  Call today to learn more!