 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Summary of Rights Under the
FCRA
|
| |
| 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 Commissions web
site (http://www.ftc.gov). The FCRA gives you specific rights, as
outlined below. You may have additional rights under the state law.
You may contact a state or local consumer protection agency or a state
attorney general to learn those rights. |
| |
| 1. 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. |
| |
| 2. 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 are also 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. |
| |
| 3. 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 CRAs 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 dispute statement is filed,
you may ask that anyone who has recently received your report be notified
of the change. |
| |
| 4. 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. |
| |
5. You can dispute inaccurate items with the source of the information.
If you tell anyone such as a creditor who reports to the 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.
|
| |
| 6. 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. |
| |
| 7. 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. |
| |
| 8. 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. |
| |
| 9. 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. |
| |
| 10. 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: |
| |
| CRAs, creditors and others not listed
below, please contact: |
Federal Trade Commission
Bureau of Consumer Protection-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 Controller of the
Currency, Compliance Management, Mail Stop 6-6, Washington,
DC 20219
(800) 613-6743 |
| |
|
Federal Reserve System member banks
(except national banks Federal Reserve Board
and federal branches/agencies of foreign banks).
|
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 institutions name). |
Office of Thrift Supervision
Consumer Programs
Washington, DC 20552
(800) 842-6929 |
| |
|
Federal credit unions (words "Federal
Credit Union" appear in National Credit Union Administration
institutions name).
|
1775 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 518-6360 |
| |
|
| 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 of 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 |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
 |