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). Most CRAs are credit bureaus that gather and sell
information about you – such as if you pay your bills on time
or have filed bankruptcy – the creditors, employers, landlords,
and other businesses. 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 is 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.
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. It
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.
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 * 703-518-6360
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 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
