Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) of 1970 tells how credit reporting companies are to process and maintain your credit information. The FCRA also dictates that credit reporting companies and information suppliers (companies and individuals that supply your credit information to credit reporting companies) make sure that your information is accurate and up-to-date and remains private. The Act also allows you to access, correct, and dispute information in your credit report and gives you limited remedies when your rights are violated by a credit reporting company or information supplier.
The FCRA states that credit reporting companies must share certain information about you that they have in their files; tell you your credit score; investigate information you dispute; fix or remove inaccurate, outdated, or incomplete information from your file within one month of you notifying them of the inaccuracy; stop reporting credit information that is seven to ten years old; only share your information with companies, such as creditors and employers, that require your information for valid reasons; and not share your information with employers unless you okay it. Similarly, the FCRA requires information suppliers to not give credit reporting companies inaccurate information; inform you of any negative credit information about you they give to credit reporting companies; inform credit reporting companies when you choose to close your account with them (i.e. the information suppliers); have a reasonable response measure when credit reporting companies inform them of identity theft; and not give credit reporting companies any information that originated from identity theft.
Moreover, the FCRA disallows information suppliers from continuing to give information, which is disputed in writing, to credit reporting companies until the information suppliers look into the dispute. The Act also directs information suppliers to inform credit reporting companies of the dispute.
The FCRA is not limited to only credit reporting companies and information suppliers; creditors, insurers, or employers who have your credit information also must abide by the Act. Thus, it requires them to inform you whether they turn you down because of certain information in your credit report and to tell you who gave them the information.
If your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act are being ignored or violated, you may have legal remedies available. If you have questions about America’s credit and related laws, talk to a lawyer. For more information and to have your questions answered, contact Nashville Attorney Perry A. Craft.
Perry A. Craft has dedicated his life to helping people in need. He has tried, settled, or resolved numerous civil and criminal cases in State and Federal courts, and has represented teachers and administrators before school boards, administrative judges, and the state Board of Education. Learn more about Attorney Craft.