| Para informacion en espanol, visite www.ftc.gov/credit o
escribe a la FTC Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A 600 Pennsylvania
Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. |
A
Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act |
| The
federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness,
and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies.
There are many 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). Here is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For
more information, including information about additional rights, go to www.ftc.gov/credit or
write to: Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission,
600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. |
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You must be told if information in your file has been
used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another
type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or
employment - or to take another adverse action against you - 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 the files of a consumer
reporting agency (your "file disclosure"). You will be required to provide
proper identification, which may include your Social Security number. In
many cases, the disclosure will be free. You are entitled to a free file
disclosure if: |
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a person has taken adverse action against you because of
information in your credit report; |
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you are the victim of identify theft and place a fraud alert
in your file; |
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your file contains inaccurate information as a result of
fraud; |
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you are on public assistance; |
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you are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within
60 days. |
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In addition, by September 2005 all consumers will be
entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months upon request from each
nationwide credit bureau and from nationwide specialty consumer reporting
agencies. See www.ftc.gov/credit for additional information. |
| • |
You have the right to ask for a 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. If you identify information in your file that is
incomplete or inaccurate, and report it to the consumer reporting agency,
the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See www.ftc.gov/credit for an
explanation of dispute procedures. |
| • |
Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete
inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. Inaccurate,
incomplete or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected,
usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency may continue
to report information it has verified as accurate. |
| • |
Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated
negative information. In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may
not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or
bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
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Access to your file is limited. A consumer reporting
agency 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. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need
for access. |
| • |
You must give your consent for reports to be provided to
employers. A consumer reporting agency may not give out information
about you to your employer, or a potential employer, without your written
consent given to the employer. Written consent generally is not required
in the trucking industry. For more information, go to http://www.ftc.gov/credit |
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You may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and
insurance you get based on information in your credit report.
Unsolicited "prescreened" offers for credit and insurance must include
a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name
and address 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). |
| • |
You may seek damages from violators. If a consumer
reporting agency, or, in some cases, a user of consumer reports or a
furnisher of information to a consumer reporting agency 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. For more information, visit www.ftc.gov/credit. |
| 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, contact your state or local consumer
protection agency or your state Attorney General. Federal enforcers
are: |