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, DC 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, DC 20580.
- You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type ofconsumer 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
- You have the right to know what is in your file. You mayrequest 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:
- A person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report;
- You are the victim of identify theft and place a fraud alert 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
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 arenumerical 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
- You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify information in your file that is incompleteor inaccurate and report it to the consumer reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See 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 agencymay not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years
- Access to your file is limited. A consumer reporting agency mayprovide 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 outinformation 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 ftc.gov/credit.
- 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 1-888-567-8688.
- You may seek damages from violators. If a consumer reportingagency, 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
- Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights. For more information, visit 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:
| TYPE OF BUSINESS: | CONTACT: |
| Consumer reporting agencies, creditors and others not listed below | Federal Trade Commission: Consumer Response Center – FCRA
Washington, DC 20580 1-877-382-4357 |
| 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 1-800-613-6743 |
| 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 Complaints 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 703-519-4600 |
|
State-chartered banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System |
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Consumer Response Center 2345 Grand Avenue, Suite 100 Kansas City, Missouri 64108- 2638 1-877-275-3342 |
| 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 of 1921 |
Department of Agriculture Office of Deputy Administrator – GIPSA
Washington, DC 20250 202-720-7051 |