Consumer Rights

MSGBOX "Comsumer Rights".0.

Contact Information for FCRA Questions or Concerns:

CRA, 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 (National or initials N.A. will appear in/or after a Bank's name)
Office of the Comptroller of the currency Compliance Management, Mail Stop 6-6 Washington, DC 20551
202-452-3639

Savings associations and federally charteredsavings bank
(the word Federal or the initials F.S.B. will appear in the federal institution's name)
Office of Thrift Supervision
Consumer Programs
Washington, D.C. 20552
1-800-82-6929

Federal Reserve System member banks (except national banls, federal branches and /or agencies of foreign banks)
Federal Reserve Board
Division of Consumer and Community Affairs
Washington, DC 20551
1-202-452-3693

Federal Credit Unions(Federal Credit Union appears in the insitution's name)
National Credit Union Administration
1775 Duke Street
Alexanderia, VA 22314
1-703-518-6360

State-Chartered Banks who are not members of the Federal Reserve System
Fedreal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Division of Compliance and Consumer Affairs
Washington, DC 20590
1-800-934-3342

Rail Common Carriers, Surface and/or Air regulated by the former Civil Aeronautics Board or Interestate Commerce Commision
Department of Transportation
Office of Financial Management
Washington, DC 20590
1-202-366-1306

Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act was created to promote accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of every "consumer reporting agency (CRA). The Consumer Reporting Agency are credit bureaus that gather and sell information about you. The give out such information such as, if you pay your bills on time, filed for bankruptcy. This information is sold to creditors, employers, landlords and businesses. Under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, the individual consumer is given specific rights. Here is a brief summary of those rights:

FCRA---Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act
CRA---Consumer Reporting Agency

You have a right to know what is in you file.
When you request a copy of your file, the Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA), is required to give you the information in your file, and a list of everyone who has requested it recently. You can receive a copy of your file free if a person, employer or business has taken action against you due to the information supplied by the CRA. You must make your request within 60 days from when you received notice of the action.
If you request a copy of your file without a notice of action the CRA may charge you money, unless you can prove that you are unemployed and plan to seek employment within 60 days or you are on welfare or your credit report is not accurate due to fraud.

You have to be informed if the information in your file is used against you.
If a business, employer, landlord or individual uses the information in your CRA file to taken action against you they must inform you and supply you the name, address and phone number of the CRA that they received the consumer report from.
Action that can be taken against you, the denial of a application for credit, employment, insurance and rental.

If the information in your CRA file is inaccurate
    You can inform a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA), that the file they have on you contains inaccurate information. The CRA, is required to investigate the items in dispute, the investigation usually takes about 30 days. CRA supplies the information source of disputed items the evidence you submitted to them, unless the CRA finds your claims frivolous or unfounded.
   The information source must advise the national consumer reporting agency to who it supplied the data of any error.
   The CRA is required to supply you with a written report of the investigation, also a copy of your report if the investigation results in any correction. If the investigation results in an inaccurate item deleted or you added brief statement, you may request that anyone who has viewed your CRA report recently is notified of this change to your report.
    If the CRA investigation does not resolve your dispute, you have the right to add a brief statement to your CRA file. This action means the CRA must normally be included in a summary of your statement when your report is requested in the future.

CRA is required to delete or correct inaccurate information.
If there is any information on your consumer reporting agency file that is inaccurate that CRA must remove, correct inaccurate or unverified information from it's files. It usually take about 30 days for the correction.

A Consumer Reporting Agency don't have to remove an accurate item
The CRA does not have to remove accurate information from your file unless it is outdated or the information can not be verified. If the disputed item investigation results in any changes to your report a CRA is not allowed to reinsert into your file a disputed item unless the original information source is able to verify the items accuracy and completeness. The CRA has to supply you with a written notice telling you it has reinserted the item. This notice must contain the name. address and phone number of the information source.

You can go directly to the Source
If you inform anyone, a creditor who reports to a Consumer Reporting Agency, that you dispute an inaccurate item, they can not then report the information to a CRA without including a notice of your dispute. Also once you've notified the source of the error in writing it can not continue to report the inaccurate data if it is in fact an error.

If information is not current it may not be reported.
A Consumer Reporting Agency may not report negative information that is more then seven years old, bankruptcies is ten years.

Who can see your CRA report ?
A Consumer Reporting Agency, can supply information about you only to people with a reason that conforms with the Federal Fair Credit Act. These reasons may be consideration of an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord or businesses.

Only with your permission
Consumer Reporting Agencies can not release information about you to your employer, prospective employer, without your written consent. The CRA also can not report medical information about you to employers, creditors or insurers without your permission

Stop unsolicited offers
Businesses, Banks, and Insurance Companies may use the information in your Consumer Reporting Agency file to send you unsolicited offers of insurance and credit. These offers are required to include a toll free telephone number you can call to have your name and address removed from the list. If you call them they must keep you off the lists for two years. Also you can request from the CRA a form that you can fill out and return solely for your name and address to be taken off the lists indefinitely.

Violators Beware
You don't have to take it. If any users of Consumer Reporting Agencies and/or data suppliers to CRA's, violates the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you may have the right to sue them in a state or federal court.

You may have more protection
Besides the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers may have additional protection/rights under their state laws. To find out what additional rights you may have check with your state consumer protection agency, and your state's attorney general to find out more information.