KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Consumer rights are protected by several laws through our federal and state government agencies. Below is a brief summary of laws that govern the credit bureaus, credit repair industry, collectors to protect you as the summary.
FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT (FDCPA)The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., is a United States statute. Its purpose is to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information’s accuracy. The Act creates guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defines rights of consumers involved with debt collectors, and prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the Act. It is sometimes used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT (FRCA)The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a United States federal law (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.). It regulates the collection and use of consumer information including consumer credit information. The Act is enforced by the US Federal Trade Commission and private litigants.
Below is a summary of your rights and an Adobe pdf file you can download.
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.
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:
FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT (FDCPA)The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., is a United States statute. Its purpose is to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information’s accuracy. The Act creates guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defines rights of consumers involved with debt collectors, and prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the Act. It is sometimes used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT (FRCA)The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a United States federal law (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.). It regulates the collection and use of consumer information including consumer credit information. The Act is enforced by the US Federal Trade Commission and private litigants.
Below is a summary of your rights and an Adobe pdf file you can download.
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.
- 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:
- 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 days. 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.
- 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 www.ftc.gov/credit.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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:
TYPE OF BUSINESSConsumer reporting agencies, creditors and others not listed below
National banks, federal branches/agencies of foreign banks (word”National” or initials “N.A.” appear in or after bank’s name) National banks, federal branches/agencies of foreign banks (word”National” or initials “N.A.” appear in or after bank’s name) Federal Reserve System member banks (except national banks,and federal branches/agencies of foreign banks) Savings associations and federally chartered savings banks (word”Federal” or initials “F.S.B.” appear in federal institution’s name) Federal credit unions (words “Federal Credit Union” appear in institutions name) State-chartered banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System Air, surface, or rail common carriers regulated by former Civil Aeronautics Board or Interstate Commerce Commission Activities subject to the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 |
CONTACTFederal Trade Commission: Consumer Response Center – FCRAWashington, DC 20580 877-382-4357
Office of the Comptroller of the CurrencyCompliance Management, Mail Stop 6-6Washington, DC 20219 800-613-6743 Federal Reserve Consumer Help (FRCH)P O Box 1200Minneapolis, MN 55480Telephone: 888-851-1920 Website Address:www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov Email Address: ConsumerHelp@FederalReserve.gov Office of Thrift SupervisionConsumer ComplaintsWashington, DC 20552 , 800-842-6929 National Credit Union Administration 1775 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314 , 703-519-4600 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Consumer Response Center, 2345 Grand Avenue, Suite 100 Kansas City, Missouri 64108-2638, 877-275-3342 Department of Transportation , Office of Financial ManagementWashington, DC 20590 , 202-366-1306 Department of AgricultureOffice of Deputy Administrator – GIPSAWashington, DC 20250 ,202-720-7051 |