The
Fair Credit Reporting Act, Public Law 91-508, title VI was enacted
in 1971. The Fair Credit Report Act states that if you have
been denied credit, the merchant that denied you credit must
tell you the reason why. Also, you will be entitled to a copy
of your credit report from the bureau that the merchant used.
The following is more information on the rights your have because
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- You
have the right to know the information in your credit report
- You
have the right to know who has requested a copy of your
credit report during the last six months. In cases of employment,
the time frame is two years.
- You
have the right to question your credit report and have errors
changed or deleted.
- You
have the right to have any item you question removed from
your report if the credit bureau cannot validate its information
in a reasonable amount of time.
- You
have the ability to place a statement on your credit report
presenting your side of a credit problem.
- You
have the right to recover from bad credit. This means that
most negative information must be removed from your credit
report after 7 years.
The
Fair Credit Reporting Act Is Your Ally
You should pay attention to your credit report even if you
think your credit history is perfect. According to many consumer
groups, up to 70% of all reports contain some type of error.
These errors can be removed through the Fair Credit Reporting
Act, which means that you won’t have to worry about those
errors affecting your credit reputation in the future.
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