Consumer Credit Laws

As stated in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers are entitled, on request, to be informed of the nature and scope of a credit investigation, the kind of information that is compiled, and the names of people who will receive the report. Any inaccurate or misleading information must be investigated and, if not verified, removed from the file.

Consumers have the right to include a 100 word statement in their file describing their viewpoint regarding any disputed errors. The law also calls for old information to be deleted. Information that is 7 years old must be removed, as well as bankruptcy information more than 10 years old.

The act was modified in 1996 with the passing of the Consumer Reporting Reform Act. The Consumer Report Reform Act requires all credit bureaus to make an employee available to talk to when a consumer calls the company, as well as a toll-free number during normal working hours.

In 2003, Congress amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act once again, giving consumers the right to obtain a free credit report once a year from each of the three credit bureaus. Businesses are requires to black out Social Security numbers, and parts of credit card and debit card numbers.

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