A Guide to Fair Credit Reporting

Companies that gather information on consumers are called consumer-reporting agencies. Credit bureaus are the common types of consumer reporting agencies. The information that these agencies sell to creditors is called a credit report. The FCRA or The Fair Credit Reporting Act has been brought about by the Federal Trade Commission and is designed to give accurate information that is used in credit reports. As per the credit-reporting act, businesses that supply information about you to credit report agencies have new responsibilities and priorities. Experian, Equifax, TransUnion are the three major credit-reporting agencies.

According to the credit reporting act, the credit report agency must disclose any kind of information present on a credit report, including medical information and the various sources of information. The credit reporting agencies are entirely responsible for correcting inaccurate information contained in a credit report. In case of any errors in the credit report, the concerned individual must first inform the agency in writing. The agency will then forward all the relevant data to the information provider. The credit report agency will then investigate into the matter. Once the information provider receives this notice of dispute, it will then in turn assess all the relevant information provided by the agency and then send the results to the agency. If the service provider finds the information to be inaccurate, it will then notify all nationwide credit report agencies so that they can correct this information on their files. On completing the investigation, the credit report agency must provide the consumer with the written results and an amended free copy of the report.

If the information contained in the report is incorrect, then the information provider cannot use it again. A re-investigation does not necessarily mean that the dispute will be resolved. In such a case, the credit report agency must include the statement of dispute in any future credit reports.

Investigative consumer reports are generally used in connection with insurance and employment related issues. These reports include interviews with an individuals neighbors and acquaintances to find out about the concerned persons lifestyle, character and reputation. When a company orders this type of a report, the concerned individual will be informed in writing. This written notice will provide the consumer with the right to request for information about the report. If the application is denied, the additional information can be obtained from any other credit report agency. However, as per the credit reporting act, the sources of the information do not have to be revealed by the credit report agency.