FCRA is a federal law that protects against the misuse and misreporting of credit information by CRAs, creditors, collectors and other businesses compile credit reports. Individuals have a number of rights under FCRA including: (1) the right to know if information from your file has been used against you; (2) the right to know what is in your file; (3) the right to ask for your credit score; (4) the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information; (5) the right for CRAs to remove or correct inaccurate, incomplete or unverified information; (6) the right for CRAs not to report negative information older than 7 years or bankruptcies older than 10 years; (7) the right to limit access to your information only to those with a valid need for such access (e.g. insurer, employer, landlord, etc.); (8) the right to give written consent before CRAs can provide reports to current or potential employers; and (9) the right to limit any unsolicited and “prescreened” offers for credit and insurance.

With respect to nationwide CRAs, individuals also have a right to place a “security freeze” on their report to prohibit a CRA from releasing with express authorization. Individuals can potentially seek damages from any violators in federal or state court. States may enforce FCRA and or may have their own consumer reporting laws. Victims of identity theft and active duty military personnel have additional rights under FCRA.

Violations of FCRA by CRAs can result in a lower credit score, denial of credit, higher interest rates on loans and more. Common violations of FCRA are as follows:

Furnishing & Reporting Old Information: CRAs must keep your information up-to-date and if your credit report has not been updated to reflect a change in your circumstances, FCRA may be violated. Examples of this violation include failing to report a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy, reporting old debts as new, reporting an account as active when the consumer had voluntarily closed it, and reporting information that is older than 7 years or bankruptcies older than 10 years.

Furnishing & Reporting Inaccurate Information: Creditors cannot knowingly supply inaccurate information to a CRA including information it should know is inaccurate. Examples of this violation include reporting a debt as charged-off when it was settled or paid in full, misstating the balance due, reporting late payments that were paid on time, listing an individual as a debtor on an account when they were an authorized user, and providing credit information on an account that previously reported identity theft.

Mixed Files: CRAs must maintain and report accurate information about you. When a CRA mixes up or combines your information with someone else’s, a violation of FCRA can occur. Mixing or combining information can happen between two people with the same last name and similar first names, two people with similar names who live in the same location, or two people with similar Social Security numbers.

Failing to Follow Debt Dispute Procedures: CRAs have a duty to conduct a reasonable investigation of a written dispute regarding of the accuracy of a credit report and to correct or remove inaccurate information. CRAs and creditors can commit debt dispute violations by failing to notify a creditor or CRA that you are disputing a reported debt, failing to conduct a reasonable investigation of the dispute, failing to correct or remove inaccurate information withing 30 days (sometimes 45 days). Creditors can commit additional violations when they fail to stop submitting information it knows or should know is incorrect, fail to provide a reasonable procedure to submit a written dispute, and fail inform you the results of the investigation within 5 business days of its completion.

Privacy Violations: CRAs can only release your credit report to authorized persons or entities with a legitimate need such as creditors, landlords, insurance providers, utility companies, employers (if you previously consented), etc.

Requesting a Credit Report for an Impermissible Purpose: An authorized person or entity can pull your credit report but they also must have a permissible purpose and they can be in violation of FCRA if they do not have a permissible purpose to pull your credit report. Examples of this violation include your employer pulling your credit report without permission or a creditor on a debt you discharged pulling your credit report to see your current financial activity.

Withholding Notices: You are entitled to notices regarding the reporting, handling and use of your credit information and violations can occur when a creditor fails to notify you when it provides negative information to a CRA, fails to provide your credit score if it was used as part of a credit decision, fails to notify you of your right to dispute inaccurate credit information, or fails to notify you of your right to obtain a free credit report.