Your credit report contains a detailed record of all of your credit accounts, including the amounts you owe, the dates and amounts of your payments and how long you have been managing the accounts. The federal government has several laws that regulate how companies can compile and use your credit reports.
Fair Credit Reporting Act
The major law regulating your credit report is the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This law requires that consumer reporting agencies --- which collect information and compile your credit reports --- allow you to access your reports. If you find anything that you believe is incorrect, you can dispute this information; and if it is found to be in error, the consumer reporting agencies must stop including it on your credit reports. The Fair Credit Reporting Act also requires that the credit bureaus directly provide you a free copy of your credit report upon your request if you are denied credit, are on welfare, have an inaccurate report due to fraud, or are unemployed and looking for work within 60 days.
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act is an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that provides consumers with free access to their credit reports. You can get one free credit report per year from each of the consumer reporting agencies, in addition to the free reports authorized by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Obtain your free credit reports by visiting the Annual Credit Report website, which is the only government-authorized source of your free reports under this law.
Fair Credit Billing Act
The Fair Credit Billing Act is mostly designed to give consumers the right to dispute billing errors on credit cards and other lines of credit. It intersects with credit reports by including a provision that prohibits creditors from reporting an account as delinquent until the dispute has been resolved. This protects your credit rating from being damaged by billing errors.
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires that lenders evaluate applications fairly, without considering an applicant's age, race, gender or marital status. This affects your credit report because it requires that some information on your report not be included in credit scoring. For example, although your date of birth appears on your credit report, the lender is not allowed to use this in a discriminatory fashion. If your application for credit is denied, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires that the lender notify you of the reasons for denial.
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