The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the
accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of
consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of
consumer reporting agencies,
including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as
agencies that sell information about check writing histories,
medical records, and rental history records). Here is a
summary of your major rights under the FCRA.
For more information, including information about additional rights, go to
www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore
or write to: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street N.W., Washington, DC 20552.
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You must be told if information in your file has been used against you.
Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit,
insurance, or employment - or to take another adverse action against you - must tell you,
and must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information.
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You have the right to know what is in your file.
You may request and obtain all the information about
you in the files of a consumer reporting agency (your
"file disclosure"). You will be required to provide
proper identification, which may include your Social
Security number. In many cases, the disclosure will be free.
You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:
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a person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report;
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you are the victim of identity theft and place a fraud alert in your file;
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your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud;
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you are on public assistance;
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you are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.
In addition, all consumers are entitled to one free
disclosure every 12 months upon request from each nationwide credit
bureau and from nationwide specialty consumer reporting
agencies. See
www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore
for additional information.
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You have the right to ask for a credit score.
Credit scores are numerical summaries of your
credit-worthiness based on information from credit bureaus.
You may request a credit score from consumer reporting
agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential
real property loans,
but you will have to pay for it. In some mortgage
transactions, you will receive credit score information for free from
the mortgage lender.
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You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information.
If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate, and report it to the consumer
reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See
www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore
for an explanation of dispute procedures.
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Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information.
Inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days.
However, a consumer reporting agency may continue to report information it has verified as accurate.
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Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information.
In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information
that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
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Access to your file is limited.
A consumer reporting agency may provide information about
you only to people with a valid need - usually to consider an application with a creditor,
insurer, employer, landlord, or other business. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need for access.
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You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers.
A consumer reporting agency may not give out information about you to your employer,
or a potential employer, without your written consent given to the employer.
Written consent generally is not required in the trucking industry.
For more information, go to www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore.
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You may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and
insurance you get based on information in your credit report.
Unsolicited "prescreened" offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number
you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on.
You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-567-8688.
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You may seek damages from violators.
If a consumer reporting agency, or, in some cases, a
user of consumer
reports or a furnisher of information to a consumer
reporting agency violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or
federal court.
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Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights.
For more information, visit www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore.
States may enforce the FCRA, and many states have their own consumer reporting laws.
In some cases, you may have more rights under state law. For more information,
contact your state or local consumer protection agency or your state Attorney General.
For information about your federal rights, contact:
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1.a. Banks, savings associations, and credit unions
with total assets of over $10 billion and their affiliates.
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a. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
1700 G. Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20552
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b. Such affiliates that are not banks, savings
associations, or credit unions also should list, in addition to the
CFPB:
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b. Federal Trade Commission: Consumer Response Center - FCRA
Washington, DC 20580
(877) 382-4357
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| 2. To the extent not included in item 1 above: |
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a. National banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and federal agencies of foreign banks
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a. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3450
Houston, TX 77010-9050
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b. State member banks, branches and agencies of
foreign banks (other than federal branches, federal agencies, and
Insured State Branches of Foreign Banks),
commercial lending companies owned or controlled by
foreign banks, and organizations operating under section 25 or 25A of
the Federal Reserve Act
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b. Federal Reserve Consumer Help Center
P.O. Box 1200
Minneapolis, MN 55480
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c. Nonmember Insured Banks, Insured State Branches of Foreign Banks, and insured state savings associations
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c. FDIC Consumer Response Center
1100 Walnut Street, Box #11
Kansas City, MO 64106
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d. Federal Credit Unions
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d. National Credit Union Administration
Office of Consumer Protection (OCP)
Division of Consumer Compliance and Outreach (DCCO)
1775 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
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3. Air carriers
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Asst. General Counsel for Aviation Enforcement & Proceedings
Aviation Consumer Protection Division
Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20423
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4. Creditors Subject to the Surface Transportation Board
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Office of Proceedings, Surface Transportation Board
Department of Transportation
395 E Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20423
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5. Creditors Subject to the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921
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Nearest Packers and Stockyards Administration area supervisor
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6. Small Business Investment Companies
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Associate Deputy Administrator for Capital Access
United States Small Business Administration
409 Third Street, S.W., 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20549
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7. Brokers and Dealers
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Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20549
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8. Federal Land Banks, Federal Land Bank
Associations, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, and Production Credit
Associations
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Farm Credit Administration
1501 Farm Credit Drive
McLean, VA 22102-5090
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9. Retailers, Finance Companies, and All Other Creditors Not Listed Above
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FTC Regional Office for region in which the creditor operates or
Federal Trade Commission: Consumer Response Center - FCRA
Washington, DC 20580
(877) 382-4357
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Additional Information about the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Summary of Your Rights provided above does not reflect
certain amendments contained in the Consumer Reporting Employment
Clarification Act of 1998.
The following additional information may be important for
you:
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Records of convictions of crimes can be reported regardless of when they occurred.
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If you apply for a job that is covered by the Department
of Transportation's authority to establish qualifications and the
maximum hours for
that job and you apply by mail, telephone, computer, or
other similar means, your consent to a consumer report may validly be
obtained orally,
in writing, or electronically. If an adverse action is
taken against you because of a consumer report for which you gave your
consent over the
telephone, computer, or similar means, you may be
informed of the adverse action and the name, address and phone number of
the consumer reporting
agency, orally, in writing, or electronically.