Q: How Long Can A Consumer Reporting Company Report Negative Information

Category: Finance, Credit.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act( FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies- Equifax, and TransUnion, Experian- to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your. request, once every 12 months.

The Federal Trade Commission( FTC) , the nation s. consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies. The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the. files of the nation s consumer reporting companies. A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you ve. been sued, or filed for, arrested bankruptcy. You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the. same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the. information in your report to creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses that use it to. evaluate your applications for credit, employment, insurance, or renting a home. The law allows you. to order one free copy of your report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every. 12 months.

A: Under federal law, you re entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against you. such as denying your application for credit, or employment and, insurance you ask for your report. within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. Q: Are there any other situations where I might be eligible for a free report? The notice will give you the name, and, address. phone number of the consumer reporting company. If you re on welfare. You re also entitled to one free report a year if. you re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days. Or if your report. is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft. Q: Why do I want a copy of my credit report?

Otherwise, a consumer reporting company. may charge you up to$ 50 for another copy of your report within a 12- month period. A: Your credit report has information that affects whether you can get a loan- and how much you. will have to pay to borrow money. Help guard against identity theft. You want a copy of your credit report to: Make sure the information is accurate, and up, complete- to- date before you apply for a loan. for a major purchase like a house or car, or apply for, buy insurance a job. That s when someone uses your personal information- like. your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card number- to commit fraud. Then, when they. don t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Identity. thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name.

Inaccurate. information like that could affect your ability to get credit, or even a, insurance job. A: Under the FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider( that is, the. person, or organization that, company provides information about you to a consumer reporting. company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. Q: What if I find errors- either inaccuracies or incomplete information- in my credit report? To take. full advantage of your rights under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and the. information provider. Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in question- usually within 30 days- unless they consider your dispute frivolous. Tell the consumer reporting company, what information you, in writing think is inaccurate. They also must forward all the relevant data you. provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information.

If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify. all three nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct the information in your file. After the. information provider receives notice of a dispute from the consumer reporting company, it must. investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting. company. When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the written results. and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. (This free report does not count. as your annual free report under the FACT Act. ) If an item is changed or deleted, the consumer. reporting company cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information. provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. Tell the creditor or other information provider in writing that you dispute an item. The consumer reporting company also must send. you written notice that includes the name, and phone number, address of the information provider. Many. providers specify an address for disputes. And if you are correct- that is, if the. information is found to be inaccurate- the information provider may not report it again.

If the provider reports the item to a consumer reporting. company, it must include a notice of your dispute. Q: What can I do if the consumer reporting company or information provider won t correct the. information I dispute? You also can ask the. consumer reporting company to provide your statement to anyone who received a copy of your report in. the recent past. A: If an investigation doesn t resolve your dispute with the consumer reporting company, you can ask. that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You can expect to pay a fee for this service. Q: How long can a consumer reporting company report negative information?

If you tell the information provider that you dispute an item, a notice of your dispute must be. included any time the information provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company. A: A consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative information for seven years and. bankruptcy information for 10 years. Information reported in response to your application for a job that pays more than. $75, 000 a year. There is no time limit on reporting information about criminal. convictions. And information reported because you ve applied for more than$ 150, 000 worth of. credit or life insurance. Q: Can anyone else can get a copy of my credit report?

Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be. reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. A: The FCRA specifies who can access your credit report. Creditors, employers, insurers, and other. businesses that use the information in your report to evaluate your applications for credit, employment, insurance, or renting a home are among those that have a legal right to access your. report.