The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a 1970 federal law that ensures consumer credit reports are accurate, fair, and private. It outlines guidelines on how agencies shall collect, handle, and distribute credit information.
Under the FCRA, consumers are assisted in ensuring that reports are accurate and complete. Credit reporting agencies are mandated to rectify mistakes and investigate disputes upon request. The law also grants access to your credit report with only certain entities, such as those dealing with credit, employment, or insurance decisions. Therefore, your personal information is protected from unauthorized use. Also, in the event of incorrect information on your report, agencies are bound to notify you in a timely manner.
Common FCRA Violations
The experienced attorneys at Kazerouni Law Group, APC, advise individuals to be vigilant about credit reporting agencies and creditors who are obligated to keep credit information up-to-date. These legal professionals have a reputation for winning cases across the US. They have won over $1 billion for the clients.
FCRA violations occur when your credit report is not updated. If a debt that was included in a bankruptcy discharge is not reported as being discharged, or if old debts are misrepresented as new or re-aged, they are considered violations.
Providing Inaccurate Information
Creditors are obligated to ensure any information they report to credit reporting agencies is accurate. But more often, creditors mistakenly report accounts as “charged-off” when you have settled, or paid in full, a debt. Other frequent mistakes include misstating how much you owe, incorrectly listing late payments on accounts you pay on time, or listing you as responsible for an account when you were only an authorized user.
Mixed Credit Files
Credit reporting agencies sometimes mess up by mixing your credit file with someone else’s. This often happens when similar Social Security Numbers or names like “Jr.” and “Sr.” lead to incorrect merging of files. If two people with similar names or living in the same area have their information combined, it can result in errors on your credit report.
Ignoring Debt Dispute Procedures
When you challenge incorrect information on your credit report, both credit bureaus and creditors have specific steps they must follow. Problems occur if credit bureaus don’t notify the right creditors about your dispute, fail to investigate properly, or don’t correct or remove the incorrect information within the 30- or 45-day window. Creditors can also violate the FCRA if they don’t notify all the credit bureaus about your dispute, don’t fix the information after investigating, or keep reporting details they know are wrong.
Breach of Privacy
Credit reporting agencies should only share your credit report with authorized entities. Privacy violations occur when your report is shared with unauthorized people or organizations that don’t need it for evaluating credit, rental applications, insurance, or utilities. Any release of your credit report to parties who don’t have a valid reason is considered a breach of privacy under the FCRA.
Impermissible Use of Credit Reports
While employers, creditors, and landlords can access your credit report, they must have a legitimate reason to do so. Violations happen if someone pulls your credit report to assess collectability before filing a non-credit-related lawsuit, such as for a personal injury claim, or if an employer checks your report without your permission.
Withholding Required Notices
You’re entitled to certain notices about your credit information. Violations include creditors not informing you when they report negative information to a credit bureau or if someone using your credit report fails to notify you of a negative decision based on it. Additionally, creditors should provide you with your credit score if it was used in making a decision, and they must disclose where they got the information about you.