Discover Credit Repair And Consumer Rights
The FCRA or the Fair Credit Reporting Act is a Federal law that was initially enacted by Congress in 1970 to endorse the fairness, truthfulness and the discretion of individual information compiled on credit reports by credit reporting agencies. It has often been amended to further protect consumers and the last amendment took place in December of 2003.
Credit reporting agencies are entities that are in the business of collecting and compiling credit information on consumers. The information is used for credit assessment and other purposes. The main credit reporting agencies are TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.
A consumer now has the right to dispute and challenge any information found on a credit report on the foundation of completeness and truth. After a dispute is received the credit bureaus have 30 to 45 days to prove the accuracy and the ownership of the disputed credit. If they are not capable to offer that certification within the time frame then the negative listing must be deleted from the report.
The FCRA has also given other responsibilities to the credit reporting agencies. Each year the credit bureaus must make available a free credit report to any consumer who requests one. Prior to 2003 the consumer had to pay for this report but a 2003 amendment changed this and now they must offer one report each year at no cost to the consumer. If credit is denied on the foundation of information provided in the report the bureau with the negative reporting must also make available a report upon demand.
Oftentimes when a negative mark is disputed it is removed from the account. Under the FCRA the disputed information cannot be reinstated without the credit bureau contacting the consumer in writing.
The FCRA also defined a limit as to how long negative information can stay on a report. Normally if must be removed within 7 years from the point in time of delinquency with the exception being a bankruptcy that can last for 10 years and a tax lien that can stay put on the report for 7 years after it is paid off.
The credit reporting agencies receive many disputes and it has been projected that as many as 40% of disputed information is not verified within the time limit and must be removed from the report. Consumers can use that fact for their profit however; truthful and correct information should always remain on the report even if it is unhelpful.
A FCRA gave consumers the right to dispute inaccuracies and errors and to do the work to repair their credit. Credit repair takes time and patience but it can be accomplished by doing it yourself or by hiring a professional company that specializes in credit repair.













