You Must Know About Credit Repair And Consumer Rights
In 1970 Congress enacted a federal law to defend consumers from inaccuracies on their credit reports. This law is recognized as the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCRA and it was approved to guard consumers and promote the fairness, accuracy and privacy of personal information compiled by credit reporting agencies on credit reports.
Credit reporting agencies are companies that are in the industry of collecting, compiling and selling information on consumers for the goal of credit evaluation. The three major credit-reporting agencies are TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.
The FCRA gave consumers the entitlement to dispute and contest any information found on a credit report on the basis of correctness and completeness. After a dispute is issued the credit reporting bureaus have 30 to 45 days to corroborate the ownership and the correctness of the disputed accounts. If they are not able to provide the confirmation within the time frame then the disputed information must be deleted from the credit report.
The credit reporting agencies also have other responsibilities under the FCRA. Each year a free credit report must be provided to any consumer who desires one. Before 2003 the consumer had to pay a fee for this report but an amendment in 2003 changed this and now it is provided at no charge. A report must also be provided if the consumer has been denied credit on the foundation of what is provided in the report.
The FCRA gave consumers the right to dispute and contest any information found on the report. If information is deleted as a effect of the dispute the credit-reporting agency cannot reinstate the negative information without contacting the consumer in writing.
The FCRA also defined a limit as to how long negative information can stay on a report. Usually if must be removed within 7 years from the instance 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.
There are estimates that as many as 40% of all disputes are not verified inside the time frame. That means that up to 40% of all disputed information must be deleted before it is even checked out. A consumer can use that reality for their own profit however, consumers must also be aware that reasonable, truthful and accurate information should stay on the report even if it is deemed negative.
A FCRA gave consumers the right to argue 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.
