INTRODUCTION
If you’ve ever applied for a charge account, a
personal loan, insurance, or a job, someone is
probably keeping a file on you. This file might
contain information on how you pay your bills,
or whether you’ve been sued, arrested, or have
filed for bankruptcy.
The companies that gather and sell this
information are called consumer reporting
companies. The information sold by consumer
reporting companies to creditors, employers,
insurers, and other businesses is called a
“consumer report” or “credit report.” This
report generally contains information about
where you work and live and your bill-paying
habits.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
1
gives
consumers specific rights in dealing with
consumer reporting companies. All consumer
reporting companies are under a general duty
to avoid reporting inaccurate information about
you. Likewise, organizations that provide
information (credit card companies, finance
companies, etc.) must take steps to ensure that
what they report is accurate.
WHERE IS MY CREDIT REPORT?
The FCRA requires each of the nationwide
consumer reporting companies – Equifax,
Experian, and TransUnion – to provide you
with a free copy of your credit report, at your
request, once every 12 months.
The three nationwide consumer reporting
companies have set up a central website, a toll-
1
15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. (2010)
free telephone number, and a mailing address
through which you can order your free annual
credit report.
To order your free report, visit
www.annualcreditreport.com, or call 877-322-
8228.
Only www.annualcreditreport.com is auth-
orized to provide the free annual credit report
you are entitled to under law. Other websites
that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free
credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are
not part of the legally mandated free annual
credit report program. In some cases, the
“free” product comes with strings attached.
Your free credit report does not necessarily
include a credit score. Reporting agencies are
only required to provide the information they
use to calculate your score.
WHY DO I WANT MY CREDIT
REPORT?
Your credit report has information that affects
how much you will have to pay to borrow
money. You want a copy of your credit report
to: make sure the information is accurate,
complete, and up-to-date before you apply for
a loan for a major purchase like a house or car,
buy insurance, or apply for a job.
Annual review of your credit report also helps
to guard against identity theft. That’s when
someone uses your personal information to
commit fraud. Identity thieves may use your
information to open a new credit card account
in your name. Then, when they don’t pay the
bills, the delinquent account is reported on
your credit report.
FAIR CREDIT REPORTING
prepared by
MOUNTAIN HOME AFB
GUNFIGHTER LEGAL OFFICE
WHEN WILL I GET MY REPORT?
If you request your credit report online at
www.annualcreditreport.com, you should be able
to access it immediately. If you order your
report by calling toll-free 877-322-8228, it will
be processed and mailed to you within 15 days.
CAN I RECEIVE MORE THAN ONE FREE
CREDIT REPORT?
A consumer reporting company may charge you
up to $12.00 for a second copy of your report
within a 12-month period. However, under the
FCRA, you’re entitled to a free report if a
company takes adverse action against you, such
as denying your application for credit, insurance,
or employment, and you ask for your report
within 60 days of receiving notice of the denial.
You are also entitled to an additional free report
if you can prove that (a) you are unemployed and
plan to look for a job within 60 days; (b) you are
on welfare; or (c) your report is inaccurate
because of fraud.
WHAT CAN I DO IF THE INFORMATION
IS INACCURATE?
Under the FCRA, both the consumer reporting
company and the information provider (that is,
the person, company, or organization that
provides information about you to a consumer
reporting company) are responsible for
correcting inaccurate or incomplete information
in your report. To take full advantage of your
rights under this law, contact the consumer
reporting company and the information provider.
Tell the consumer reporting company, in writing,
what information you think is inaccurate.
Consumer reporting companies must investigate
the items in question – usually within 30 days –
unless they consider your dispute frivolous.
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).
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.
WHO ELSE CAN GET A COPY OF MY
CREDIT REPORT?
The FCRA specifies who can access your credit
report. Creditors, insurers, employers, and other
businesses that use the information in your report
to evaluate your applications for credit,
insurance, employment, or renting a home are
among those that have a legal right to access
your report.
Your employer can get a copy of your credit
report only if you agree. A consumer reporting
company may not provide information about you
to your employer, or to a prospective employer,
without your written consent.
HOW CAN I REPAIR MY CREDIT?
Just because you have a poor credit report
doesn’t mean you can’t get credit. Creditors set
their own standards, and not all look at your
credit history the same way. Some may look
only at recent years to evaluate you for credit,
and they may give you credit if your bill-paying
history has improved. It may be worthwhile to
contact creditors informally to discuss their
credit standards.
If you’re not disciplined enough to create a
workable budget and stick to it, to work out a
repayment plan with your creditors, or to keep
track of your mounting bills, you might consider
contacting a credit counseling organization that
can advise you on managing your money and
debts, help you develop a budget, and offer free
educational materials and workshops.
*This handout is general in nature. It is not a
substitute for legal advice from an attorney regarding
individual situations. (August 2021)
For additional information on this and other legal
topics, see the Air Force Legal Assistance Website:
https://aflegalassistance.law.af.mil
