The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is the primary federal law governing how consumer reporting agencies handle your credit information. It gives you specific rights that are worth understanding before you apply for credit or engage a credit-related service.
You have the right to request a copy of your credit report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting agencies. Under federal law, you are entitled to one free copy every 12 months from each agency through AnnualCreditReport.com. You also have the right to a free report in certain other situations, such as when you are denied credit or employment based on your report.
If you find information you believe is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, you have the right to dispute it. The consumer reporting agency must investigate your dispute, usually within 30 days, and notify the furnisher. If the information is found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, it must be corrected or deleted.
You can dispute directly with the consumer reporting agency and with the furnisher. You can do this yourself for free.
Your report includes a list of the parties that have requested it. You have the right to know who has accessed your file, with some exceptions for certain types of inquiries.
Your report can generally only be accessed by parties with a permissible purpose under the FCRA. You can also place a security freeze on your file, which restricts access until you lift it.
When you identify a specific item you believe is inaccurate or incomplete, CREDESSES can help you build a factual, evidence-based dispute letter. We review it with you, obtain your written authorization, and send it with proof of mailing. Every response is tracked in your client portal. We do not guarantee outcomes.
If this guide raised questions about your specific situation, we are happy to help.
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