You have the right to receive a free copy of your credit report each year, and to dispute any unfavorable information that you believe is inaccurate or misleading. The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act creates these rights that, if violated, may create a civil cause of action against a violator.
1
You Have a Right to Review Your Credit Report
The law provides that a credit reporting agency, at your request, must accurately provide to you the all information in its files pertaining to your credit status. Such information includes:
(1) the nature and the substance of information in its files concerning you;
(2) the sources of the information; and
(3) the identity of anyone who has requested your report.
2
Where to Get Your Report
The Federal Trade Commission advises everyone to get their free annual credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the only authorized source to get your free annual credit report under federal law. From there, you can choose one or all three of the major credit agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to send you your report.
3
Right to Provide a Statement of Dispute
You have the right to dispute negative items on your credit report. If there are erors on your credit report, you should write to the particular credit agency and explain how the item is inaccurate and demand that the agency reinvestigate the disputed item.
If their review does not resolve the dispute, YOU MAY ADD A STATEMENT of up to 100 words to the credit report describing the nature of the dispute. Be specific and give details. If you have filed a statement of dispute, the credit agency is required to indicate in all future reports that you dispute the specific item and must attach a copy of your letter explaining your position.
If an item is deleted as a result of a reinvestigation, you can request that the credit agency provide a notice of that fact to anyone who received your report in the past.
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