You have a right to dispute inaccurate information in your credit report by contacting the
credit bureau directly. However, neither you nor any 'credit repair' company or credit repair
organization has the right to have accurate, current, and verifiable information removed from
your credit report. The credit bureau must remove accurate, negative information from your
report only if it is over 7 years old. Bankruptcy information can be reported for 10 years.
You have a right
to obtain a copy of your credit report from a credit bureau. You may be charged a reasonable fee.
There is no fee, however, if you have been turned down for credit, employment, insurance, or a rental
dwelling because of information in your credit report within the preceding 60 days. The credit
bureau must provide someone to help you interpret the information in your credit file. You are
entitled to receive a free copy of your credit report if you are unemployed and intend to apply
for employment in the next 60 days, if you are a recipient of public welfare assistance, or if
you have reason to believe that there is inaccurate information in your credit report due to
fraud.
You have a right to sue a credit repair organization that violates the Credit Repair Organization
Act. This law prohibits deceptive practices by credit repair organizations.
You have the right to cancel your contract with any credit repair organization for any reason
within 3 business days from the date you signed it.
Credit bureaus are required to follow reasonable procedures to ensure that the information they
report is accurate. However, mistakes may occur.
You may, on your own,
notify a credit bureau in writing that you dispute the accuracy of information in your credit
file. The credit bureau must then reinvestigate and modify or remove inaccurate or incomplete
information. The credit bureau may not charge any fee for this service. Any pertinent information
and copies of all documents you have concerning an error should be given to the credit bureau.
If the credit bureau's reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute to your satisfaction, you
may send a brief statement to the credit bureau, to be kept in your file, explaining why you
think the record is inaccurate. The credit bureau must include a summary of your statement about
disputed information with any report it issues about you.
The Federal Trade Commission regulates credit bureaus and credit repair organizations.
For more information contact:
The Public Reference Branch, Federal Trade Commission, Washington D.C.
You have a right to dispute inaccurate information in your credit report by contacting the
credit bureau directly. However, neither you nor any 'credit repair' company or credit repair
organization has the right to have accurate, current, and verifiable information removed from
your credit report. The credit bureau must remove accurate, negative information from your
report only if it is over 7 years old. Bankruptcy information can be reported for 10 years.