Your Rights with your Credit Report

Your Credit Report: Your Rights

Did you know that you have the right to view your credit report and that there are laws, such as the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act that support you being able to access your credit report and report inaccuracies as needed? Through the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act you have many different rights that you should be aware of. Some of your rights in relation to your credit report include:

1.Your ability to obtain a credit report within 60 days of being denied employment, credit, or insurance.

2.You can dispute any and all information on the credit report that you believe is incorrect. When you report the inaccuracy the credit bureau has to investigate the claim within 30 days.

3.You also have the right not to have past mistakes held against you for a long period of time. For instance, you can have late payments and judgments removed within seven years and bankruptcies should be removed within 10 years.

4.You can also be represented by the person of your choice when meeting with a creditor or credit bureau.

5.You are able to submit a consumer statement that will be kept in your file that will mitigate any information on your credit report.

6.The right to demand that a corrected credit report be sent to those parties who have received inaccurate information.

7.Withhold your credit report from those that do not have a legitimate reason to view or request it.

8.You may also be able to sue one or more of the three credit bureaus if you can prove that they have intentionally violated the law or your rights.

As you can see, the law really is on your side when it comes to your credit report. With the help of these laws you can protect yourself as well as your good name. Of course, you need to know the law to use it to your benefit. You also have to be patient, even when you know the law, because even when the credit bureaus are working with you or are on your side, the process of changing or amending your credit report takes time. You generally need to think of things in terms of 30 days and then begin working at it again. When you know the law, you can use it to your benefit and improve your buying power if something is not accurate on your credit report.

But how does this all work?

Fact: Your creditors end up subsidizing all or a large part of most debt consolidation services. What you ask? Well before you say this sounds too good to be true, keep in mind that your creditors are not lowering your interest rate and making it easier for you to make smaller payments out of the goodness of their hearts. They realize if they don't help you out a little you may file bankruptcy and they will never recieve a penny of what you owe them!