Is consumer service a priority for the credit reporting industry?
Yes. The industry believes consumers have a right to responsive service when checking and reverifying information in their credit reports. The four reporting systems have added toll-free phone lines and hired more than 1,000 employees to provide customer service. Our commitment to consumer service has resulted in numerous new policies adopted by the credit reporting industry to improve response time to consumers, enhance the privacy of the file information and reduce the potential of identity theft. The success of these initiatives has been validated since many of them were later codified in law. How private is the information in a credit report? The Fair Credit Reporting Act, grants credit report access to companies which have a legal “permissible purpose.” The FCRA specifies those purposes as the granting of credit, the collection of a debt, the underwriting of insurance, employment purposes, for issuing a license as required by some government agencies or for a legitimate business t
