What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)?
Below is a summary of the FCRA. The full Act can be obtained directly from the Federal Trade Commission’s web site or by clicking here. Fair Credit Reporting Act (Summary) Public Law 91-508 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows a consumer to challenge the information on his credit report on the basis of “completeness and accuracy.” If, after a reinvestigation by the credit bureau, the disputed information “is found to be inaccurate or can no longer be verified, the [credit bureau] shall promptly delete such information.” The credit bureaus are required to complete the investigation within a “reasonable period of time.” This period has been set at thirty days. The credit bureaus can ignore the consumer dispute if they have reason to believe that the dispute is “frivolous or irrelevant.” The FTC commentary on the FCRA cites, as an example of a frivolous dispute, a dispute wherein the consumer challenges all negative items on his credit report without providing any allegations regar
The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), provides the guidelines employers need to follow when performing employment screening. The FCRA requirements apply whenever an employer requests a “consumer report” or “investigative consumer report” from a consumer-reporting agency such as Employment Screening Services .NET. A “consumer report” includes any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency regarding a consumer’s credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used as a factor to establish the consumer’s eligibility for employment. The FCRA requires that employers must comply with certain reporting requirements when using a consumer-reporting agency to screen employees or applicants. To obtain a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency, the employer must first provide certification to the consumer re
Fair Credit Reporting Act (Summary) Public Law 91-508 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows a consumer to challenge the information on his credit report on the basis of “completeness and accuracy.” If, after a reinvestigation by the credit bureau, the disputed information “is found to be inaccurate or can no longer be verified, the [credit bureau] shall promptly delete such information.” The credit bureaus are required to complete the investigation within a “reasonable period of time.” This period has been set at thirty days. The credit bureaus can ignore the consumer dispute if they have reason to believe that the dispute is “frivolous or irrelevant.” The FTC commentary on the FCRA cites, as an example of a frivolous dispute, a dispute wherein the consumer challenges all negative items on his credit report without providing any allegations regarding specific items in the credit file. However, “A [credit bureau] must assume a consumer’s dispute is bona fide, unless there is clear
