Income Tax Rates

The federal government established the Fair Credit Reporting Act on April 25, 1971 so as to protect consumers against having inaccurate, misleading or obsolete information included in their credit reports. The intent in this law was that the credit bureaus should operate in a reasonable and fair manner when they work with consumers.

The FCRA, or Fair Credit Reporting Act, breaks out a list of procedures and rights for you to follow when you challenge any information; in doing so, you can clear negative information off your credit report and reestablish your good credit history. This is true, by the way, regardless of what your past credit history has been. By understanding your rights and using this information to your advantage, you can truly remove information about late payments, collection accounts, bankruptcy filings, judgments, charge-offs, and other negative information from your files. Once done, the removal is permanent.

What do you need to do first? First, you need to obtain copies of your credit reports from each of the three major credit bureaus; you can find addresses for each of these in the Yellow Pages under "Credit Reporting Agencies," in the phone book or on the Internet Yellow Pages listings. If you've been denied credit within the past 60 days, you should be able to get a free copy of your credit report by enclosing a copy (not the original) of the letter stating your denial, along with your request for a credit report. In addition, you'll need to also include your date of birth, full name, Social Security Number, and any addresses you've lived at for the last five years. If you've not been denied credit within the last 60 days, you can still purchase a report from each credit bureau for a small fee. In California, for example, it'll cost you eight dollars to get a copy of the report from each of the three major bureaus. The cost may be different in other states.

Besides asking for your credit report by mail, you can also ask for it in person, simply by reviewing your file. To do this, you can schedule an appointment by calling the bureau you want to see the report from and scheduling one. If you wish, you can also bring one other person with you of your choosing. It's your right within the law to do this.

You can also request a credit report by mail, and if you do, you should receive a copy within three weeks. Along with it, you should also receive an explanation of the various abbreviations encodes the report contains. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to challenge any remark on your report that you think is incomplete or inaccurate. Those items must be investigated by the credit bureau within a reasonable period of time, usually about 30 days. If it's found that this information is somehow inaccurate, incorrect, out of date, or can't be verified in longer, it has to correct or take the information off your file.

If the bureau does not respond to your initial dispute within a "reasonable time," follow up with another letter. This time, demand that the bureau respond to your dispute immediately to prevent your being forced to take legal action. Give them about two weeks to comply and be sure to maintain copies of all correspondence.

If the credit bureau(s) still persist in refusing to investigate your legitimate dispute (thus violating your rights), you can send them a final letter demanding that they take action. When you do this, this time, send copies of your letter, including a copy of your original request, to the Federal Trade Commission and your local attorney general's office.