February 19, 2009

As a consumer, you do have rights.  I know that sometimes it might not seem like it, but your credit rights fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  And there are 5 you should know:

1. The Right To Dispute Investigation

If you think there are errors on your credit report you have the right to dispute errors.  Upon this dispute the credit bureaus must conduct an investigation.  They also must respond back to you within 30 days of the dispute.  The investigation usually includes the credit bureaus contacting your account or creditor about the possible error.

2. The Right To Have Errors Corrected

If the item disputed is reported by the account to be inaccurate, it has to be removed from your credit report.  Also, if your account does not respond back on a disputed item in the alloted time it will be removed from your credit report.

3. The Right To A Written Response

After the investigation is over the credit bureau owes you a response in writing.  If there was a change to your credit report, the credit bureau also owes you a free credit report with the new data.

4. The Right To Add a Statement To Your Credit Report

Often the error will not be removed.  If you think that this is still an error and after you have contacted your account and they haven’t removed it, you can add a 100 word statement to your report.  This basically explains your story, but it will not help your credit score.

5. Your Right To Sue

If any of your previous rights are violated you do have the right to sue.  This is done in a Federal Court.

You need to know your rights.  This will make you a better consumer.  Also, it will help you if you dispute errors on your credit report.