The Free Credit Report Act is a law that acts as protection from potential threats to your credit information. This act keeps your credit information from being distributed to the wrong people for the wrong types of reasons. Because of this kind of protection, there is less of a chance that your credit information will be misused and manipulated by others.
This act protects you from your credit getting into the wrong hands, but there are a few people who are allowed access to your credit information for the purpose of checking it. So, for example, if you are applying for credit, the potential lender is allowed to check your credit history and see whether or not you qualify for the credit you are asking for. Here are a few of those types of people and why they are allowed to view your credit information.
1. Certain lenders, credit unions, banks, and department stores, depending on how many credit accounts you have where, are allowed to see your credit background. This is for the sole purpose of monitoring how well you are managing your credit and how punctual you are with your payments. The Fair Credit Report Act does not allow people like this to distribute your credit information to anyone else.
2. The companies with which you are insured are allowed to check your credit report for the same kind of reason. They are allowed to view how you are able to balance your credit debt and make your payments on time so that they can decide whether or not they can insure you without taking on possible risk of late payments.
3. Wherever you are applying for credit, whether it be a credit card, a car loan, or a mortgage, the people that you are asking the credit from are allowed to see your credit report to make sure that you qualify for credit. If you do not have a good credit history and have a low score, they have the right to deny you the credit.
4. Potential employers are allowed to access your credit information, but only with your permission. The only way they can view your credit history or credit score is if you give them your consent. Otherwise, they cannot access it for any reason.
This law, the Fair Credit Report Act, protects you from your credit information being handed out to people on the street, but it also protects you yourself. Your credit information also holds a lot of your personal information, like your birth date, phone numbers, and your social security number. Because of this act, your identity is also protected from those who would try to steal it and use your credit for their gain.
The Fair Credit Report Act also allows you to complain. It gives you the right to dispute any injustices done or mistakes made on your credit report. There is no promise that what you complain about will be fixed just because you complain, but you have the right to call them on it when there has been an error made.
