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Washington, D.C.
– Bad credit can affect your ability to get more
credit. Did you know it also can affect your ability
to get or keep a job? Employers often use a credit
report when they hire and evaluate employees for
promotion, reassignment, or retention.
According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA),
which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) and your state Attorney General, an employer
must get your permission to look at your credit
report. If you don’t get a job because of
information in your report, the employer must show
you the report and tell you how to get a copy from
the consumer reporting company. There is no charge
for the report if you request it within 60 days of
getting notice that you did not get the job.
A recent amendment to the FCRA requires each of the
nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax,
Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a
free copy of your credit report, at your request,
once every 12 months. The companies are rolling this
out across the country during a nine-month period.
By September 2005, consumers from coast to coast
will have access to a free annual credit report if
they ask for it. For details, see Your Access to
Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/credit.
If you’re not yet eligible for a free report under
the new federal law, you can buy it. Contact:Equifax
— 800-685-1111 (equifax.com); Experian —
888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) (experian.com); and
TransUnion — 800-916-8800 (transunion.com). Your
report can cost up to $9.50.
Under state law, consumers in Colorado, Georgia,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and
Vermont already have free access to their credit
reports.
According to the FCRA, both the consumer reporting
company and the information provider (that is, the
person, company, or organization that provides
information about you to a consumer reporting
company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate
or incomplete information in your report. To protect
your rights under the law, contact both the consumer
reporting company and the information provider to
dispute any information. For more information, see
How to Dispute Credit Report Errors at ftc.gov/credit. |
