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Once you have written about a possible error, a creditor
must not give out information to other creditors or credit bureaus
that would hurt your credit reputation until the matter is resolved.
And, until your complaint is answered, the creditor also may not
take any action to collect the disputed amount.
The law is on your side
Keep in mind, the law is on your side if information on your credit
report is proven to be false but is not removed, according to the Fair
Credit Reporting Act. Under the law, you are entitled to actual
damages, plus punitive damages that the court may allow if the violation
is proved to have been intentional. In any successful lawsuit, you
will also be awarded court costs and attorney's fees.
If you feel that a credit bureau
has not responded promptly and fairly to your
situation, contact the attorney general of your
state or the Federal
Trade Commission in Washington at 1-877-FTC-HELP,
or 1-877-382-4357.
You may also sue any credit-reporting agency or creditor
for breaking the rules about who may see your credit records or
for not correcting errors in your file.
A person who obtains a credit report without proper
authorization -- or an employee of a credit reporting agency who
gives a credit report to unauthorized persons -- may be fined up
to $5,000 or imprisoned for one year, or both.
Who can see your report?
But a lot of people can see that report - including everyone to
whom you have applied for a loan or credit. So be careful when applying
for credit.
When the companies you apply to
check your report, they can find out who else
has been checking your report and determine what,
when and how you have been applying for credit.
That means if you have been getting turned down
and are desperately applying for credit all over
town your potential creditors will know.
Now, discover how the information on your credit reports
evolves in a credit score. | 
