Fixing mistakes on your credit report
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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. 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. Under
the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 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, D.C., at
(202) FTC-HELP.
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?
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.
| -- Updated: June 16, 2008 |
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