Walter A. Metzen, Michigan Bankruptcy Attorney profile

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal statute designed to protect the rights of consumers and to regulate the practices of those who provide information to the credit reporting agencies themselves and credit report users. Under the act, a consumer is allowed to make a legal claim against and sue the credit reporting agencies, creditors, and debt collectors who report information that is wrong. The consumer has specific rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Some of these rights are as follows:

The consumer has specific rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Some of these rights are as follows:

1. You must be told if information in your file has been used against you.

2. You are allowed to find out what is in your file. 

3. You can dispute inaccurate information with a credit reporting agency (CRA).

4. Inaccurate information must be corrected or deleted usually within 30 days after you dispute it.

5. You can dispute inaccurate items with the source of the information.

6. Outdated information may not be reported.

7. Access to your file is limited.

8. Your consent is required for reports that are provided to employers or reports that contain medical information.

9. You may seek damages from violators of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

10. There are three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Transunion. You should review all three credit reports at least once each year to ensure that there is no incorrect or inaccurate information.

11. The following is information you will need to order your credit report. We strongly advise you to order your credit report in writing and NOT online as you may end up signing a binding arbitration agreement which will prohibit you from filing a lawsuit if your credit report is wrong and it harms you.

12. You are entitled to 1 FREE credit report each year from EACH credit bureau. We recommend that you order your free credit report in writing or by calling the toll free phone number which is (877) 322-8228. We strongly recommend that you never order your credit reports online so that you can avoid signing a binding mandatory arbitration agreement.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IF PRESENTED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. WE RECOMMEND GETTING YOUR CREDIT REPORTS FOR FREE AND THAT THE BEST WAY TO DO SO IS BY MAIL WITH THE ATTACHED ANNUAL CREDIT REPORT REQUEST FORM (click here - a new window will open and the form will display in adobe acrobat) OR BY MAIL DIRECTLY FROM THE CREDIT BUREAUS AND NOT ONLINE SO THAT YOU CAN AVOID SIGNING A BINDING MANDATORY ARBITRATION AGREEMENT!!!! 

You may request a copy of your personal credit report from the following three national Credit Bureaus. If you are thinking about or intending to dispute erroneous items on your credit report, we recommend that you DO NOT do so online with the credit bureaus as you may be required to agree to binding mandatory arbitration which will severely limit your rights if you can’t get your reports corrected and you need to sue to do so. DO NOT AGREE TO BINDING MANDATORY ARBITRATION!!!

When requesting your personal credit report in writing, using personal check or money order, you must provide the following information with your request:

1. First, middle and last name (including Jr., Sr., III)

2. Your current address

3. Previous addresses in the past 5 years, if any.

4. Your social security number

5. Your date of birth, current employer, phone number, signature

6. Applicable fee ($12.95)*

* fee at the time of this publishing.

Expect an 8 to 10 business day waiting period to receive your copy in the mail.
 

• Experian
  P.O. Box 2104 
  Allen, TX 75013-2104 
   

• Equifax Information Services, LLC 
  P.O. Box 105873 
  Atlanta, GA 30348
   

• TransUnion Disclosure Center 
  P.O. Box 1000 
  Chester, PA 19022

These three agencies (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) supply most of the information about you and your current and previous payment histories and outstanding debts to all of your creditors. Once you receive your credit reports, review them carefully. If you think any of the information is incorrect or inaccurate, a form is supplied by the credit reporting agency with the report you ordered which has your account number on it for easier processing. You can use that form to specify in detail the exact problems that you see. Once you identify the problems, please ensure that any written correspondence is done by certified mail, with a return receipt requested so that you can verify that the credit reporting agency received your dispute.

Please also feel free to use the following letter that you change to your specific situation and also make sure that you send it by certified mail, return receipt requested.


Sample dispute letter:

Please ensure that you MAIL your dispute letter by CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED so that you can verify that the letter was actually received. Please also KEEP COPIES of ALL of your letters and all documents and enclosures that you send and receive. You may send a dispute letter to each CRA from which you have ordered, received and reviewed a copy of your report if you think there are errors or wrong information. The addresses for the dispute letters to the three credit reporting agencies are:

• Experian
  P.O. Box 9595
  Allen, TX 75013
  1-800-583-4080
   

• Equifax Information Services, LLC 
  P.O. Box 740256
  Atlanta, GA 30374
  1-888-873-5420
   

• TransUnion Disclosure Center 
  P.O. Box 2000
  Chester, PA 19022-2000
  1-800-916-8800

Please ensure that all of your communication with all of these credit reporting agencies is done in writing and that you verify the receipt of your letter by sending it certified mail, return receipt requested.

Please remember to be courteous in your written communication to the credit reporting agencies. Please remember to keep a copy of all letters you send and receive. If you have been damaged by inaccurate or incorrect information on your credit report and you have tried to correct it without success, please feel free to contact us.