The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), codified at 15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq., is one of the most powerful consumer protection laws in the United States. It governs what credit bureaus can report, how long they can report it, and what they must do when you dispute it.
Most people never use the rights it grants them. Here is what you are entitled to.
Right 1: Access to Your Credit File (Section 609)
Under FCRA §609, you have the right to request your complete credit file from any credit bureau at any time. You are entitled to one free report per year from each bureau at AnnualCreditReport.com, and bureaus must provide your file within 15 days of your request.
§609 also entitles you to the following information on request:
- The nature, source, and recipients of information in your file
- Every business that has requested your report in the past 2 years
- A copy of your report in a readable format
Right 2: Dispute Any Inaccurate Item (Section 611)
FCRA §611 is the dispute provision. When you file a dispute, the bureau must:
- Acknowledge receipt within 5 business days
- Investigate within 30 days (45 days if you submit additional documentation)
- Notify the furnisher of the dispute
- Remove the item if it cannot be verified
- Provide you with the results in writing
Under §611(a)(7), if you request the method of verification after a "verified" response, the bureau must provide it within 15 days. This is the basis for Round 2 dispute letters.
Right 3: Furnisher Responsibility (Section 623)
Furnishers -- the creditors and collections agencies that supply data to bureaus -- have obligations too. Under FCRA §623:
- They must report accurate information
- They must update or correct information they know to be inaccurate
- They must investigate disputes forwarded to them by bureaus
- They must stop reporting items they cannot verify
Right 4: Items That Must Be Removed After 7 Years
Under FCRA §605, the following items have mandatory removal deadlines:
- Most negative items: 7 years from the date of first delinquency
- Chapter 13 bankruptcy: 7 years from filing date
- Chapter 7 bankruptcy: 10 years from filing date
- Civil judgments (as applicable): 7 years
Bureaus are supposed to remove these automatically, but they often do not. If you have a negative item past its window, dispute it immediately citing §605.
Right 5: Sue for Violations
Under FCRA §616, if a bureau willfully fails to comply with the FCRA, you can sue for:
- Actual damages
- Statutory damages of $100-$1,000 per violation
- Punitive damages in egregious cases
- Attorney fees
Cases like Richardson v. Fleet Bank, Henson v. CSC Credit Services, and Bryant v. TRW have established strong precedent for consumer recovery. These cases are cited in Storehouse360 dispute letters to signal that the letter was written by someone familiar with the law.
See how Storehouse360 uses these rights automatically to generate legal dispute letters for you.