20580 you must be told if information in your file

20580.
 You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses
a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit,
insurance, or employment – or to take another adverse action against you – must tell you, and
must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the
information.
 You have the right to know what is in your file. You may request and obtain all the
information about you in the files of a consumer reporting agency (your “file disclosure”).
You will be required to provide proper identification, which may include your Social
Security number. In many cases, the disclosure will be free. You are entitled to a free file
disclosure if:
o a person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit
report;
o you are the victim of identify theft and place a fraud alert in your file;
o your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud;
o you are on public assistance;
o you are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.
In addition, by September 2005 all consumers will be entitled to one free disclosure every 12
months upon request from each nationwide credit bureau and from nationwide specialty
consumer reporting agencies. See for additional information.
 You have the right to ask for a credit score. Credit scores are numerical summaries of your
credit-worthiness based on information from credit bureaus. You may request a credit score
from consumer reporting agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential
real property loans, but you will have to pay for it. In some mortgage transactions, you will
receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.
 You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify
information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate, and report it to the consumer
reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See
for an explanation of dispute procedures.
 Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or
unverifiable information. Inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information must be
removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency may
continue to report information it has verified as accurate.
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M o r t g a g e L e n d i n g P r i n c i p l e s & P r a c t i c e s
 Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. In most
cases, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than
seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
 Access to your file is limited. A consumer reporting agency may provide information about
you only to people with a valid need – usually to consider an application with a creditor,
insurer, employer, landlord, or other business. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need
for access.