 Sample Letters Dear Applicant: (name)
Tell them you had an adverse action taken against you. If any of the information contained in a report is incomplete or incorrect, you may dispute the matter directly with the agency that provided the information by writing or calling the agency. The reporting agencies DID NOT make the adverse decision and are not able to explain why the decision was made. Sincerely Owner/Manager:______________________________________ Date: A SUMMARY OF YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is designed to promote accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of every “consumer reporting agency(CRA). Most CRAs are credit bureaus that gather and sell information about you such as if you pay your bills on time or have filed bankruptcyto creditors, employers, landlords, and other businesses. You can find the complete text of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681-1681u, at the Federal Trade Commissions website (http://www.ftc.gov). The FCRA gives you specific rights, as outlined below. You may have additional rights under state law. You may contact a state or local consumer protection agency or a state attorney general to learn those rights. You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses information from a CRA to take action against you such as denying an application for credit, insurance, or employment must tell you and give you the name, address, and phone number of the CRA that provided the consumer report. You can find out what is in your file. At your request, a CRA must give you the information in your file, and a list of everyone who has requested it recently. There is no charge for the report if a person has taken action against you because of information supplied by the CRA, if you request the report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. You are also entitled to one free report every twelve months upon request if you verify that (1) You are unemployed and plan to seek employment within 60 days, (2) you are on welfare, or (3) your report is inaccurate due to fraud. Otherwise, a CRA may charge you up to eight dollars. You can dispute inaccurate information with the CRA. If you tell a CRA that your file contains inaccurate information, the CRA must investigate the items (usually within 30 days) by presenting to its information source all relevant evidence you submit, unless your dispute is frivolous. The source must review your evidence and report its findings to the CRA. (The source also must advise national CRAs -- to which it has provided the data -- of any error.) The CRA must give you a written report of the investigation, and a copy of your report if the investigation results in any change. If the CRA's investigation does not resolve the dispute, you may add a brief statement to your file. The CRA must normally include a summary of your statement in future reports. If an item is deleted or a dispute statement is filed, you may ask that anyone who has recently received your report be notified of the change. Inaccurate information must be corrected or deleted. A CRA must remove or correct inaccurate or unverified information from its files, usually within 30 days after you dispute it. However, the CRA is not required to remove accurate data from your file unless it is outdated (as described below) or cannot be verified. If your dispute results in any change to your report, the CRA cannot reinsert into your file a disputed item unless the information source verifies its accuracy and completeness. In addition, the CRA must give you a written notice telling you it has reinserted the item. The notice must include the name, address and phone number of the information source.
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