You may consider “return receipt requested,” for proof that the credit reporting company received it. I am writing in response to your letter concerning the requirement in Section 604(b)(3) of the amended Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that any person intending to take an adverse employment action, based in whole or in part on the contents of a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency (CRA), must first provide a "copy of the report" to the consumer. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016 4. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals, FTC Staff Opinion Letter: Fair Credit Reporting Act Section 604. In the same way, a request to "test drive" a vehicle does not indicate an intent to initiate the purchase or lease of the vehicle. THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT (FCRA) [15 U.S.C. First, you ask if a CRA is responsible for sending the required summary to employers. Unsolicited credit card offers that come in the mail are called “soft inquiries.” Credit card issuers, insurance companies, and lenders make those inquiries. In this regard, we note that obtaining information for negotiation purposes does not constitute a "legitimate" business need. 40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT Contents Staff Report Introduction 1 Evolution of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 2 FTC Enforcement of the FCRA 3 FTC’s Regulatory and Interpretive Roles 5 FTC Staff Summary and Relationship to 1990 Commentary 7 Other Significant Interpretations in the FTC Staff Summary 12 Summary of Interpretations Overview 17 Reference to … Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) (15 USC §§1681-1681u) became effective on April 25, 1971. The 609 letter is similar to a debt verification letter you would send to a third-party collector when trying to validate the legitimacy of a balance due, which is your right under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.The 609 letter, however, is based on Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal law that regulates the credit reporting agencies. Finally, the site may receive compensation from third-party advertisers. Users are cautioned that the FCRA is a complex federal law and this summary should not be viewed as a complete analysis of the law. We will never ever recommend a product or service that we wouldn't use ourselves. Please try again. Section 604(a)(1). How to Read & Understand Your Credit Report, Statue of Limitations on Debt - State By State, Everything You Need to Know About Filing for Bankruptcy, How To Rebuild Your Credit After Bankruptcy, Guaranteed Installment Loans for Bad Credit. You can do this order to protect yourself from unscrupulous creditors and overworked credit bureaus. L. 108-159, secs. § 1681] (a) Accuracy and fairness of credit reporting. In such a situation, the dealer must obtain written permission from the consumer before obtaining a consumer report. 1108 Lavaca -- P. O. The dealer's "permissible purpose" here is provided by Section 604(a)(3)(A), which permits the use of consumer reports in connection with a credit transaction involving the consumer. Permissible purpose is defined in Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). You ask whether a party that has secured an employee's authorization for the report in an employment application must … 2. You have no way to ascertain the legitimacy of my action without investigating the items in question. We hope you find it useful. In addition to the required disclosure of information in your credit file, Section 609 requires credit bureaus to provide a summary of your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a list of the federal agencies that enforce the act, and a statement that the credit bureau is not required to remove accurate, negative information unless it is outdated or cannot be verified. Section 604 contains a list of the permissible purposes under the law. These have negatively impacted my ability to receive credit and have provided unnecessary embarrassment and inconvenience. After that, they should fall off naturally. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Be sure to send via certified mail rather than standard mail delivery to get a faster response and ensure your letter is received. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), consumers have the right to dispute any inaccurate information on their credit report. Otherwise, anyone paying for your reporting services could fax, mail or email in a fraudulent account. The consumer may simply be comparison shopping. Credit inquiries don’t have a … State law may impose additional requirements. If this is the case, they can send a credit inquiry removal letter and have all or some of the hard inquiries removed. Fair Credit Reporting Act § 609 Disclosures to consumers: (c) (2) (E): A consumer reporting agency is not required to remove accurate derogatory information from a consumer's file, unless the information is outdated under section 605 or cannot be verified. While having too many credit inquiries can hurt your credit score, they are the smallest scoring factor. Index of Credit-Rebuilding Letters. Sometimes companies and individuals make hard inquiries that were not authorized by you. A 609 letter is a letter used to dispute errors or other inaccuracies off your credit report after the Debt […] 609 Letter Example. The answer is yes, because Section 604(b)(2)(A) specifically states that the document containing the required disclosure may not include other items. (1) The dealer may also obtain a report to check a consumer's creditworthiness when the consumer presents a personal check to pay for the vehicle. A Credit Inquiry Removal Letter can be a relatively easy and effective way to improve your credit score. This article was edited and reviewed by FindLaw Attorney Writers However, you can write to the credit bureau and request disclosure of information under section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. While credit inquiries are typically the least significant scoring factor on your credit report, accounting for approximately five points for each inquiry, they can add up quickly if you’re not careful. We find that most people spend too much time worrying about credit inquiries. It’s called a “credit inquiry removal letter” or a “credit inquiry dispute letter.”. I never authorized such action and this constitutes a violation of my rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act §604 as well as a violation of my rights to privacy. On the plus side, an inquiry only affects your credit score for one year. § 1681b(a)(3)(A) PERMISSIBLE PURPOSE…. To be sure, however, check with the creditor before agreeing to one. All rights reserved. The staff's view is that an automobile dealer may obtain a report only in those circumstances in which the consumer clearly understands that he or she is initiating the purchase or lease of a vehicle and the seller has a legitimate business need for the consumer report information in order to complete the transaction. § 1681] TABLE OF CONTENTS § 601 Short title All users must have a permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to obtain a consumer report. 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