Proprietary Information
The information contained herein was prepared by and for the exclusive use of ESCO Group. Any reproduction or use of this
material by persons other than an authorized employee of the Company is prohibited.
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A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files
of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus
and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and
rental history records). Here is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For more information, including
information about additional rights, go to www.ftc.gov/credit or write to: Consumer Response Center, Room
130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 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 youi n 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 free
file disclosure if:
a person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit-report;
you are the victim of identity theft and place a fraud alert in your file;
your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud;
you are on public assistance;
you are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.
In addition, by September 2005 all consumers will be entitle to oen free disclosure every 12 months upon request
from each nationwide credit bureau and from nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. See
www.ftc.gov/credit for more 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 can 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 www.ftc.gov/credit 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.
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.
You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers. A consumer reporting agency may not give