The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 (FACTA) is a federal law that was enacted to promote accuracy, fairness, and privacy in consumer credit reporting. The law was designed to protect consumers from identity theft and to provide them with the means to monitor and correct their credit reports.
The FACTA Act amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and requires credit reporting agencies to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report every 12 months upon request. It also requires companies that use consumer credit reports for employment purposes to obtain the individual’s written consent prior to conducting a background check.
Some key provisions of the FACTA Act include:
Free credit reports: Consumers are entitled to receive a free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) once every 12 months.
Identity theft prevention: The FACTA Act requires creditors to take certain steps to prevent identity theft, such as verifying the identity of individuals applying for credit and providing fraud alerts to consumers who have been the victim of identity theft.
Disposal of sensitive information: The FACTA Act requires companies to take steps to properly dispose of sensitive information, such as shredding or burning documents containing personal information.
Medical information: The FACTA Act provides additional protections for medical information, including prohibiting the display of Social Security numbers on insurance cards and requiring that medical information be properly disposed of.
Credit report disputes: The FACTA Act requires credit reporting agencies to investigate disputes raised by consumers and to correct any inaccurate information on their credit reports.
The FACTA Act has had a significant impact on consumer credit reporting and has provided consumers with important protections against identity theft and inaccurate credit reporting. It is important for consumers to be aware of their rights under the FACTA Act and to take advantage of the free credit reports that are available to them.
