The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a United States federal law that was enacted by Congress to regulate the collection and use of credit and other financial information. The Fair Credit Reporting Act also oversees practices the three major credit reporting bureaus, plus several smaller reporting agencies.

The information overseen by this law and garnered by these agencies include (but are not limited to) credit account history, loan account history, medical records or payments, residential or tenant history, check writing history, and insurance claims.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act also ensures that each individual has appropriate financial privacy and is not denied for any unreasonable piece of credit history. This is also the same act that allows individuals to obtain a free copy of their credit report from each of the three major bureaus per year. In addition, after any sort of denial of credit based on reporting history, an individual has the right to review their report for free.

Any agency that willfully does not comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act can be fined severely or even sued. The United States Government takes the terms and conditions of the FCRA very seriously, and any allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated.

While these are just the basic pieces of the scope in which the FCRA upholds, the overall reason for this law is consumer protection. Check online or with your local credit expert for further details on the FCRA, Now that you are empowered with new information, use the FCRA to your advantage when the collectors or the credit bureau violate the law.

Mark Clayborne is a Certified Credit Consultant with ten years of experience assisting consumers with credit issues. For more powerful secrets on credit repair, debt settlement, stopping collectors, rebuilding your credit, and raising your score, please read the first chapter of The Credit Repair EBook for Free and get a Free Restore your Credit E-class at http://www.hiddencreditrepairsecrets.com