Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have a right to the fair and accurate reporting of your credit information. You are also entitled to certain privacy rights concerning your credit information and protection from the misuse of your credit information.

The most common cases for violating your credit reporting rights are:

• Mixed Files- mistaken identity- i.e. confusing your information such as name, address, height, weight, and background, with someone else’s information;
• Identity Theft- i.e. stolen Social Security number, name, address, and other identifying information;
• Mistakes and errors- i.e. late payments or delinquency notations that are not accurate;
• Unauthorized Credit Inquiry- i.e. someone pulls your credit without authorization.

Damages you may be entitled to:

• Economic-
  • Actual (provable) damages (such as: out-of-pocket/ lost job/ lost wages/ increased credit costs), or
  • Statutory damages between $100 and $1,000 (to get these you don’t have to prove that the violation harmed you).
• Noneconomic- loss of sleep/ nervousness/ frustration/ mental anguish/ injury to reputation, family, work, and sense of well-being/ humiliation/ embarrassment, and mental distress.
• Punitive damages, as decided by the court.
• Attorney fees and costs.