Background Reports and the Fair Credit Reporting Act

FCRA Applies to Background Reports by Potential Employers The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that applies to credit reports.  The FCRA was enacted to protect the accuracy and privacy of consumer information in consumer credit reporting agency files.  The definition of “credit report” includes what is commonly known as an employee…

Your Rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

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…

Credit Report Problems

Everyone has credit report problems.  It can be an incorrect entry, an account that you paid off that’s mis-marked, an incorrect amount, an incorrect delinquency, or a host of other things.   Fortunately, you have protection under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  The FCRA is a powerful federal law that governs all credit reporting…

Bad Envelope = FDCPA Violation

Douglass v Convergent Outsourcing Third Circuit Court of Appeals The Third Circuit Court of Appeals on August 28, 2014 issued a precedential opinion in the case of Douglass v Convergent Outsourcing f/k/a ER Solutions, Inc. Douglass filed an action against Convergent Outsourcing for sending a collection letter using a window envelope that exposed Mr. Douglass’s…

Keep Your Envelopes

Now that the Court has spoken on this issue, it is a violation for a debt collector to disclose on the outside of an envelope (or if you can see it through the envelope window) any personal information other than the debt collector’s address. This can include a file number, identification number or a QR…