The content is accurate at the time of publication and is subject to change.

In the current financial world, every company that you wish to have a financial transaction runs a credit check on you. With so many people having access to your credit reports, there is a need for the law to protect the rights of the credit report of a common man. This is the reason why the Fair Credit Report Act or the FCRA was put into act, to protect the credit rights of people.

The fair credit report act puts a restriction on the kind of people that can have access to your credit report. Only special cases like employers, land lords, loan providers and credit card companies can access your credit report for strictly business purposes. Auto companies that pre approves you for an auto loan and utility providers too can access your credit report, only if you seek their services.

Another important aspect of the fair credit report act is that, it requires that you are provided a copy of the information that these people can access. You will be in complete knowledge of every piece of information that the person seeking your credit report, gets. This means that you will know whether or not you will obtain the loan that you applied for, or if you will be approved for the credit card you applied for.

The fair credit report act also specifies that every person with a credit report should be provided a free annual credit report. This is the most important rule that the consumer can benefit from. Every person who has a credit history should make use of this particular rule and should get a free copy of their credit report. This will greatly help in keeping the financial situations healthy. If you know what your credit report is, or where you stand in terms of financial situation, it will be easier for you to make financial decisions in future. If you come to know that you have a low score, then you will know what is causing that low score and you will be in a better position to fix it. Since there is always a scope of improvement when it comes to finances, you will surely need your credit report to determine where that improvement must happen. All your financial transactions will be reflected in your credit report so you will be able to streamline your priorities and make intelligent purchases using your credit card to reflect a healthy score.

Disclaimer: This editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer(s). Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of the credit card issuer(s), and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer(s). Reasonable efforts are made to present accurate information, however all information is presented without warranty. Consult a card's issuing bank for the terms & conditions.
All rates and fees, and other terms and conditions of the products mentioned in this article/post are actual as of the last update date but are subject to change. See the current products' Terms & Conditions on the issuing banks' websites.