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Your Rights Under the FCRA

A summary of your rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies such as Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. When you authorize HBRS to obtain your credit information through an Experian soft pull, that authorization and everything we do with your credit data is governed by the FCRA. Here is a summary of your major rights.

You must consent before we pull your credit

HBRS never accesses your credit report without your explicit, written, electronically signed consent. Your consent is valid for 90 days; after that, we ask again before any new pull. You may revoke consent at any time by contacting support@avance-financial.com.

Soft inquiries do not affect your credit score

The credit checks HBRS performs are soft inquiries. They are visible only to you, not to lenders, and they have no effect on your credit score.

Your key FCRA rights

  • You have the right to know what is in your file.You may request all the information a consumer reporting agency has about you (your "file disclosure").
  • You are entitled to free annual credit reports. You can get one free report from each nationwide bureau every 12 months at annualcreditreport.com or 1-877-322-8228.
  • You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify errors, the consumer reporting agency must investigate, usually within 30 days, and correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information.
  • You have the right to know if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report to take adverse action against you must tell you and give you the name of the agency that provided the report.
  • Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. In most cases, negative information older than seven years, or bankruptcies older than ten years, may not be reported.
  • Access to your file is limited. Only people and companies with a valid need, usually in connection with a transaction you initiated, may access your report.
  • You may limit prescreened offers. You can opt out of unsolicited credit and insurance offers at 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).
  • You may place a security freeze or fraud alert. A freeze prohibits a consumer reporting agency from releasing your report without your express authorization. Freezes are free under federal law.
  • You may seek damages from violators. If a consumer reporting agency, or a user or furnisher of consumer report information, violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.

Disputing information in your Experian report

HBRS is not a consumer reporting agency and cannot change the contents of your credit report. If you believe information in your Experian report is inaccurate, dispute it directly with Experian at experian.com/disputes, by phone, or by mail. We're happy to point you in the right direction; contact us any time.

Full text of your rights

The complete CFPB summary of consumer rights under the FCRA is available at consumerfinance.gov/learnmore. For questions about how HBRS handles your credit data, see our Privacy Policy or contact us.