In 1970 Congress enacted a federal law to defend consumers from inaccuracies on their credit reports. This law is branded as the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the FCRA and it was passed to defend consumers and support the fairness, accuracy and privacy of personal information compiled by credit reporting agencies on credit reports.

The main credit reporting agencies are TransUnion, Equaifax and Experian. They are in the industry of collecting and compiling information used for credit evaluation and other purposes.

The FCRA gave consumers the entitlement to call into question and challenge any information found on a credit report on the foundation of truthfulness and completeness. After a dispute is issued the credit reporting bureaus have 30 to 45 days to authenticate the ownership and the accuracy of the disputed accounts. If they are not able to offer the corroboration within the time frame then the disputed information must be deleted from the credit report.

The credit reporting agencies also have other responsibilities under the FCRA. Each year a free credit report must be provided to any consumer who requests one. Before 2003 the consumer had to pay a fee for this report but an amendment in 2003 altered this and now it is provided at no charge. A report must also be provided if the consumer has been denied credit on the basis of what is provided in the report.

A consumer has the right to question any information on his or her report. As per the FCRA if information is deleted as a result of the consumer's dispute the credit reporting agency cannot put back the negative information without notifying the consumer in writing.

The FCRA also defined a limit as to how long negative information can stay on a report. Usually if must be removed within 7 years from the occasion of delinquency with the exception being a bankruptcy that can last for 10 years and a tax lien that can stay on the report for 7 years after it is paid off.

 There are estimates that as many as 40% of all disputes are not verified within the time frame. That means that up to 40% of all disputed information must be deleted before it is even checked out. A consumer can use that piece of information for their own profit however, consumers must also be aware that fair, truthful and accurate information should stay on the report even if it is deemed negative.

The FCRA protects consumers and gives them the right to do whatever is needed to repair negative and inaccurate credit. Consumers can manage credit repair on their own or they can also take into service a professional that specializes in credit repair. Either way a consumer with credit inaccuracies ought to take the time to repair his or her credit as they have the right to do so.