Does a Company Need Written Permission to Pull Your Credit?

Sure, you know that you are authorized to check your credit report whenever you want, once a year from each of the credit bureaus for free. However, you may not be sure of who else can check your credit report. Is it possible that anyone can check your credit, even without your permission?

Getting your credit report checked by companies you are doing business with is not unusual. In fact, when you are applying for a loan to buy a car, a house, or anything else, they check your credit. When you apply for a credit card, they check your credit score.

But who, out of all these people that check your credit, is authorized to do without your permission, and who is not? Most everybody that has a legitimate business need to check your credit can do so without obtaining written, or even verbal consent. However, most of these companies will ask for your permission first, though it is not required.

Employers

One person who is required to get your consent is your employer. This applies for potential employers also. If you are applying for a job, or have a job, they need your permission, though it does not always have to be written, to pull your credit. If you give them permission once, they generally do not have to ask for it again if they want to check your credit in the future.

Tip:

Many people do not keep track of their credit report as well as they should. When you are applying for a job or for credit, it is ideal that know exactly what the lender or potential employer is looking at when they check your report. It is crucial to know what is on your credit report because there could be mistakes, in which case you should immediately send a dispute letter conserning such to the credit bureaus so that you can get it eliminated.

Also, if you never checked your credit report, you could not repair the damage done by identity theft. Sure, your credit card company may let you know that you have maxed out on your credit card, you may convince them that it wasn’t you, and you may close that account to prevent further misunderstanding. However, it will still show on your credit report that you went over your credit limit, unless you check your report and dispute that mistake.

Some government agencies have limits on what they can see of your credit history. Things like your name, address, former address, and current and former employers are the only things that some companies are allowed to see. The rights you have concerning what companies can see of your credit history are protected under the FCRA, or the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

You have certain right when it comes to your credit privacy. It is sometimes difficult to know whether those rights are being protected or not. Knowing who needs permission to pull your credit and who does not will help you to keep your credit report safe from potential fraud.