Currently, consumers have a right to a free credit report when it is the basis for the denial of credit, insurance or employment. The new law recognizes that credit reports are now used when a consumer applies for a wide variety of products, including a bank account and an apartment. Banks and other businesses must not give credit bureaus wrong information about their customers when they know or should know that it is wrong, and they must promptly correct inaccuracies previously reported. Once a bank notifies a bureau that previously reported information is incorrect, the bureau must notify all other national bureaus of the correction. While the new law allows credit bureaus to sell names and addresses to credit card companies, as does current law, it requires bureaus to set up a toll-free phone number that consumers can call to block their name from any such list.
Privacy is a key issue in the information age.