Who Can Look at Your Credit
You might think that your credit report is confidential. Yet, while the information
contained therein is pretty darn personal, it’s by no means a secret.
A variety of people or companies can look at your credit report, as long
as they have a “permissible purpose,” as defined by the Fair Credit
Reporting Act. This variety includes:
- potential lenders;
- credit card issuers;
- potential landlords;
- banks (e.g., when considering offering you overdraft protection or while
setting your ATM cash withdrawal limit);
- insurance companies;
- employers and potential employers (though only with your written consent,
in most cases);
- government agencies (although they may only view portions of your report);
- a company you hire to alert you to signs of identity theft;
- some groups considering your application for a government license or
benefit;
- someone who needs to access your report in order to provide a product
or service you ordered;
- a state or local child support enforcement agency; and
- anyone else who has your written permission to access your credit report.
You’ll notice that most of the people on this list are people with
whom you have initiated business of some sort, whether you applied for a loan
or hired a company to prevent identity theft.
Other groups require your written permission before they may view your credit
history, including employers and potential employers.
Next: Potential Employers
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