On Your Own; Your Legal Right @ Eighteen On Your Own formatted final version | Page 20

information about your marital status, race, religion, color, ancestry,
ethnic origin, sex, sexual preference, or political affiliation, except as
required for government record keeping. Under Vermont law, a business
may not obtain a report on you without your permission except under
limited circumstances.
If you are denied credit based on a credit report, the user of the report
must give you a written summary of your rights under the Fair Credit
Reporting Act and the name and telephone number of the credit reporting
agency that provided the report (including a toll-free number, if it is a
nationwide CRA that provided the report). The user of your credit report
may not give the information in the file to anyone besides you—it is
private and confidential.
An investigative credit report cannot be prepared about you unless you
have been provided clear written notice of the investigation not later than
three days after the report was first requested. This notice must also give
you a written summary of your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
and the name and toll-free number of the credit reporting agency if one
was involved.
Because your credit rating is so important, under Vermont law you can
request a free copy of your credit report once a year. (To see if there’s a
file on you at a credit bureau, call some in your area searching under
“Credit Reporting Agencies.” Also, annualcreditreport.com is one such
agency where you can obtain a free report by indicating that you are a
Vermont resident). If you dispute any of the information, the credit bureau
must re-investigate and correct the mistake if it finds an error. The credit
bureau must give you a written report of the investigation and a copy of
your report if the investigation results in any change. If the bureau decides
that there is no error but you still dispute the information, you may file a
brief statement setting forth your side of the story and the credit bureau
must put this information in your file. You also are entitled to be given the
names of persons or companies who recently received your credit report.
Credit reports in your own name. If you are married, you may choose a
joint or individual account. If you choose a joint account, federal law
requires that it be reported in both your and your spouse’s name. If you
get divorced, or if you want to apply for credit under your own name, and
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