What does it take to get someone elses credit report?

Question

I went and looked at a apartment yesterday, and talked to the landlord just a bit. I said i liked it and was interested in renting it. He said he didnt have any applications on him but he would contact me later. Well today he called and said he want interested in renting to me, because he pulled my credit report and it wasnt good enough. The thing is I only told him my name. I didnt even tell him were i live now. Also my credit isnt bad. I think i was discriminated against.

Answer 1

He's lying. He could not have obtained a credit report with just your name.

But you can catch him in his lie. Ask him for an adverse action notice, and watch him change his story.

From the Federal Trade Commision web site:

"When an adverse action is taken by a landlord that is based solely or partly on information in a consumer report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the landlord to provide a notice of the adverse action to the consumer. The notice must include:

-the name, address and telephone number of the consumer reporting agency (CRA) that supplied the consumer report, including a toll-free telephone number for CRAs that maintain files nationwide;

-a statement that the CRA that supplied the report did not make the decision to take the adverse action and cannot give the specific reasons for it; and

-a notice of the individual's right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information the CRA furnished, and the consumer's right to a free report from the CRA upon request within 60 days.

The adverse action notice is required even if information in the consumer report was not the main reason for the denial.

Landlords who fail to provide required disclosure notices face legal consequences. The FCRA allows individuals to sue landlords for damages in federal court. A person who successfully sues is entitled to recover court costs and reasonable legal fees. The law also allows individuals to seek punitive damages for deliberate violations of the FCRA. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), other federal agencies and the states may sue landlords for non-compliance and get civil penalties."
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/landlord.shtm

Finally, housing discrimination based on your race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status, or disability is illegal by federal law. If you believe your rights have been violated, you can file a fair housing complaint. See:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/

Answer 2

You need quite a bit to get a credit report.

1) Date of Birth
2) Full Name
3) Social Security Number
4) Mother's Maiden Name
5) Address / Previous Address
6) Some website require you to answer a multiple choice question about your credit history that only you would know.

It does sound like you were discriminated against, hope this helps.

Answer 3

Poster 2 is correct.

You need a full name, D.O.B., address & S.S.N. to pull credit plus the persons signature or implied permission from the person.


A lot of people are misinformed and think that you must sign a credit application before credit can be pulled, this is simply not true.

Answer 4

One way to turn you down for renting his property. He can't obtain your credit report if he only has your name. Besides, if you put in an application for the apartment and gave your information, you have to sign it before he can check your credit report.

I can smell the discrimination. Go back and ask him how does he get your credit report and who authorized him to obtain your credit report without your consent?. Ask him the real reason why he turn you down for renting his property. He may violate the Housing Act either because of your race, gender, national origin, disability, family status or religion.

For example: he can only turn you down if his complex only allow 4 occupants in one unit and you have 5-6 people then he has the right turn you down..... something that's in the lease. Otherwise, he has no rights to turn you down.

Answer 5

It is fraudulent for someone to pull your report without your consent. In order to pull a report, he would need your name, SSN, DOB, address and most of all, your permission.
Sounds like you might have been discriminated against. Talk to your local Fair Housing rep.