Is it illegal to run a credit report without permission?
Isabella Turner
Updated on January 21, 2026
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) has a strict limit on who can check your credit and under what circumstance. The law regulates credit reporting and ensures that only business entities with a specific, legitimate purpose, and not members of the general public, can check your credit without written permission.
Can I sue a company for running my credit without my permission?
If you believe that somebody wrongfully pulled your credit report, you might be able to sue them in state or federal court for damages.
Can you sue a company for messing up your credit?
Yes, you might be able to sue a company for false credit reporting. However, before you seek a civil remedy through the courts, you should properly exercise your rights under the law. Begin by challenging the information with the credit bureau.
Can a collection agency pull your credit report without your permission?
Because collection agency inquiries are hard pulls, repeated inquiries from a debt collector can hurt your credit rating. For a debt collector to have the legal right to pull your credit report without your consent, you must owe the company a legitimate debt and it must stem from a voluntary credit transaction.
What can you do if a company runs your credit without permission?
If your credit was run in error or without your authorization, you have the right to ask the credit bureau in question to delete the inquiry from your credit file. You may need to file a dispute with the credit bureau, as well as with the company that provided the information on the inquiry.
What are some things you can do now to improve your creditworthiness?
How to Improve Your Credit Score
- Review Your Credit Reports.
- Get a Handle on Bill Payments.
- Aim for 30% Credit Utilization or Less.
- Limit Your Requests for New Credit and “Hard” Inquiries.
- Make the Most of a Thin Credit File.
- Keep Old Accounts Open and Deal With Delinquencies.
- Consider Consolidating Your Debts.
Can you sue someone for running a credit check without your consent?
credit: Comstock/Stockbyte/Getty Images. You can sue someone in civil court if they run a credit check without your consent, but you may need a lawyer and will have to prove the act was intentional. In addition to legal action, you should write the lender and ask him to remove this inquiry with the credit bureaus.
Can a business soft pull my credit card without my permission?
In many cases, businesses with a legitimate reason can initiate a soft pull without your permission. (If you’ve received a targeted credit card offer in the mail, it was probably a result of a soft pull by a lender.)
Do you need to Know Your Rights in a dispute with a retailer?
The law is often on your side when you do battle with a retailer. Here’s what you need to know to win the day. It’s important to know your rights when you’re trying to resolve a dispute with a retailer. But people often make the wrong assumptions about what the laws allow, or they rely on misinformation from friends, family, or merchants.
What happens if someone pulls your credit without your permission?
If you see that someone pulled your credit without your permission, don’t stress. Know that not all credit pulls affect your score negatively — but, of course, some do. We’ll explain the differences.
