Credit Reports

Is it legal for a business to obtain a credit report without first getting your permission or notifying you that they are doing so?

This article may be of some use to you: Fair Credit Reporting Act Lawyers

Thanks for the link. I did but an employer is not my problem. It is a utility company. I have security freezes on my credit reports. The utility company tried to pull it without telling me and now wants to charge me a security deposit. Had I known they were going to pull it, I would have lifted the freeze. Can they legally do it without telling me?

I am not sure what your primary concern is.

They probably aren't charging you a deposit because you have a security freeze on your report. They are charging you a deposit based on the information in your credit report.

When you applied for new services, you authorized them to verify your credit---this is standard procedure for any utility company with which I have accounts. I would read the fine print in the application for service. Ten to one in there it says in tiny print they may pull your credit to determine if a deposit is necessary. Any time you provide your SS number, you can assume they are looking at your credit, OR they CAN if they wish to.

Credit Inquiries: Guess who's Looking at your Credit Report - Credit.com