FACTA Laws and Your Credit Score | National Credit Federation

101: Learn About Credit
201: Learn About Credit Repair
301: Learn About Us
401: Learn About Credit Laws: Lesson 1: Fair Credit Reporting Act; Lesson 2: Fair and Accurate Credit Transations Act; Lesson 3: Fair Credit Billing Act; Lesson 4: Equal Credit Opportunity Act; Lesson 5: Credit Repair Organizations Act; Lesson 6: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

TITLE III—ENHANCING THE ACCURACY OF CONSUMER REPORT INFORMATION
SEC. 311. RISK-BASED PRICING NOTICE.
(a) DUTIES OF USERS.—Section 615 of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m), as amended by this Act, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(h) DUTIES OF USERS IN CERTAIN CREDIT TRANSACTIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to rules prescribed as provided
in paragraph (6), if any person uses a consumer report in
connection with an application for, or a grant, extension, or
other provision of, credit on material terms that are materially
less favorable than the most favorable terms available to a
substantial proportion of consumers from or through that person,
based in whole or in part on a consumer report, the
person shall provide an oral, written, or electronic notice to
the consumer in the form and manner required by regulations
prescribed in accordance with this subsection.
‘‘(2) TIMING.—The notice required under paragraph (1) may
be provided at the time of an application for, or a grant,
extension, or other provision of, credit or the time of communication
of an approval of an application for, or grant, extension,
or other provision of, credit, except as provided in the regulations
prescribed under paragraph (6).
‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—No notice shall be required from a person
under this subsection if—
‘‘(A) the consumer applied for specific material terms
and was granted those terms, unless those terms were
initially specified by the person after the transaction was
initiated by the consumer and after the person obtained
a consumer report; or
‘‘(B) the person has provided or will provide a notice
to the consumer under subsection (a) in connection with
the transaction.
‘‘(4) OTHER NOTICE NOT SUFFICIENT.—A person that is
required to provide a notice under subsection (a) cannot meet
that requirement by providing a notice under this subsection.
‘‘(5) CONTENT AND DELIVERY OF NOTICE.—A notice under
this subsection shall, at a minimum—
‘‘(A) include a statement informing the consumer that
the terms offered to the consumer are set based on information
from a consumer report;
‘‘(B) identify the consumer reporting agency furnishing
the report;
‘‘(C) include a statement informing the consumer that
the consumer may obtain a copy of a consumer report
from that consumer reporting agency without charge; and
‘‘(D) include the contact information specified by that
consumer reporting agency for obtaining such consumer
reports (including a toll-free telephone number established
by the agency in the case of a consumer reporting agency
described in section 603(p)).
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PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003 117 STAT. 1989
‘‘(6) RULEMAKING.—
‘‘(A) RULES REQUIRED.—The Commission and the Board
shall jointly prescribe rules.
‘‘(B) CONTENT.—Rules required by subparagraph (A)
shall address, but are not limited to—
‘‘(i) the form, content, time, and manner of delivery
of any notice under this subsection;
‘‘(ii) clarification of the meaning of terms used
in this subsection, including what credit terms are
material, and when credit terms are materially less
favorable;
‘‘(iii) exceptions to the notice requirement under
this subsection for classes of persons or transactions
regarding which the agencies determine that notice
would not significantly benefit consumers;
‘‘(iv) a model notice that may be used to comply
with this subsection; and
‘‘(v) the timing of the notice required under paragraph
(1), including the circumstances under which
the notice must be provided after the terms offered
to the consumer were set based on information from
a consumer report.
‘‘(7) COMPLIANCE.—A person shall not be liable for failure
to perform the duties required by this section if, at the time
of the failure, the person maintained reasonable policies and
procedures to comply with this section.
‘‘(8) ENFORCEMENT.—
‘‘(A) NO CIVIL ACTIONS.—Sections 616 and 617 shall
not apply to any failure by any person to comply with
this section.
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.—This section
shall be enforced exclusively under section 621 by the Federal
agencies and officials identified in that section.’’.
(b) RELATION TO STATE LAWS.—Section 625(b)(1) of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681t(b)(1)), as so designated by
section 214 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(I) section 615(h), relating to the duties of users of
consumer reports to provide notice with respect to terms
in certain credit transactions;’’.
SEC. 312. PROCEDURES TO ENHANCE THE ACCURACY AND INTEGRITY
OF INFORMATION FURNISHED TO CONSUMER
REPORTING AGENCIES.
(a) ACCURACY GUIDELINES AND REGULATIONS.—Section 623 of
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) ACCURACY GUIDELINES AND REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—
‘‘(1) GUIDELINES.—The Federal banking agencies, the
National Credit Union Administration, and the Commission
shall, with respect to the entities that are subject to their
respective enforcement authority under section 621, and in
coordination as described in paragraph (2)—
‘‘(A) establish and maintain guidelines for use by each
person that furnishes information to a consumer reporting
agency regarding the accuracy and integrity of the information
relating to consumers that such entities furnish to
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117 STAT. 1990 PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003
consumer reporting agencies, and update such guidelines
as often as necessary; and
‘‘(B) prescribe regulations requiring each person that
furnishes information to a consumer reporting agency to
establish reasonable policies and procedures for implementing
the guidelines established pursuant to subparagraph
(A).
‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—Each agency required to prescribe
regulations under paragraph (1) shall consult and coordinate
with each other such agency so that, to the extent possible,
the regulations prescribed by each such entity are consistent
and comparable with the regulations prescribed by each other
such agency.
‘‘(3) CRITERIA.—In developing the guidelines required by
paragraph (1)(A), the agencies described in paragraph (1)
shall—
‘‘(A) identify patterns, practices, and specific forms of
activity that can compromise the accuracy and integrity
of information furnished to consumer reporting agencies;
‘‘(B) review the methods (including technological
means) used to furnish information relating to consumers
to consumer reporting agencies;
‘‘(C) determine whether persons that furnish information
to consumer reporting agencies maintain and enforce
policies to assure the accuracy and integrity of information
furnished to consumer reporting agencies; and
‘‘(D) examine the policies and processes that persons
that furnish information to consumer reporting agencies
employ to conduct reinvestigations and correct inaccurate
information relating to consumers that has been furnished
to consumer reporting agencies.’’.
(b) DUTY OF FURNISHERS TO PROVIDE ACCURATE INFORMATION.—
Section 623(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.
1681s–2(a)(1)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘knows or consciously
avoids knowing that the information is inaccurate’’ and
inserting ‘‘knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the
information is inaccurate’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(D) DEFINITION.—For purposes of subparagraph (A),
the term ‘reasonable cause to believe that the information
is inaccurate’ means having specific knowledge, other than
solely allegations by the consumer, that would cause a
reasonable person to have substantial doubts about the
accuracy of the information.’’.
(c) ABILITY OF CONSUMER TO DISPUTE INFORMATION DIRECTLY
WITH FURNISHER.—Section 623(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
(15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)), as amended by this Act, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(8) ABILITY OF CONSUMER TO DISPUTE INFORMATION
DIRECTLY WITH FURNISHER.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal banking agencies, the
National Credit Union Administration, and the Commission
shall jointly prescribe regulations that shall identify the
circumstances under which a furnisher shall be required
to reinvestigate a dispute concerning the accuracy of
Regulations.
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PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003 117 STAT. 1991
information contained in a consumer report on the consumer,
based on a direct request of a consumer.
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In prescribing regulations
under subparagraph (A), the agencies shall weigh—
‘‘(i) the benefits to consumers with the costs on
furnishers and the credit reporting system;
‘‘(ii) the impact on the overall accuracy and integrity
of consumer reports of any such requirements;
‘‘(iii) whether direct contact by the consumer with
the furnisher would likely result in the most expeditious
resolution of any such dispute; and
‘‘(iv) the potential impact on the credit reporting
process if credit repair organizations, as defined in
section 403(3), including entities that would be a credit
repair organization, but for section 403(3)(B)(i), are
able to circumvent the prohibition in subparagraph
(G).
‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraphs (D) through (G)
shall apply in any circumstance identified under the regulations
promulgated under subparagraph (A).
‘‘(D) SUBMITTING A NOTICE OF DISPUTE.—A consumer
who seeks to dispute the accuracy of information shall
provide a dispute notice directly to such person at the
address specified by the person for such notices that—
‘‘(i) identifies the specific information that is being
disputed;
‘‘(ii) explains the basis for the dispute; and
‘‘(iii) includes all supporting documentation
required by the furnisher to substantiate the basis
of the dispute.
‘‘(E) DUTY OF PERSON AFTER RECEIVING NOTICE OF DISPUTE.—
After receiving a notice of dispute from a consumer
pursuant to subparagraph (D), the person that provided
the information in dispute to a consumer reporting agency
shall—
‘‘(i) conduct an investigation with respect to the
disputed information;
‘‘(ii) review all relevant information provided by
the consumer with the notice;
‘‘(iii) complete such person’s investigation of the
dispute and report the results of the investigation to
the consumer before the expiration of the period under
section 611(a)(1) within which a consumer reporting
agency would be required to complete its action if
the consumer had elected to dispute the information
under that section; and
‘‘(iv) if the investigation finds that the information
reported was inaccurate, promptly notify each consumer
reporting agency to which the person furnished
the inaccurate information of that determination and
provide to the agency any correction to that information
that is necessary to make the information provided
by the person accurate.
‘‘(F) FRIVOLOUS OR IRRELEVANT DISPUTE.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—This paragraph shall not apply
if the person receiving a notice of a dispute from a
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117 STAT. 1992 PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003
consumer reasonably determines that the dispute is
frivolous or irrelevant, including—
‘‘(I) by reason of the failure of a consumer
to provide sufficient information to investigate the
disputed information; or
‘‘(II) the submission by a consumer of a dispute
that is substantially the same as a dispute previously
submitted by or for the consumer, either
directly to the person or through a consumer
reporting agency under subsection (b), with respect
to which the person has already performed the
person’s duties under this paragraph or subsection
(b), as applicable.
‘‘(ii) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.—Upon making
any determination under clause (i) that a dispute is
frivolous or irrelevant, the person shall notify the consumer
of such determination not later than 5 business
days after making such determination, by mail or,
if authorized by the consumer for that purpose, by
any other means available to the person.
‘‘(iii) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—A notice under clause
(ii) shall include—
‘‘(I) the reasons for the determination under
clause (i); and
‘‘(II) identification of any information required
to investigate the disputed information, which may
consist of a standardized form describing the general
nature of such information.
‘‘(G) EXCLUSION OF CREDIT REPAIR ORGANIZATIONS.—
This paragraph shall not apply if the notice of the dispute
is submitted by, is prepared on behalf of the consumer
by, or is submitted on a form supplied to the consumer
by, a credit repair organization, as defined in section 403(3),
or an entity that would be a credit repair organization,
but for section 403(3)(B)(i).’’.
(d) FURNISHER LIABILITY EXCEPTION.—Section 623(a)(5) of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(5)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘A person’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘date of delinquency on the account, which
shall be the’’ before ‘‘month’’;
(3) by inserting ‘‘on the account’’ before ‘‘that immediately
preceded’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of this
paragraph only, and provided that the consumer does not
dispute the information, a person that furnishes information
on a delinquent account that is placed for collection,
charged for profit or loss, or subjected to any similar action,
complies with this paragraph, if—
‘‘(i) the person reports the same date of delinquency
as that provided by the creditor to which the
account was owed at the time at which the commencement
of the delinquency occurred, if the creditor previously
reported that date of delinquency to a consumer
reporting agency;
Deadline.
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PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003 117 STAT. 1993
‘‘(ii) the creditor did not previously report the date
of delinquency to a consumer reporting agency, and
the person establishes and follows reasonable procedures
to obtain the date of delinquency from the creditor
or another reliable source and reports that date
to a consumer reporting agency as the date of delinquency;
or
‘‘(iii) the creditor did not previously report the
date of delinquency to a consumer reporting agency
and the date of delinquency cannot be reasonably
obtained as provided in clause (ii), the person establishes
and follows reasonable procedures to ensure the
date reported as the date of delinquency precedes the
date on which the account is placed for collection,
charged to profit or loss, or subjected to any similar
action, and reports such date to the credit reporting
agency.’’.
(e) LIABILITY AND ENFORCEMENT.—
(1) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Section 623 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2) is amended by striking subsections
(c) and (d) and inserting the following:
‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Except as provided in section
621(c)(1)(B), sections 616 and 617 do not apply to any violation
of—
‘‘(1) subsection (a) of this section, including any regulations
issued thereunder;
‘‘(2) subsection (e) of this section, except that nothing in
this paragraph shall limit, expand, or otherwise affect liability
under section 616 or 617, as applicable, for violations of subsection
(b) of this section; or
‘‘(3) subsection (e) of section 615.
‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON ENFORCEMENT.—The provisions of law
described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (c) (other
than with respect to the exception described in paragraph (2) of
subsection (c)) shall be enforced exclusively as provided under section
621 by the Federal agencies and officials and the State officials
identified in section 621.’’.
(2) STATE ACTIONS.—Section 621(c) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(c)) is amended—
(A) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘of section
623(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘described in any of paragraphs (1)
through (3) of section 623(c)’’; and
(B) in paragraph (5)—
(i) in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B), by
striking ‘‘of section 623(a)(1)’’ each place that term
appears and inserting ‘‘described in any of paragraphs
(1) through (3) of section 623(c)’’; and
(ii) by amending the paragraph heading to read
as follows:
‘‘(5) LIMITATIONS ON STATE ACTIONS FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.—’’.
(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section, the
amendments made by this section, or any other provision of this
Act shall be construed to affect any liability under section 616
or 617 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681n, 1681o)
that existed on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
15 USC 1681n
note.
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117 STAT. 1994 PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003
SEC. 313. FTC AND CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY ACTION CONCERNING
COMPLAINTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF COMPLAINTS AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall—
‘‘(A) compile all complaints that it receives that a file
of a consumer that is maintained by a consumer reporting
agency described in section 603(p) contains incomplete or
inaccurate information, with respect to which, the consumer
appears to have disputed the completeness or
accuracy with the consumer reporting agency or otherwise
utilized the procedures provided by subsection (a); and
‘‘(B) transmit each such complaint to each consumer
reporting agency involved.
‘‘(2) EXCLUSION.—Complaints received or obtained by the
Commission pursuant to its investigative authority under the
Federal Trade Commission Act shall not be subject to paragraph
(1).
‘‘(3) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each consumer reporting
agency described in section 603(p) that receives a complaint
transmitted by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1)
shall—
‘‘(A) review each such complaint to determine whether
all legal obligations imposed on the consumer reporting
agency under this title (including any obligation imposed
by an applicable court or administrative order) have been
met with respect to the subject matter of the complaint;
‘‘(B) provide reports on a regular basis to the Commission
regarding the determinations of and actions taken
by the consumer reporting agency, if any, in connection
with its review of such complaints; and
‘‘(C) maintain, for a reasonable time period, records
regarding the disposition of each such complaint that is
sufficient to demonstrate compliance with this subsection.
‘‘(4) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Commission may prescribe
regulations, as appropriate to implement this subsection.
‘‘(5) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Commission shall submit to
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of
the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives an annual report regarding information
gathered by the Commission under this subsection.’’.
(b) PROMPT INVESTIGATION OF DISPUTED CONSUMER INFORMATION.—
(1) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Board and the Commission shall
jointly study the extent to which, and the manner in which,
consumer reporting agencies and furnishers of consumer
information to consumer reporting agencies are complying with
the procedures, time lines, and requirements under the Fair
Credit Reporting Act for the prompt investigation of the disputed
accuracy of any consumer information, the completeness
of the information provided to consumer reporting agencies,
and the prompt correction or deletion, in accordance with such
Act, of any inaccurate or incomplete information or information
that cannot be verified.
(2) REPORT REQUIRED.—Before the end of the 12-month
period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the
Deadline.
15 USC 1681i
note.
Records.
Records.
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PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003 117 STAT. 1995
Board and the Commission shall jointly submit a progress
report to the Congress on the results of the study required
under paragraph (1).
(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing the report required
under paragraph (2), the Board and the Commission shall
consider information relating to complaints compiled by the
Commission under section 611(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act, as added by this section.
(4) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report required under paragraph
(2) shall include such recommendations as the Board
and the Commission jointly determine to be appropriate for
legislative or administrative action, to ensure that—
(A) consumer disputes with consumer reporting agencies
over the accuracy or completeness of information in
a consumer’s file are promptly and fully investigated and
any incorrect, incomplete, or unverifiable information is
corrected or deleted immediately thereafter;
(B) furnishers of information to consumer reporting
agencies maintain full and prompt compliance with the
duties and responsibilities established under section 623
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act; and
(C) consumer reporting agencies establish and maintain
appropriate internal controls and management review
procedures for maintaining full and continuous compliance
with the procedures, time lines, and requirements under
the Fair Credit Reporting Act for the prompt investigation
of the disputed accuracy of any consumer information and
the prompt correction or deletion, in accordance with such
Act, of any inaccurate or incomplete information or information
that cannot be verified.
SEC. 314. IMPROVED DISCLOSURE OF THE RESULTS OF REINVESTIGATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 611(a)(5)(A) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(5)(A)) is amended by striking
‘‘shall’’ and all that follows through the end of the subparagraph,
and inserting the following: ‘‘shall—
‘‘(i) promptly delete that item of information from
the file of the consumer, or modify that item of information,
as appropriate, based on the results of the reinvestigation;
and
‘‘(ii) promptly notify the furnisher of that information
that the information has been modified or deleted
from the file of the consumer.’’.
(b) FURNISHER REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO INACCURATE,
INCOMPLETE, OR UNVERIFIABLE INFORMATION.—Section 623(b)(1) of
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(b)(1)) is
amended—
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;
and
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the
end and inserting the following: ‘‘; and
‘‘(E) if an item of information disputed by a consumer
is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified
after any reinvestigation under paragraph (1), for purposes
Notification.
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117 STAT. 1996 PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003
of reporting to a consumer reporting agency only, as appropriate,
based on the results of the reinvestigation
promptly—
‘‘(i) modify that item of information;
‘‘(ii) delete that item of information; or
‘‘(iii) permanently block the reporting of that item
of information.’’.
SEC. 315. RECONCILING ADDRESSES.
Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c),
as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(h) NOTICE OF DISCREPANCY IN ADDRESS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a person has requested a consumer
report relating to a consumer from a consumer reporting agency
described in section 603(p), the request includes an address
for the consumer that substantially differs from the addresses
in the file of the consumer, and the agency provides a consumer
report in response to the request, the consumer reporting
agency shall notify the requester of the existence of the discrepancy.
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—
‘‘(A) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The Federal banking
agencies, the National Credit Union Administration, and
the Commission shall jointly, with respect to the entities
that are subject to their respective enforcement authority
under section 621, prescribe regulations providing guidance
regarding reasonable policies and procedures that a user
of a consumer report should employ when such user has
received a notice of discrepancy under paragraph (1).
‘‘(B) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO BE INCLUDED.—The
regulations prescribed under subparagraph (A) shall
describe reasonable policies and procedures for use by a
user of a consumer report—
‘‘(i) to form a reasonable belief that the user knows
the identity of the person to whom the consumer report
pertains; and
‘‘(ii) if the user establishes a continuing relationship
with the consumer, and the user regularly and
in the ordinary course of business furnishes information
to the consumer reporting agency from which the
notice of discrepancy pertaining to the consumer was
obtained, to reconcile the address of the consumer with
the consumer reporting agency by furnishing such
address to such consumer reporting agency as part
of information regularly furnished by the user for the
period in which the relationship is established.’’.
SEC. 316. NOTICE OF DISPUTE THROUGH RESELLER.
(a) REQUIREMENT FOR REINVESTIGATION OF DISPUTED INFORMATION
UPON NOTICE FROM A RESELLER.—Section 611(a) of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)(A)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)(A)—
(A) by striking ‘‘If the completeness’’ and inserting
‘‘Subject to subsection (f), if the completeness’’;
(B) by inserting ‘‘, or indirectly through a reseller,’’
after ‘‘notifies the agency directly’’; and
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PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003 117 STAT. 1997
(C) by inserting ‘‘or reseller’’ before the period at the
end;
(2) in paragraph (2)(A)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘or a reseller’’ after ‘‘dispute from
any consumer’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘or reseller’’ before the period at the
end; and
(3) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘or the reseller’’ after
‘‘from the consumer’’.
(b) REINVESTIGATION REQUIREMENT APPLICABLE TO RESELLERS.—
Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.
1681i), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(f) REINVESTIGATION REQUIREMENT APPLICABLE TO RESELLERS.—
‘‘(1) EXEMPTION FROM GENERAL REINVESTIGATION REQUIREMENT.—
Except as provided in paragraph (2), a reseller shall
be exempt from the requirements of this section.
‘‘(2) ACTION REQUIRED UPON RECEIVING NOTICE OF A DISPUTE.—
If a reseller receives a notice from a consumer of a
dispute concerning the completeness or accuracy of any item
of information contained in a consumer report on such consumer
produced by the reseller, the reseller shall, within 5 business
days of receiving the notice, and free of charge—
‘‘(A) determine whether the item of information is
incomplete or inaccurate as a result of an act or omission
of the reseller; and
‘‘(B) if—
‘‘(i) the reseller determines that the item of
information is incomplete or inaccurate as a result
of an act or omission of the reseller, not later than
20 days after receiving the notice, correct the information
in the consumer report or delete it; or
‘‘(ii) if the reseller determines that the item of
information is not incomplete or inaccurate as a result
of an act or omission of the reseller, convey the notice
of the dispute, together with all relevant information
provided by the consumer, to each consumer reporting
agency that provided the reseller with the information
that is the subject of the dispute, using an address
or a notification mechanism specified by the consumer
reporting agency for such notices.
‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITY OF CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY TO
NOTIFY CONSUMER THROUGH RESELLER.—Upon the completion
of a reinvestigation under this section of a dispute concerning
the completeness or accuracy of any information in the file
of a consumer by a consumer reporting agency that received
notice of the dispute from a reseller under paragraph (2)—
‘‘(A) the notice by the consumer reporting agency under
paragraph (6), (7), or (8) of subsection (a) shall be provided
to the reseller in lieu of the consumer; and
‘‘(B) the reseller shall immediately reconvey such notice
to the consumer, including any notice of a deletion by
telephone in the manner required under paragraph (8)(A).
‘‘(4) RESELLER REINVESTIGATIONS.—No provision of this subsection
shall be construed as prohibiting a reseller from conducting
a reinvestigation of a consumer dispute directly.’’.
Deadline.
Deadline.
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117 STAT. 1998 PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003
(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section
611(a)(2)(B) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.
1681i(a)(2)(B)) is amended in the subparagraph heading, by striking
‘‘FROM CONSUMER’’.
SEC. 317. REASONABLE REINVESTIGATION REQUIRED.
Section 611(a)(1)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.
1681i(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘shall reinvestigate free of
charge’’ and inserting ‘‘shall, free of charge, conduct a reasonable
reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is
inaccurate’’.
SEC. 318. FTC STUDY OF ISSUES RELATING TO THE FAIR CREDIT
REPORTING ACT.
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall conduct a study
on ways to improve the operation of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act.
(2) AREAS FOR STUDY.—In conducting the study under paragraph
(1), the Commission shall review—
(A) the efficacy of increasing the number of points
of identifying information that a credit reporting agency
is required to match to ensure that a consumer is the
correct individual to whom a consumer report relates before
releasing a consumer report to a user, including—
(i) the extent to which requiring additional points
of such identifying information to match would—
(I) enhance the accuracy of credit reports; and
(II) combat the provision of incorrect consumer
reports to users;
(ii) the extent to which requiring an exact match
of the first and last name, social security number,
and address and ZIP Code of the consumer would
enhance the likelihood of increasing credit report
accuracy; and
(iii) the effects of allowing consumer reporting
agencies to use partial matches of social security numbers
and name recognition software on the accuracy
of credit reports;
(B) requiring notification to consumers when negative
information has been added to their credit reports,
including—
(i) the potential impact of such notification on the
ability of consumers to identify errors on their credit
reports; and
(ii) the potential impact of such notification on
the ability of consumers to remove fraudulent information
from their credit reports;
(C) the effects of requiring that a consumer who has
experienced an adverse action based on a credit report
receives a copy of the same credit report that the creditor
relied on in taking the adverse action, including—
(i) the extent to which providing such reports to
consumers would increase the ability of consumers to
identify errors in their credit reports; and
(ii) the extent to which providing such reports
to consumers would increase the ability of consumers
15 USC 1681
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PUBLIC LAW 108–159—DEC. 4, 2003 117 STAT. 1999
to remove fraudulent information from their credit
reports;
(D) any common financial transactions that are not
generally reported to the consumer reporting agencies, but
would provide useful information in determining the credit
worthiness of consumers; and
(E) any actions that might be taken within a voluntary
reporting system to encourage the reporting of the types
of transactions described in subparagraph (D).
(3) COSTS AND BENEFITS.—With respect to each area of
study described in paragraph (2), the Commission shall consider
the extent to which such requirements would benefit consumers,
balanced against the cost of implementing such provisions.
(b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, the chairman of the Commission shall
submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services
of the House of Representatives containing a detailed summary
of the findings and conclusions of the study under this section,
together with such recommendations for legislative or administrative
actions as may be appropriate.
SEC. 319. FTC STUDY OF THE ACCURACY OF CONSUMER REPORTS.
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—Until the final report is submitted under
subsection (b)(2), the Commission shall conduct an ongoing study
of the accuracy and completeness of information contained in consumer
reports prepared or maintained by consumer reporting agencies
and methods for improving the accuracy and completeness
of such information.
(b) BIENNIAL REPORTS REQUIRED.—
(1) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission shall submit an
interim report to the Congress on the study conducted under
subsection (a) at the end of the 1-year period beginning on
the date of enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter
for 8 years.
(2) FINAL REPORT.—The Commission shall submit a final
report to the Congress on the study conducted under subsection
(a) at the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date
on which the final interim report is submitted to the Congress
under paragraph (1).
(3) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under this subsection
shall contain a detailed summary of the findings and
conclusions of the Commission with respect to the study
required under subsection (a) and such recommendations for
legislative and administrative action as the Commission may
determine to be appropriate.