(a) Duty of furnishers
of information to provide accurate information.
(1) (A) A person
shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer
reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe
that the information is inaccurate.
(B) A person shall not furnish information relating to a consumer
to any consumer reporting agency if—
(i) the person has been notified by the consumer,
at the address specified by the person for such notices, that specific
information is inaccurate; and
(ii)
the information is, in fact, inaccurate.
(C) A person who clearly and conspicuously
specifies to the consumer an address for notices referred to in subparagraph
(B) shall not be subject to subparagraph (A); however, nothing in
subparagraph (B) shall require a person to specify such an address.
(D) 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.
(E) (i) Notwithstanding any other provision
of this section, a consumer may request a financial institution to
remove from a consumer report a reported default regarding a private
education loan, and such information shall not be considered inaccurate,
if—
(I) the financial institution chooses to
offer a loan rehabilitation program which includes, without limitation,
a requirement of the consumer to make consecutive on-time monthly
payments in a number that demonstrates, in the assessment of the financial
institution offering the loan rehabilitation program, a renewed ability
and willingness to repay the loan; and
(II) the requirements of the loan rehabilitation program described
in subclause (I) are successfully met.
(ii)(I) If a financial institution is supervised by a Federal banking
agency, the financial institution shall seek written approval concerning
the terms and conditions of the loan rehabilitation program described
in clause (i) from the appropriate Federal banking agency.
(II) An appropriate Federal banking agency
shall provide feedback to a financial institution within 120 days
of a request for approval under subclause (I).
(iii)(I) A consumer may obtain
the benefits available under this subsection with respect to rehabilitating
a loan only 1 time per loan.
(II) Nothing
in this subparagraph may be construed to require a financial institution
to offer a loan rehabilitation program or to remove any reported default
from a consumer report as a consideration of a loan rehabilitation
program, except as described in clause (i).
(iv) For purposes of this subparagraph—
(I) the term “appropriate Federal banking agency” has the meaning
given the term in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12
U.S.C. 1813); and
(II) the term “private
education loan” has the meaning given the term in section 140(a) of
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650(a)).
(F) (i) In this subsection:
(I) The term “accommodation” includes an agreement to defer 1 or
more payments, make a partial payment, forbear any delinquent amounts,
modify a loan or contract, or any other assistance or relief granted
to a consumer who is affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic during the covered period.
(II) The term “covered period” means the period beginning on January
31, 2020 and ending on the later of—
(aa) 120 days
after the date of enactment of this subparagraph; or
(bb) 120 days after the date on which the
national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
outbreak declared by the President on March 13, 2020 under the National
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) terminates.
(ii) Except as provided
in clause (iii), if a furnisher makes an accommodation with respect
to 1 or more payments on a credit obligation or account of a consumer,
and the consumer makes the payments or is not required to make 1 or
more payments pursuant to the accommodation, the furnisher shall—
(I) report the credit obligation or account as current; or
(II) if the credit obligation or account
was delinquent before the accommodation—
(aa) maintain
the delinquent status during the period in which the accommodation
is in effect; and
(bb) if the consumer
brings the credit obligation or account current during the period
described in item (aa), report the credit obligation or account as
current.
(iii) Clause (ii) shall not apply with respect to a credit obligation
or account of a consumer that has been charged-off.
(2) A person who—
(A) regularly and in the ordinary
course of business furnishes information to one or more consumer reporting
agencies about the person’s transactions or experiences with any consumer;
and
(B) has furnished to a consumer
reporting agency information that the person determines is not complete
or accurate,
shall
promptly notify the consumer reporting agency of that determination
and provide to the agency any corrections to that information, or
any additional information, that is necessary to make the information
provided by the person to the agency complete and accurate, and shall
not thereafter furnish to the agency any of the information that remains
not complete or accurate.
6-1576.3
(3) If the completeness or accuracy of any information furnished
by any person to any consumer reporting agency is disputed to such
person by a consumer, the person may not furnish the information to
any consumer reporting agency without notice that such information
is disputed by the consumer.
(4)
A person who regularly and in the ordinary course of business furnishes
information to a consumer reporting agency regarding a consumer who
has a credit account with that person shall notify the agency
of the voluntary closure of the account by the consumer, in information
regularly furnished for the period in which the account is closed.
(5) (A) A person
who furnishes information to a consumer reporting agency regarding
a delinquent account being placed for collection, charged to profit
or loss, or subjected to any similar action shall, not later than
90 days after furnishing the information, notify the agency of the
date of delinquency on the account, which shall be the month and year
of the commencement of the delinquency on the account that immediately
preceded the action.
(B) 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;
(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.
6-1576.31
(6) (A) A person that furnishes
information to any consumer reporting agency shall have in place reasonable
procedures to respond to any notification that it receives from a
consumer reporting agency under section 605B relating to information
resulting from identity theft, to prevent that person from refurnishing
such blocked information.
(B)
If a consumer submits an identity theft report to a person who furnishes
information to a consumer reporting agency at the address specified
by that person for receiving such reports stating that information
maintained by such person that purports to relate to the consumer
resulted from identity theft, the person may not furnish such information
that purports to relate to the consumer to any consumer reporting
agency, unless the person subsequently knows or is informed by the
consumer that the information is correct.
(7) (A)(i) If
any financial institution that extends credit and regularly and in
the ordinary course of business furnishes information to a consumer
reporting agency described in section 603(p) furnishes negative information
to such an agency regarding credit extended to a customer, the financial
institution shall provide a notice of such furnishing of negative
information, in writing, to the customer.
(ii) After providing such notice, the financial institution may submit
additional negative information to a consumer reporting agency described
in section 603(p) with respect to the same transaction, extension
of credit, account, or customer without providing additional notice
to the customer.
(B) (i) The notice required under subparagraph
(A) shall be provided to the customer prior to, or no later than 30 days
after, furnishing the negative information to a consumer reporting
agency described in section 603(p).
(ii) If the notice is provided to the customer prior to furnishing
the negative information to a consumer reporting agency, the notice
may not be included in the initial disclosures provided under section
127(a) of the Truth in Lending Act.
(C) The notice required under subparagraph
(A)—
(i) may be included
on or with any notice of default, any billing statement, or any other
materials provided to the customer; and
(ii) must be clear and conspicuous.
(D) (i) The Bureau shall prescribe
a brief model disclosure that a financial institution may use to comply
with subparagraph (A), which shall not exceed 30 words.
(ii) No provision of this paragraph may be
construed to require a financial institution to use any such model
form prescribed by the Bureau.
(iii)
A financial institution shall be deemed to be in compliance with subparagraph
(A) if the financial institution uses any model form prescribed by
the Bureau under this subparagraph, or the financial institution uses
any such model form and rearranges its format.
(E) No provision of this paragraph
shall be construed as requiring a financial institution that has provided
a customer with a notice described in subparagraph (A) to furnish
negative information about the customer to a consumer reporting agency.
(F) A financial institution shall
not be liable for failure to perform the duties required by this paragraph
if, at the time of the failure, the financial institution maintained
reasonable policies and procedures to comply with this paragraph or
the financial institution reasonably believed that the institution
is prohibited, by law, from contacting the consumer.
(G) For purposes of this paragraph,
the following definitions shall apply:
(i) The term “negative information” means
information concerning a customer’s delinquencies, late payments,
insolvency, or any form of default.
(ii) The terms “customer” and “financial institution” have the same
meanings as in section 509 Public Law 106-102.
6-1576.32
(8) (A) The Bureau,
in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal banking
agencies, and the National Credit Union Administration, shall jointly
prescribe regulations that shall identify the circumstances under
which a furnisher shall be required to reinvestigate a dispute concerning
the accuracy of information contained in a consumer report on the
consumer, based on a direct request of a consumer.
(B) 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) Subparagraphs (D) through (G) shall
apply in any circumstance identified under the regulations promulgated
under subparagraph (A).
(D) 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.
6-1576.33
(E) 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) (i)
This paragraph shall not apply if the person receiving a notice of
a dispute from a 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)
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)
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) 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).
6-1576.34
(9) A person whose primary business is providing medical services,
products, or devices, or the person’s agent or assignee, who furnishes
information to a consumer reporting agency on a consumer shall be
considered a medical information furnisher for purposes of this title,
and shall notify the agency of such status.
6-1576.4
(b) Duties of furnishers of information upon notice
of dispute.
(1) After
receiving notice pursuant to section 611(a)(2) of a dispute with regard
to the completeness or accuracy of any information provided by a person
to a consumer reporting agency, the person shall—
(A) conduct an investigation
with respect to the disputed information;
(B) review all relevant information
provided by the consumer reporting agency pursuant to section 611(a)(2);
(C) report the results of the investigation
to the consumer reporting agency;
(D) if the investigation finds that the information is incomplete
or inaccurate, report those results to all other consumer reporting
agencies to which the person furnished the information and that compile
and maintain files on consumers on a nationwide basis; 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
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.
(2) A person shall complete all investigations,
reviews, and reports required under paragraph (1) regarding information
provided by the person to a consumer reporting agency, before the
expiration of the period under section 611(a)(1) within which the
consumer reporting agency is required to complete actions required
by that section regarding that information.
6-1576.41
(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.
6-1576.42
(e) Accuracy guidelines
and regulations required.
(1) The Bureau shall, with respect to persons
or entities that are subject to the enforcement authority of the Bureau
under section 621—
(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 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) In developing the guidelines required
by paragraph (1)(A), the Bureau 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 ensure 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.
[15 USC 1681s-2.
As added by act of Sept. 30, 1996 (110 Stat. 3009-447) and amended
by acts of Dec. 4, 2003 (117 Stat. 1966, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993,
1995, 2002); July 21, 2010 (124 Stat. 2090, 2091); May 24, 2018 (132
Stat. 1366); and March 27, 2020 (134 Stat. 489).]
