(a) Scope. This section applies to a user of consumer reports (user)
that receives a notice of address discrepancy from a consumer reporting
agency described in 15 U.S.C. 1681a(p), except for a person excluded
from coverage of this part by section 1029 of the Consumer Financial
Protection Act of 2010, Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 137.
(b) Definition. For
purposes of this section, a notice of address discrepancy means a
notice sent to a user by a consumer reporting agency described in
15 U.S.C. 1681a(p) pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1681c(h)(1), that informs
the user of a substantial difference between the address for the consumer
that the user provided to request the consumer report and the address(es)
in the agency’s file for the consumer.
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(c) Reasonable belief.
(1) Requirement
to form a reasonable belief. A user must develop and implement
reasonable policies and procedures designed to enable the user to
form a reasonable belief that a consumer report relates to the consumer
about whom it has requested the report, when the user receives a notice
of address discrepancy.
(2) Examples of reasonable policies and
procedures.
(i) Comparing the information in the
consumer report provided by the consumer reporting agency with information
the user:
(A) Obtains and uses to verify the consumer’s
identity in accordance with the requirements of the Customer Identification
Program (CIP) rules implementing 31 U.S.C. 5318(l) (31 CFR
1020.220);
(B) Maintains
in its own records, such as applications, change of address notifications,
other customer account records, or retained CIP documentation; or
(C) Obtains from third-party sources;
or
(ii) Verifying the information in the consumer report provided by
the consumer reporting agency with the consumer.
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(d) Consumer’s address.
(1) Requirement to furnish consumer’s address to a consumer reporting
agency. A user must develop and implement reasonable policies
and procedures for furnishing an address for the consumer that the
user has reasonably confirmed is accurate to the consumer reporting
agency described in 15 U.S.C. 1681a(p) from whom it received the notice
of address discrepancy when the user:
(i) Can form a reasonable
belief that the consumer report relates to the consumer about whom
the user requested the report;
(ii) Establishes a continuing relationship
with the consumer; and
(iii) Regularly and in the ordinary course of business furnishes
information to the consumer reporting agency from which the notice
of address discrepancy relating to the consumer was obtained.
(2) Examples of confirmation methods. The user
may reasonably confirm an address is accurate by:
(i) Verifying
the address with the consumer about whom it has requested the report;
(ii) Reviewing its
own records to verify the address of the consumer;
(iii) Verifying the address through
third-party sources; or
(iv) Using other reasonable means.
(3) Timing. The policies and procedures developed
in accordance with paragraph (d)(1) of this section must provide that
the user will furnish the consumer’s address that the user has reasonably
confirmed is accurate to the consumer reporting agency described in
15 U.S.C. 1681a(p) as part of the information it regularly furnishes
for the reporting period in which it establishes a relationship with
the consumer.
