I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1015

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to assure the completeness and

accuracy of consumer information maintained by credit reporting agencies, to better inform consumers of their rights under the Act, and

to improve enforcement, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 18, 1993

Mr. TORRES (for himself and Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. SCHUMER,

Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. RUSH, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Ms. FURSE, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. WYNN, Mr. WATT, Mr.

HINCHEY, Mr. FLAKE, Ms. WATERS and Mrs. MALONEY) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, Finance

and Urban Affairs

NOVEMBER 18, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana,

Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. MAZZOLI, Mr. BARLOW, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey,

Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. RICHARDSON, Mr. SHAYS, Ms.

PELOSI, Mr. FILNER, Mr. KLECZKA, and Mr. ENGEL

A BILL

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to assure the completeness and accuracy of consumer information maintained by credit reporting agencies, to better inform consumers of their rights under the Act, and to improve

enforcement, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO FAIR

2 CREDIT REPORTING ACT

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Reporting

5 Reform Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

7 (a) ADVERSE ACTION.—Section 603 of the Fair

8 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by

9 adding at the end the following new subsection:

10 ‘‘(j) The term ‘adverse action’—

11 ‘‘(1) has the meaning given to such term in sec12 tion 701(d)(6) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act;

13 and

14 ‘‘(2) includes—

15 ‘‘(A) any denial of, increase in any charge

16 for, or reduction in the amount of, insurance

17 for personal, family, or household purposes

18 made in connection with the underwriting of in19 surance;

20 ‘‘(B) any denial of employment or any

21 other decision for employment purposes which

22 adversely affects any current or prospective em23 ployee; and

24 ‘‘(C) any action taken or determination

25 made—
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1 ‘‘(i) in connection with an application

2 which was made by, or a transaction which

3 was initiated by, any consumer; and

4 ‘‘(ii) which is adverse to the interest

5 of the consumer.’’.

6 (b) FIRM OFFER OF CREDIT.—Section 603 of the

7 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is further

8 amended by adding after subsection (j) (as added by sub9 section (a) of this section) the following:

10 ‘‘(k) The term ‘firm offer of credit’ means any offer

11 of credit to a consumer that will be honored if, based on

12 information in a consumer report on the consumer and

13 other information bearing on the creditworthiness of the

14 consumer obtained from the consumer’s application for

15 such credit, the consumer is determined to meet the spe16 cific criteria used to select the consumer for the offer.’’.

17 (c) CREDIT TRANSACTION WHICH IS NOT INITIATED

18 BY THE CONSUMER.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Re19 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is further amended by add20 ing after subsection (k) (as added by subsection (b) of this

21 section) the following:

22 ‘‘(l) The term ‘credit transaction which is not initi23 ated by the consumer’ does not include the use of a

24 consumer report by a person with which the consumer has

25 an account, for purposes of—
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1 ‘‘(1) reviewing the account; or

2 ‘‘(2) collecting the account.’’.

3 (d) STATE.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Report4 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is further amended by adding

5 after subsection (l) (as added by subsection (c) of this sec6 tion) the following:

7 ‘‘(m) The term ‘State’ means any State, the Com8 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and

9 any territory or possession of the United States.’’.

10 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 603(d) of the

11 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(d)) is

12 amended in the first sentence—

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘in whole or in part

14 for’’; and

15 (2) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘credit or insur16 ance’’.

17 SEC. 103. FURNISHING CONSUMER REPORTS; USE FOR EM18 PLOYMENT PURPOSES.

19 (a) FURNISHING CONSUMER REPORTS FOR BUSI20 NESS TRANSACTIONS.—Section 604 of the Fair Credit Re21 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended—

22 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before

23 ‘‘A consumer reporting agency’’; and
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1 (2) in subsection (a)(3) (as designated by para2 graph (1) of this subsection) by amending subpara3 graph (E) to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(E) otherwise has a legitimate business

5 need for the information in connection with a

6 business transaction that is initiated by the

7 consumer.’’.

8 (b) FURNISHING AND USING CONSUMER REPORTS

9 FOR EMPLOYMENT PURPOSES.—Section 604 of the Fair

10 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is further amend11 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection:

12 ‘‘(b) CONDITIONS FOR FURNISHING AND USING

13 CONSUMER REPORTS FOR EMPLOYMENT PURPOSES.—

14 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION FROM USER.—A consumer

15 reporting agency may furnish a consumer report for

16 employment purposes only if—

17 ‘‘(A) the person who obtains such report

18 from the agency certifies to the agency that—

19 ‘‘(i) the disclosure required under

20 paragraph (2) or (3), as the case may be,

21 with respect to such consumer report has

22 been made; and

23 ‘‘(ii) information from the consumer

24 report will not be used in violation of any
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1 applicable Federal or State equal employ2 ment opportunity law or regulation; and

3 ‘‘(B) the consumer reporting agency pro4 vides with the report a summary of the consum5 er’s rights under this title, as prescribed by the

6 Federal Trade Commission under section

7 609(c)(3).

8 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER.—A person

9 may not procure a consumer report, or cause a

10 consumer report to be procured, for employment

11 purposes with respect to any consumer unless—

12 ‘‘(A) a clear and conspicuous disclosure

13 has been made in writing to the consumer be14 fore the report is procured or caused to be pro15 cured, in a document that consists solely of the

16 disclosure, that a consumer report may be ob17 tained for employment purposes; and

18 ‘‘(B) the consumer authorizes in writing

19 the procurement of the report.

20 ‘‘(3) CONDITIONS ON USE FOR ADVERSE AC21 TIONS.—In using a consumer report for employment

22 purposes, before taking any adverse action based in

23 whole or in part on the report a person shall provide

24 to the consumer to whom the report relates—

25 ‘‘(A) a copy of the report;
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1 ‘‘(B) a description of the consumer’s rights

2 under this title, as prescribed by the Federal

3 Trade Commission under section 609(c)(3); and

4 ‘‘(C) a reasonable opportunity to respond

5 to any information in the report that is dis6 puted by the consumer.’’.

7 SEC. 104. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO PRESCREENING OF

8 CONSUMER REPORTS; PROHIBITION ON UN9 AUTHORIZED OR UNCERTIFIED USE OF IN10 FORMATION.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 604 of the Fair Credit

12 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b), as amended by section

13 103, is further amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘A consumer

15 reporting agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sub16 section (c), any consumer reporting agency’’; and

17 (2) by adding after subsection (b) (as added by

18 section 103(b)) the following new subsections:

19 ‘‘(c) FURNISHING REPORTS IN CONNECTION WITH

20 CREDIT TRANSACTIONS NOT INITIATED BY THE

21 CONSUMER.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting

23 agency may furnish a consumer report relating to

24 any consumer pursuant to subsection (a)(3)(A) in
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1 connection with any credit transaction which is not

2 initiated by the consumer only if—

3 ‘‘(A) the consumer authorizes the agency

4 to provide such report to such person; or

5 ‘‘(B)(i) the transaction consists of a firm

6 offer of credit;

7 ‘‘(ii) the consumer reporting agency has

8 complied with subsection (d); and

9 ‘‘(iii) the consumer has not elected in ac10 cordance with subsection (d)(1) to have the con11 sumer’s name and address excluded from lists

12 of names provided by the agency pursuant to

13 this paragraph.

14 ‘‘(2) LIMITS ON INFORMATION RECEIVED

15 UNDER PARAGRAPH (1)(B).—A person may receive

16 pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) only—

17 ‘‘(A) the name and address of a consumer;

18 and

19 ‘‘(B) information pertaining to a consumer

20 that is not identified or identifiable with the

21 consumer.

22 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION REGARDING INQUIRIES.—

23 Except as provided in section 609(a)(4), a consumer

24 reporting agency shall not furnish to any person a
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1 record of inquiries in connection with credit trans2 actions which are not initiated by a consumer.

3 ‘‘(d) ELECTION OF CONSUMER TO BE EXCLUDED

4 FROM LISTS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer may elect to

6 have his or her name and address excluded from any

7 list provided by a consumer reporting agency in con8 nection with a credit transaction which is not initi9 ated by the consumer, by—

10 ‘‘(A) notifying the agency, through the no11 tification system maintained by the agency

12 under paragraph (3), that the consumer does

13 not consent to any use of consumer reports re14 lating to the consumer in connection with any

15 transaction which is not initiated by the

16 consumer; and

17 ‘‘(B) returning to the agency a signed

18 written notice of the election, if provided by the

19 agency in accordance with paragraph (2).

20 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF WRITTEN NOTICE TO

21 CONSUMER.—A consumer reporting agency shall

22 provide to a consumer a written notice for purposes

23 of paragraph (1)(B), by not later than 5 business

24 days after being notified of the election of the

25 consumer in accordance with paragraph (1)(A).
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1 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.—Each consumer

2 reporting agency which furnishes a consumer report

3 in connection with any credit transaction which is

4 not initiated by a consumer, shall—

5 ‘‘(A) establish and maintain a notification

6 system, including a toll-free telephone number,

7 which permits any consumer whose consumer

8 report is maintained by the agency to notify the

9 agency, with appropriate identification, of the

10 consumer’s election to have the consumer’s

11 name and address excluded from any list of

12 names and addresses provided by the agency for

13 such a transaction; and

14 ‘‘(B) publish by not later than 12 months

15 after the date of the enactment of the

16 Consumer Reporting Reform Act of 1993, and

17 at least annually thereafter, in a publication of

18 general circulation in the area served by the

19 agency—

20 ‘‘(i) a notification that information in

21 consumer files maintained by the agency

22 may be used in connection with such trans23 actions; and

24 ‘‘(ii) the address and toll-free tele25 phone number for consumers to use to no-
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1 tify the agency of the consumer’s election

2 under subparagraph (A).

3 Establishment and maintenance of a notification

4 system and publication by a consumer reporting

5 agency on its own behalf and on behalf of any of its

6 affiliates in accordance with this paragraph is

7 deemed to be in compliance with this paragraph by

8 each of those affiliates.

9 ‘‘(4) AGENCIES WHICH OPERATE NATION10 WIDE.—Each consumer reporting agency which com11 piles and maintains files on consumers on a nation12 wide basis shall establish and maintain a notification

13 system for purposes of paragraph (3) jointly with

14 other such consumer reporting agencies.

15 ‘‘(5) EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTION.—An elec16 tion of a consumer under paragraph (1)—

17 ‘‘(A) shall be effective with respect to a

18 consumer reporting agency beginning on the

19 later of—

20 ‘‘(i) the date on which the consumer

21 notifies the agency in accordance with

22 paragraph (1)(A); or

23 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the consumer

24 returns to the agency a signed written

25 notification of the election in accordance
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1 with paragraph (1)(B), if provided by the

2 agency; and

3 ‘‘(B) shall not be effective after the date

4 on which the consumer notifies the agency

5 (through the system established by the agency

6 under paragraph (3)) that the election is no

7 longer effective; and

8 ‘‘(C) shall be effective with respect to each

9 affiliate of the agency.’’.

10 (b) FURNISHING CONSUMER REPORTS FOR CERTAIN

11 DIRECT MARKETING TRANSACTIONS PROHIBITED.—Sec12 tion 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.

13 1681b) is further amended by adding after subsection (d)

14 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) the following

15 new subsection:

16 ‘‘(e) FURNISHING CONSUMER REPORTS FOR CER17 TAIN DIRECT MARKETING TRANSACTIONS PROHIB18 ITED.—A consumer reporting agency may not furnish a

19 consumer report for use for a direct marketing transaction

20 that is not initiated by the consumer to whom the report

21 relates.’’.

22 (c) USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM RE23 PORTS.—Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

24 U.S.C. 1681b) is further amended by adding after sub-
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1 section (e) (as added by subsection (b) of this section) the

2 following new subsection:

3 ‘‘(f) CERTAIN USE OR OBTAINING OF INFORMATION

4 PROHIBITED.—A person shall not use or obtain informa5 tion from a consumer report for any purpose unless—

6 ‘‘(1) it is obtained for a purpose for which the

7 consumer report is authorized to be furnished under

8 subsection (a); and

9 ‘‘(2) the purpose is certified in accordance with

10 section 607 by a prospective user of the report.’’.

11 (d) FIRST NOTIFICATIONS BY CONSUMERS.—A

12 consumer may notify a consumer reporting agency

13 through a notification system established and maintained

14 by the agency under section 604(d) of the Fair Credit Re15 porting Act, as amended by subsection (a), on or after

16 the date which is 455 days after the date of the enactment

17 of this Act.

18 SEC. 105. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO OBSOLETE INFOR19 MATION AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN

20 CONSUMER REPORTS.

21 (a) REPEAL LARGE-DOLLAR EXCEPTIONS.—Section

22 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c)

23 is amended—

24 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘(a) Except as

25 authorized under subsection (b), no’’ and inserting
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1 ‘‘(a) INFORMATION EXCLUDED FROM CONSUMER

2 REPORTS.—No’’; and

3 (2) by striking subsection (b).

4 (b) CLARIFICATION OF REPORTING PERIOD.—Sec5 tion 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.

6 1681c), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended

7 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(b) RUNNING OF REPORTING PERIOD.—The 7-year

9 period referred to in paragraphs (4) and (6) of subsection

10 (a) shall begin, with respect to any delinquent account

11 which is placed for collection (internally or by referral to

12 a 3d party, whichever is earlier), charged to profit and

13 loss, or subjected to any similar action, upon the expira14 tion of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the

15 commencement of the delinquency which immediately pre16 ceded the collection activity, charge to profit and loss, or

17 similar action.’’.

18 (c) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON BANKRUPTCY

19 FILINGS REQUIRED.—Section 605 of the Fair Credit Re20 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is further amended by add21 ing after subsection (b) (as added by subsection (b) of this

22 section) the following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE DISCLOSED.—

24 Any consumer reporting agency which furnishes a

25 consumer report which contains information regarding
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1 any case involving the consumer which arises under title

2 11, United States Code, shall include in the report an

3 identification of the chapter of such title 11 under which

4 such case arises if provided by the source of the informa5 tion.’’.

6 (d) INDICATION OF CLOSURE OF ACCOUNT.—Section

7 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c)

8 is further amended by adding after subsection (c) (as

9 added by subsection (c) of this section) the following new

10 subsection:

11 ‘‘(d) INDICATION OF CLOSURE OF ACCOUNT BY

12 CONSUMER.—If a consumer reporting agency is notified

13 pursuant to section 622(a)(4) that a credit account of a

14 consumer was closed by the consumer with no outstanding

15 balance, the agency shall indicate that the consumer closed

16 the account in good standing in any consumer report that

17 includes information related to the account.’’.

18 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—

19 (1) The heading for section 605 of the Fair

20 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is amended

21 by striking ‘‘Obsolete information’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘Requirements relating to information

23 contained in consumer reports’’.

24 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of the

25 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a et seq.)
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1 is amended by striking the item relating to section

2 605 and inserting the following:

‘‘605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports.’’.

3 SEC. 106. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO COMPLIANCE PRO4 CEDURES.

5 (a) DISCLOSURE OF CONSUMER REPORTS BY

6 USERS.—Section 607 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act

7 (15 U.S.C. 1681e) is amended by adding at the end the

8 following new subsection:

9 ‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE OF CONSUMER REPORTS BY

10 USERS ALLOWED.—A consumer reporting agency may not

11 prohibit a user of a consumer report furnished by the

12 agency on a consumer from disclosing the contents of the

13 report to the consumer, if adverse action against the

14 consumer has been taken, or is contemplated, by the user

15 based in whole or in part on the report.’’.

16 (b) NOTICE TO USERS AND PROVIDERS OF INFORMA17 TION TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE.—Section 607 of the Fair

18 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681e) is further amend19 ed by adding after subsection (c) (as added by subsection

20 (a) of this section) the following new subsection:

21 ‘‘(d) NOTICE TO USERS AND FURNISHERS OF INFOR22 MATION.—

23 ‘‘(1) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—A consumer re24 porting agency shall provide to any person—
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1 ‘‘(A) who regularly and in the ordinary

2 course of business furnishes information to the

3 agency with respect to any consumer; or

4 ‘‘(B) to whom a consumer report is pro5 vided by the agency;

6 a notice of such person’s responsibilities under this

7 title.

8 ‘‘(2) CONTENT OF NOTICE.—The Federal

9 Trade Commission shall prescribe the content of no10 tices under paragraph (1).’’.

11 (c) RECORD OF IDENTITY OF USERS AND PURPOSES

12 CERTIFIED BY USERS OF REPORTS.—Section 607 of the

13 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681e) is further

14 amended by adding after subsection (d) (as added by sub15 section (b) of this section) the following new subsection:

16 ‘‘(e) PROCUREMENT OF CONSUMER REPORT FOR RE17 SALE.—

18 ‘‘(1) DISCLOSURE.—A person may not procure

19 a consumer report for purposes of reselling the re20 port (or any information in the report) unless the

21 person discloses to the consumer reporting agency

22 which originally furnishes the report—

23 ‘‘(A) the identity of the ultimate end-user

24 of the report (or information), and
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1 ‘‘(B) each permissible purpose under sec2 tion 604 for which the report is furnished to

3 the ultimate end-user of the report (or informa4 tion).

5 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROCURERS FOR

6 RESALE.—A person which procures a consumer re7 port for purposes of reselling the report (or any in8 formation in the report) shall—

9 ‘‘(A) establish and comply with reasonable

10 procedures designed to ensure that the report

11 (or information) is resold by the person only for

12 a purpose for which the report may be fur13 nished under section 604, including by ensuring

14 that the person—

15 ‘‘(i) identifies each prospective user of

16 the resold report (or information);

17 ‘‘(ii) certifies each purpose for which

18 the report (or information) will be used;

19 and

20 ‘‘(iii) certifies that the report (or in21 formation) will be used for no other pur22 pose; and

23 ‘‘(B) before reselling the report, makes

24 reasonable efforts to verify the identifications
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1 and certifications made under subparagraph

2 (A).’’.

3 SEC. 107. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CONSUMER DISCLO4 SURES.

5 (a) ALL INFORMATION IN CONSUMER’S FILE RE6 QUIRED TO BE DISCLOSED.—Section 609(a)(1) of the

7 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)(1)) is

8 amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(1) All information in the consumer’s file at

10 the time of the request.’’.

11 (b) MORE INFORMATION CONCERNING RECIPIENTS

12 OF REPORTS REQUIRED.—Section 609(a)(3) of the Fair

13 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)) is amended

14 to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(3)(A) Identification of each person (including

16 each ultimate end-user identified under section

17 607(e)(1)) who procured a consumer report—

18 ‘‘(i) for employment purposes within the 2-

19 year period preceding the request; or

20 ‘‘(ii) for any other purpose within the 6-

21 month period preceding the request.

22 ‘‘(B) An identification of a person under sub23 paragraph (A) shall include—
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1 ‘‘(i) the name of the person or, if applica2 ble, the trade name (written in full) under

3 which such person conducts business; and

4 ‘‘(ii) upon request of the consumer, the ad5 dress of the person.’’.

6 (c) DISCLOSURE OF PERMISSIBLE PURPOSES.—Sec7 tion 609(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.

8 1681g(a)) is further amended by adding at the end the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(4) The permissible purpose for which each

11 person identified under paragraph (3) procured a

12 consumer report.’’.

13 (d) INFORMATION REGARDING INQUIRIES.—Section

14 609(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.

15 1681g(a)) is amended by adding after paragraph (4) (as

16 added by subsection (d) of this section) the following:

17 ‘‘(5) A record of all inquiries received by the

18 agency in the 6-month period preceding the request

19 that identified the consumer in connection with a

20 credit transaction which was not initiated by the

21 consumer.’’.

22 (e) SUMMARY OF RIGHTS REQUIRED TO BE IN23 CLUDED WITH DISCLOSURE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 609 of the Fair

2 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended

3 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

4 ‘‘(c) SUMMARY OF RIGHTS REQUIRED TO BE IN5 CLUDED WITH DISCLOSURE.—

6 ‘‘(1) SUMMARY OF RIGHTS.—A consumer re7 porting agency shall provide to a consumer, with

8 each written disclosure by the agency to the

9 consumer under this section—

10 ‘‘(A) a written summary of all rights the

11 consumer has under this title; and

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of a consumer reporting

13 agency that compiles and maintains files on

14 consumers on a nationwide basis, a toll-free

15 telephone number which the consumer can use

16 to communicate with the agency.

17 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC ITEMS REQUIRED TO BE IN18 CLUDED.—The summary of rights required under

19 paragraph (1) shall include—

20 ‘‘(A) a brief description of this title and all

21 rights of consumers under this title;

22 ‘‘(B) an explanation of how the consumer

23 may exercise the rights of the consumer under

24 this title;
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1 ‘‘(C) a list of all Federal agencies respon2 sible for enforcing any provision of this title

3 and the address and any appropriate phone

4 number of each such agency, in a form that will

5 assist the consumer in selecting the appropriate

6 agency; and

7 ‘‘(D) a statement that a consumer report8 ing agency is not required to remove accurate

9 derogatory information from a consumer’s file,

10 unless the information is outdated under sec11 tion 605 or cannot be verified.

12 ‘‘(3) FORM OF SUMMARY OF RIGHTS.—For pur13 poses of this subsection and any disclosure by a

14 consumer reporting agency required under this title

15 with respect to consumers’ rights, the Federal Trade

16 Commission (after consultation with each Federal

17 agency referred to in section 621(b)) shall prescribe

18 the form and content of any disclosure of the rights

19 of consumers required under this title.’’.

20 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section

21 606(a)(1)(B) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

22 U.S.C. 1681d(a)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting

23 ‘‘and the written summary of the rights of the

24 consumer prepared pursuant to section 609(c)’’ be25 fore the semicolon.
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1 (f) FORM OF DISCLOSURES.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (a) and (b) of

3 section 610 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

4 U.S.C. 1681h) are amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(a) FORM OF DISCLOSURE, GENERALLY.—Except

6 as provided in subsection (b), the disclosures required to

7 be made under section 609 shall be provided to a

8 consumer in writing.

9 ‘‘(b) OTHER FORMS OF DISCLOSURE.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting

11 agency may make the disclosures required under sec12 tion 609 other than in writing if authorized by the

13 consumer, and in such form as may be specified by

14 the consumer and available from the agency.

15 ‘‘(2) FORM.—A consumer may specify pursuant

16 to paragraph (1) that disclosures under section 609

17 shall be made—

18 ‘‘(A) in person, upon—

19 ‘‘(i) the appearance of the consumer

20 at the place of business of the consumer

21 reporting agency where disclosures are reg22 ularly provided, during normal business

23 hours, and on reasonable notice; and

24 ‘‘(ii) the furnishing of proper identi25 fication by the consumer;
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1 ‘‘(B) by telephone, if the consumer has

2 made a written request for disclosure by tele3 phone that includes proper identification of the

4 consumer;

5 ‘‘(C) by electronic means, if available from

6 the agency; or

7 ‘‘(D) by any other reasonable means that

8 is available from the agency.’’.

9 (2) SIMPLIFIED DISCLOSURE.—Section 610 of

10 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681h) is

11 amended by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(f) SIMPLIFIED DISCLOSURE.—The Federal Trade

13 Commission shall prescribe the form in which a consumer

14 reporting agency shall make the disclosures required

15 under section 609(a), for the purpose of maximizing the

16 comprehensibility and standardization of such disclo17 sures.’’.

18 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

19 (A) Section 610 of the Fair Credit Report20 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681h) is amended in the

21 heading for the section by inserting ‘‘and

22 form’’ after ‘‘Conditions’’.

23 (B) The table of sections at the beginning

24 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.

25 1681a et seq.) is amended in the item relating
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1 to section 610 by inserting ‘‘and form’’ after

2 ‘‘Conditions’’.

3 SEC. 108. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO PROCEDURES IN

4 CASE OF THE DISPUTED ACCURACY OF ANY

5 INFORMATION IN A CONSUMER’S FILE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 611(a) of the Fair Credit

7 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)) is amended to read

8 as follows:

9 ‘‘(a) REINVESTIGATIONS OF DISPUTED INFORMA10 TION.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the completeness or ac12 curacy of any item of information contained in any

13 consumer’s file at any consumer reporting agency is

14 disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies

15 the agency directly of such dispute, the agency shall

16 reinvestigate free of charge and record the current

17 status of the disputed information, or delete the

18 item from the file in accordance with paragraph (5),

19 before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the

20 date the agency receives the notice of the dispute

21 from the consumer.

22 ‘‘(2) PROMPT NOTICE OF DISPUTE TO FUR23 NISHER OF INFORMATION.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of the

25 5-day period beginning on the date a consumer
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1 reporting agency receives notice of a dispute

2 from any consumer in accordance with para3 graph (1), the agency shall provide notification

4 of the dispute to any person that provided any

5 item of information in dispute, at the address

6 and in the manner established with the person.

7 The notice shall include disclosure of the date

8 on which the consumer reporting agency re9 ceived notice of the dispute from the consumer

10 and all relevant information regarding the dis11 pute that the agency has received from the

12 consumer.

13 ‘‘(B) PROVISION OF OTHER INFORMATION

14 FROM CONSUMER.—The consumer reporting

15 agency shall promptly provide to the person

16 that provided the information in dispute all rel17 evant information regarding the dispute that is

18 received by the agency from the consumer after

19 the period referred to in subparagraph (A) and

20 before the end of the period referred to in para21 graph (1).

22 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION THAT DISPUTE IS FRIVO23 LOUS OR IRRELEVANT.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para25 graph (1), a consumer reporting agency may
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1 terminate a reinvestigation of information dis2 puted by a consumer under that paragraph if

3 the agency determines that the dispute by the

4 consumer is frivolous or irrelevant, including by

5 reason of a failure by a consumer to provide

6 sufficient information to investigate the dis7 puted information.

8 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.—Upon

9 making any determination in accordance with

10 subparagraph (A) that a dispute is frivolous or

11 irrelevant, a consumer reporting agency shall

12 notify the consumer within 5 days of such de13 termination, by mail or, if authorized by the

14 consumer for that purpose, by any other means

15 available to the agency.

16 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—A notice

17 under subparagraph (B) shall include—

18 ‘‘(i) the reasons for the determination

19 under subparagraph (A); and

20 ‘‘(ii) identification of any information

21 required to investigate the disputed infor22 mation.

23 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION OF CONSUMER INFORMA24 TION.—In conducting any reinvestigation under

25 paragraph (1) with respect to disputed information
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1 in the file of any consumer, the consumer reporting

2 agency shall review and consider all relevant infor3 mation submitted by the consumer in the period de4 scribed in paragraph (1) with respect to such dis5 puted information.

6 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF INACCURATE OR UNVERI7 FIABLE INFORMATION.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, after any

9 reinvestigation under paragraph (1) of any in10 formation disputed by a consumer, an item of

11 the information is found to be inaccurate or in12 complete or cannot be verified, the consumer re13 porting agency shall promptly delete that item

14 of information from the consumer’s file. The in15 formation deleted shall consist solely of the in16 formation that was disputed by the consumer

17 and shall not include any portion of the same

18 item that was not disputed.

19 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO

20 REINSERTION OF PREVIOUSLY DELETED MATE21 RIAL.—

22 ‘‘(i) CERTIFICATION OF ACCURACY OF

23 INFORMATION.—If any information is de24 leted from a consumer’s file pursuant to

25 subparagraph (A), the information may
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1 not be reinserted in the file after the dele2 tion unless the person who furnishes the

3 information certifies that the information

4 is complete and accurate.

5 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE TO CONSUMER.—If any

6 information which has been deleted from a

7 consumer’s file pursuant to subparagraph

8 (A) is reinserted in the file, the consumer

9 reporting agency shall promptly notify the

10 consumer of the reinsertion in writing or,

11 if authorized by the consumer for that pur12 pose, by any other means available to the

13 agency.

14 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—As

15 part of or in addition to the notice under

16 clause (ii), a consumer reporting agency

17 shall provide to a consumer in writing

18 within the 5-day period beginning on the

19 date of the reinsertion—

20 ‘‘(I) a statement that the dis21 puted information has been

22 reinserted;

23 ‘‘(II) a notice to the consumer

24 that if requested by the consumer the

25 agency shall provide to the consumer,
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1 within 15 days after the date of the

2 request, the name, business address,

3 and telephone number of any fur4 nisher of information contacted, or of

5 any furnisher of information which

6 contacted the consumer reporting

7 agency, in connection with the

8 reinsertion of such information; and

9 ‘‘(III) the toll-free telephone

10 number of the consumer reporting

11 agency that the consumer can use to

12 contact the agency with respect to ob13 taining the information described in

14 subclause (II).

15 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES TO PREVENT RE16 APPEARANCE.—A consumer reporting agency

17 shall maintain reasonable procedures designed

18 to prevent the reappearance in a consumer’s

19 file, and in consumer reports on the consumer,

20 of information that is deleted pursuant to this

21 paragraph (other than information that is

22 reinserted in accordance with subparagraph

23 (B)(i)).

24 ‘‘(6) NOTICE OF RESULTS OF

25 REINVESTIGATION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting

2 agency shall provide written notice to a

3 consumer of the results of a reinvestigation

4 under this subsection within 5 days after the

5 completion of the reinvestigation, by mail or, if

6 authorized by the consumer for that purpose,

7 by other means available to the agency.

8 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—As part of or in addi9 tion to the notice under subparagraph (A), a

10 consumer reporting agency shall provide to a

11 consumer in writing within the 5-day period

12 referred to in subparagraph (A)—

13 ‘‘(i) a statement that the

14 reinvestigation is completed;

15 ‘‘(ii) a consumer report that is based

16 upon the consumer’s file as that file is re17 vised as a result of the reinvestigation;

18 ‘‘(iii) a description or indication of

19 any changes made in the consumer report

20 as a result of those revisions to the con21 sumer’s file;

22 ‘‘(iv) a notice that, if requested by the

23 consumer, a description of the procedure

24 used to determine the accuracy and com25 pleteness of the information shall be pro-
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1 vided to the consumer by the agency, in2 cluding the name, business address, and

3 telephone number of any furnisher of in4 formation contacted in connection with

5 such information;

6 ‘‘(v) a notice that the consumer has

7 the right to add a statement to the con8 sumer’s file disputing the accuracy or com9 pleteness of the information; and

10 ‘‘(vi) a notice that the consumer has

11 the right to request under subsection (d)

12 that the consumer reporting agency fur13 nish notifications under that subsection.

14 ‘‘(7) DESCRIPTION OF REINVESTIGATION

15 PROCEDURE.—A consumer reporting agency

16 shall provide to a consumer a description re17 ferred to in paragraph (6)(B)(iv) by not later

18 than 15 days after receiving a request from the

19 consumer for that description.’’.

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (d) of

21 section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.

22 1681i(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘The consumer report23 ing agency shall clearly’’ and all that follows through the

24 end of the subsection.
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1 SEC. 109. AMENDMENT RELATING TO CHARGES FOR DIS2 CLOSURE.

3 Section 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

4 U.S.C. 1681j) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘§ 612. Charges for certain disclosures

6 ‘‘(a) REASONABLE CHARGES ALLOWED FOR CER7 TAIN DISCLOSURES.—Except as provided in subsections

8 (b), (c), and (d), a consumer reporting agency may impose

9 a reasonable charge on a consumer—

10 ‘‘(1) for making a disclosure to the consumer

11 pursuant to section 609, which—

12 ‘‘(A) shall not exceed $8; and

13 ‘‘(B) shall be indicated to the consumer

14 prior to making disclosure; and

15 ‘‘(2) for furnishing a notification, statement,

16 summary, or codification to any person designated

17 by the consumer pursuant to section 611(d),

18 which—

19 ‘‘(A) shall not exceed the charge that the

20 agency would impose on each designated recipi21 ent for a consumer report; and

22 ‘‘(B) shall be indicated to the consumer

23 prior to furnishing such information.

24 ‘‘(b) FREE CONSUMER REPORT AFTER ADVERSE

25 NOTICE TO CONSUMER.—Each consumer reporting agen26 cy that maintains a file on a consumer shall make all dis-
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1 closures pursuant to section 609 without charge to the

2 consumer if, within 60 days after receipt by such

3 consumer of a notification pursuant to section 615 or of

4 a notification from a debt collection agency affiliated with

5 that consumer reporting agency stating that the consum6 er’s credit rating may be or has been adversely affected,

7 the consumer makes a request under section 609.

8 ‘‘(c) FREE CONSUMER REPORT ANNUALLY UPON

9 REQUEST OF CONSUMER.—Upon the request of a

10 consumer, a consumer reporting agency shall make all dis11 closures pursuant to section 609 without charge to that

12 consumer at least once each calendar year.

13 ‘‘(d) CHARGE FOR CERTAIN NOTICES PROHIB14 ITED.—A consumer reporting agency shall not impose any

15 charge for—

16 ‘‘(1) providing any notice to a consumer re17 quired under section 611; or

18 ‘‘(2) notifying a person pursuant to section

19 611(d) of the deletion of information which is found

20 to be inaccurate or which can no longer be verified,

21 if the consumer designates that person to the agency

22 before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the

23 date of the notification of the consumer under sec24 tion 611(a)(6).
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1 ‘‘(e) REFUND OF CHARGE IN CASE OF DISPUTE.—

2 A consumer reporting agency shall refund to a consumer

3 any charge assessed to the consumer for providing a

4 consumer report in the 60-day period ending on the date

5 on which the consumer notifies the agency in accordance

6 with section 611(a)(1), if after a reinvestigation under

7 that section any information in the file of the consumer

8 is found to be incomplete or inaccurate.’’.

9 SEC. 110. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO DUTIES OF USERS

10 OF CONSUMER REPORTS.

11 (a) DUTIES OF USERS TAKING ADVERSE ACTIONS.—

12 Section 615(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

13 U.S.C. 1681m(a)) is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘(a) DUTIES OF USERS TAKING ADVERSE ACTIONS

15 ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN

16 CONSUMER REPORTS.—If any person takes any adverse

17 action with respect to any consumer in connection with

18 any transaction initiated by the consumer or any employ19 ment determination, which is based in whole or in part

20 on any information contained in a consumer report, the

21 person shall—

22 ‘‘(1) provide written notice of the adverse action

23 to the consumer;

24 ‘‘(2) provide to the consumer—
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•HR 1015 SC

1 ‘‘(A) the name, address, and telephone

2 number of the consumer reporting agency which

3 furnished the report to the person; and

4 ‘‘(B) a statement that the consumer re5 porting agency did not make the decision to

6 take the adverse action and is unable to provide

7 the consumer the specific reasons why the

8 adverse action was taken;

9 ‘‘(3) provide to the consumer a written notice of

10 the consumer’s right—

11 ‘‘(A) to obtain, under section 612, a free

12 copy of a consumer report on the consumer,

13 from the consumer reporting agency referred to

14 in paragraph (2) and from any other consumer

15 reporting agency that maintains a file on the

16 consumer, which notice shall include an indica17 tion of the 60-day period under that section for

18 obtaining such a copy; and

19 ‘‘(B) to dispute, under section 611, with a

20 consumer reporting agency the accuracy or

21 completeness of any information in a consumer

22 report furnished by the agency; and

23 ‘‘(4) in the case of an adverse action based in

24 whole or in part on a credit score or other predictor

25 of credit worthiness, provide to the consumer—
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1 ‘‘(A) notice that the predictor was used;

2 and

3 ‘‘(B) the principal factors used to deter4 mine that predictor, if those factors are re5 quired to be disclosed by the person for pur6 poses of compliance with section 701(d)(3) of

7 the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.’’.

8 (b) DUTIES OF USERS WHO MAKE CERTAIN CREDIT

9 SOLICITATIONS.—Section 615 of the Fair Credit Report10 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m) is amended by adding at the

11 end the following new subsection:

12 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF USERS WHO MAKE WRITTEN CRED13 IT SOLICITATIONS ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION CON14 TAINED IN CONSUMER FILES.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who uses a

16 consumer report of any consumer in connection with

17 any credit transaction which is not initiated by the

18 consumer and which consists of a firm offer of credit

19 shall provide with any written solicitation made to

20 the consumer regarding the transaction a clear and

21 conspicuous statement that—

22 ‘‘(A) information contained in the consum23 er’s consumer report was used in connection

24 with the transaction;
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•HR 1015 SC

1 ‘‘(B) the consumer received the offer of

2 credit because the consumer satisfied the cri3 teria for creditworthiness under which the

4 consumer was selected for the offer;

5 ‘‘(C) if applicable, the credit may not be

6 extended if, after the consumer responds to the

7 offer, the consumer does not meet the criteria

8 used to select the consumer for the offer;

9 ‘‘(D) the consumer has a right to prohibit

10 information contained in the consumer’s file

11 with any consumer reporting agency to be used

12 in connection with any credit transaction that is

13 not initiated by the consumer; and

14 ‘‘(E) the consumer may exercise the right

15 referred to in subparagraph (D) by notifying a

16 notification system established under section

17 604(d).

18 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE OF ADDRESS AND TELE19 PHONE NUMBER.—A statement under paragraph (1)

20 shall include the address and toll-free telephone

21 number of the appropriate notification system estab22 lished under section 604(d).

23 ‘‘(3) MAINTAINING CRITERIA ON FILE.—A per24 son who makes an offer of credit to a consumer

25 under a credit transaction described in paragraph
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1 (1) shall maintain on file the criteria used to select

2 the consumer to receive the offer, until the end of

3 the 3-year period beginning on the date on which the

4 offer is made to the consumer.’’.

5 SEC. 111. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CIVIL LIABILITY.

6 (a) CIVIL LIABILITY FOR WILLFUL NONCOMPLI7 ANCE, GENERALLY.—Section 616 of the Fair Credit Re8 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681n) is amended by striking

9 ‘‘Any consumer reporting agency or user of information

10 which’’ and inserting ‘‘Any person who’’.

11 (b) MINIMUM CIVIL LIABILITY FOR WILLFUL NON12 COMPLIANCE.—Section 616(1) of the Fair Credit Report13 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681n(1)) is amended to read as fol14 lows:

15 ‘‘(1)(A) any actual damages sustained by the

16 consumer as a result of the failure; or

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of liability of a natural person

18 for obtaining a consumer report under false pre19 tenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose,

20 such damages or $1,000, whichever is greater;’’.

21 (c) CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NEGLIGENT NONCOMPLI22 ANCE.—Section 617 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

23 U.S.C. 1681o) is amended by striking ‘‘Any consumer re24 porting agency or user of information which’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘Any person who’’.
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1 SEC. 112. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO RESPONSIBILITIES

2 OF PERSONS WHO FURNISH INFORMATION

3 TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act

5 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended by redesignating sec6 tion 622 as section 623 and inserting after section 621

7 the following new section:

8 ‘‘§ 622. Responsibilities of furnishers of information

9 to consumer reporting agencies

10 ‘‘(a) DUTY OF FURNISHERS OF INFORMATION TO

11 PROVIDE COMPLETE AND ACCURATE INFORMATION.—

12 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITIONS.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person shall not

14 furnish any information to any consumer re15 porting agency if the person has reasonable

16 cause to believe the information is incomplete or

17 inaccurate.

18 ‘‘(B) ROUTINE FURNISHERS.—A person

19 shall not regularly, on a routine basis, and in

20 the ordinary course of business furnish informa21 tion to one or more consumer reporting agen22 cies about the person’s transactions or experi23 ences with any consumer, except in compliance

24 with reasonable procedures which are designed

25 to avoid violations of this section and to assure

26 the accuracy of the information.
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1 ‘‘(2) DUTY TO CORRECT AND UPDATE INFOR2 MATION.—A person who—

3 ‘‘(A) in the ordinary course of business,

4 regularly and on a routine basis furnishes infor5 mation to one or more consumer reporting

6 agencies about the person’s transactions or ex7 periences with any consumer; and

8 ‘‘(B) furnishes information to a consumer

9 reporting agency, that the person determines is

10 not complete or accurate;

11 shall promptly notify the consumer reporting agency

12 of that determination and provide to the agency any

13 corrections to that information, or any additional in14 formation, that is necessary to make the information

15 provided by the person to the agency complete and

16 accurate.

17 ‘‘(3) DUTY TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF CONTINU18 ING DISPUTE.—If the completeness or accuracy of

19 any information furnished by any person to any

20 consumer reporting agency continues to be disputed

21 to such person, the person may not furnish the in22 formation to any consumer reporting agency without

23 notice that such information is disputed by the

24 consumer.
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1 ‘‘(4) DUTY TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF CLOSED AC2 COUNTS.—A person who regularly furnishes infor3 mation to a consumer reporting agency regarding a

4 consumer who has a credit account with that person

5 shall notify the agency if the consumer closes the ac6 count with no outstanding balance, in information

7 regularly furnished for the period in which the ac8 count is closed.

9 ‘‘(5) DUTY TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF DELIN10 QUENCY OF ACCOUNTS.—A person who furnishes in11 formation to a consumer reporting agency regarding

12 a delinquent account being placed for collection,

13 charged to profit or loss, or subjected to any similar

14 action shall notify the agency of the commencement

15 of the delinquency immediately preceding that ac16 tion, by not later than 90 days after the date of that

17 commencement.

18 ‘‘(b) NOTICE TO CONSUMERS OF INFORMATION FUR19 NISHED TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES.—

20 ‘‘(1) NOTICE REQUIRED.—A person who in the

21 ordinary course of business regularly and on a rou22 tine basis furnishes information about that person’s

23 transactions or experiences with any consumer to

24 any consumer reporting agency, shall give notice of

25 that fact in writing to the consumer before first pro-
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1 viding any information about the consumer to any

2 consumer reporting agency.

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—Written notice

4 provided to a consumer by a person pursuant to

5 paragraph (1) shall contain the following informa6 tion:

7 ‘‘(A) A brief description of the type of in8 formation which may be furnished regularly to

9 any consumer reporting agency.

10 ‘‘(B) A brief description of the frequency

11 with which or the circumstances under which

12 information is furnished to any consumer re13 porting agency.

14 ‘‘(3) NOTICE BY CERTAIN PERSONS.—A person

15 who furnishes information about consumers who

16 have written checks with insufficient funds may give

17 notice for purposes of paragraph (1) by posting the

18 notice in a conspicuous manner at each location

19 where checks are accepted by the person.

20 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF FURNISHERS OF INFORMATION

21 UPON NOTICE OF DISPUTE.—Upon receiving notice pur22 suant to section 611(a)(2) of a dispute with regard to the

23 completeness or accuracy of any information provided by

24 a person to a consumer reporting agency, the person shall,

25 before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date
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1 the agency received notice of the dispute from a consumer

2 in accordance with section 611(a)(1)—

3 ‘‘(1) complete an investigation with respect to

4 the disputed information;

5 ‘‘(2) review all relevant information provided by

6 the consumer reporting agency pursuant to section

7 611(a)(2);

8 ‘‘(3) report the results of the investigation to

9 the consumer reporting agency; and

10 ‘‘(4) if the investigation finds that the informa11 tion is incomplete or inaccurate, report those results

12 to all other consumer reporting agencies to which

13 the person furnished the information.’’.

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

15 at the beginning of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

16 U.S.C. 1681a et seq.) is amended by striking the item re17 lating to section 622 and inserting the following:

‘‘622. Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies.’’.

18 SEC. 113. INVESTIGATIVE CONSUMER REPORTS.

19 Section 606 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

20 U.S.C. 1681d) is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after

22 the semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘and’’;

23 (2) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting

24 the following:
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•HR 1015 SC

1 ‘‘(2) the person certifies to the consumer re2 porting agency that—

3 ‘‘(A) the person has made the disclosures

4 to the consumer required by paragraph (1); and

5 ‘‘(B) the person will comply with sub6 section (b).’’;

7 (3) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘shall’’ the sec8 ond place it appears; and

9 (4) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION.—A consumer reporting

12 agency shall not prepare or furnish an investigative

13 consumer report unless the agency has received a

14 certification under subsection (a)(2) from the person

15 who requested the report.

16 ‘‘(2) INQUIRIES.—A consumer reporting agency

17 shall not make an inquiry for the purpose of prepar18 ing a consumer report on a consumer if the making

19 of the inquiry by an employer or prospective em20 ployer of the consumer would violate any applicable

21 Federal or State equal employment opportunity law

22 or regulation.

23 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC RECORD INFORMATION.—A

24 consumer reporting agency shall not prepare or fur25 nish an investigative consumer report which includes
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1 information which is a matter of public record unless

2 the agency has verified the accuracy of the informa3 tion by examining the public record.

4 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN ADVERSE INFORMATION.—A

5 consumer reporting agency shall not prepare or fur6 nish an investigative consumer report on a consumer

7 that contains information that is adverse to the in8 terest of the consumer and that is obtained through

9 a personal interview with a neighbor, friend, or asso10 ciate of the consumer or with another person with

11 whom the consumer is acquainted or who has knowl12 edge of such item of information, unless the agency

13 has verified the accuracy of the information by ex14 amining an independent source that is the best evi15 dence of the accuracy of the information.’’.

16 SEC. 114. INCREASED CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR OBTAIN17 ING INFORMATION UNDER FALSE PRE18 TENSES.

19 (a) OBTAINING INFORMATION UNDER FALSE PRE20 TENSES.—Section 619 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act

21 (15 U.S.C. 1681q) is amended by striking ‘‘fined not more

22 than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or

23 both’’ and inserting ‘‘fined under title 18, United States

24 Code, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both’’.
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1 (b) UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURES BY OFFICERS OR

2 EMPLOYEES.—Section 620 of the Fair Credit Reporting

3 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681r) is amended by striking ‘‘fined not

4 more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year,

5 or both’’ and inserting ‘‘fined under title 18, United States

6 Code, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both’’.

7 SEC. 115. ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.

8 The 2d sentence of section 621(a) of the Fair Credit

9 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(a)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘Act and shall be subject to en11 forcement by the Federal Trade Commission under

12 section 5(b) thereof with respect to any consumer re13 porting agency or person subject to enforcement by

14 the Federal Trade Commission pursuant to this sub15 section, irrespective’’ and inserting ‘‘Act. All func16 tions and powers of the Federal Trade Commission

17 under the Federal Trade Commission Act shall be

18 available to the Commission to enforce compliance

19 with this title by any person subject to enforcement

20 by the Federal Trade Commission pursuant to this

21 subsection and not subject to enforcement pursuant

22 to section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act,

23 irrespective’’; and

24 (2) by inserting ‘‘, including the power to en25 force the provisions of this title in the same manner
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1 as if the violation had been a violation of any Fed2 eral Trade Commission trade regulation rule’’ before

3 the period.

4 SEC. 116. STATE ENFORCEMENT OF FAIR CREDIT REPORT5 ING ACT.

6 Section 621 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

7 U.S.C. 1681s) is amended by redesignating subsection (c)

8 as subsection (d) and inserting after subsection (b) the

9 following new subsection:

10 ‘‘(c) STATE ACTION TO ENFORCE FAIR CREDIT RE11 PORTING.—

12 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF STATES.—Whenever the

13 chief law enforcement officer of the State, or an offi14 cial or agency designated by a State, has reason to

15 believe that any person has violated this title the

16 State may bring a civil action on behalf of its resi17 dents to enjoin such violation, an action to recover

18 for actual monetary loss, or both, and may seek such

19 other remedies as are provided under State law.

20 ‘‘(2) RIGHTS OF COMMISSION.—The State shall

21 serve prior written notice of any such civil action

22 upon the Federal Trade Commission or the appro23 priate Federal regulator determined under sub24 section (b) and provide the Commission or appro25 priate Federal regulator with a copy of its com-
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1 plaint, except in any case where such prior notice is

2 not feasible, in which case the State shall serve such

3 notice immediately upon instituting such action. The

4 Commission or appropriate Federal regulator shall

5 have the right (A) to intervene in the action, (B)

6 upon so intervening, to be heard on all matters aris7 ing therein, and (C) to file petitions for appeal.

8 ‘‘(3) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Any civil

9 action brought under this subsection in a district

10 court of the United States may be brought in the

11 district wherein the defendant is found or is an in12 habitant or transacts business or wherein the viola13 tion occurred or is occurring, and process in such

14 cases may be served in any district in which the de15 fendant is an inhabitant or where the defendant may

16 be found.

17 ‘‘(4) INVESTIGATORY POWERS.—For purposes

18 of bringing any civil action under this subsection,

19 nothing in this subsection shall prevent the chief law

20 enforcement officer, or an official or agency des21 ignated by a State, from exercising the powers con22 ferred on the chief law enforcement officer or such

23 official by the laws of such State to conduct inves24 tigations or to administer oaths or affirmations or to
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1 compel the attendance of witnesses or the production

2 of documentary and other evidence.

3 ‘‘(5) EFFECT ON STATE COURT PROCEED4 INGS.—Nothing contained in this subsection shall be

5 construed to prohibit an authorized State official

6 from proceeding in State court on the basis of an al7 leged violation of any civil or criminal statute of

8 such State.

9 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION.—Whenever the Federal

10 Trade Commission or the appropriate Federal regu11 lator has instituted a civil action for violation of this

12 title, no State may, during the pendency of such ac13 tion instituted by the Commission or the appropriate

14 Federal regulator, subsequently institute a civil ac15 tion against any defendant named in the complaint

16 of the Commission or the appropriate Federal regu17 lator for any violation of this title that is alleged in

18 the complaint of the Commission or the Federal reg19 ulator.’’.

20 SEC. 117. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD AUTHORITY.

21 Section 621 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15

22 U.S.C. 1681s), is further amended by adding after sub23 section (d) (as redesignated by section 116) the following

24 new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(e) INTERPRETIVE AUTHORITY.—The Federal Re2 serve Board may issue interpretations of any provision of

3 this title as it may apply to any persons identified under

4 subsection (b) (1), (2), and (3), or to the holding compa5 nies and affiliates of such persons, in consultation with

6 Federal agencies identified in subsection (b) (1), (2), and

7 (3).’’.

8 SEC. 118. ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE

9 NUMBER.

10 Each consumer reporting agency that compiles and

11 maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis shall

12 establish (and thereafter maintain) a toll-free telephone

13 number pursuant to section 609(c)(1)(B) of the Fair

14 Credit Reporting Act, as amended by section 107(e) of

15 this Act, before the end of the 455-day period beginning

16 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

17 SEC. 119. ACTION BY FTC.

18 The Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe all

19 matters required by this title (including the amendments

20 made by this title) to be prescribed by that Commission,

21 before the end of the 270-day period beginning on the date

22 of the enactment of this Act.

23 SEC. 120. EFFECTIVE DATES OF AMENDMENTS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

25 (b), the amendments made by this title shall be effective
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1 after the 455-day period beginning on the date of the en2 actment of this Act.

3 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—

4 (1) NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.—Section 604(d)(3)

5 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended by

6 section 104(a), shall be effective after the 365-day

7 period beginning on the date of the enactment of

8 this Act.

9 (2) FTC AUTHORITY.—Subsection (a) shall not

10 affect the authority of the Federal Trade Commis11 sion to prescribe matters under the amendments

12 made by this title.

13 TITLE II—CREDIT REPAIR

14 ORGANIZATIONS

15 SEC. 201. REGULATION OF CREDIT REPAIR ORGANIZA16 TIONS.

17 Title IV of the Consumer Credit Protection Act is

18 amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘TITLE IV—CREDIT REPAIR

20 ORGANIZATIONS

‘‘Sec.

‘‘401. Short title.

‘‘402. Findings and purposes.

‘‘403. Definitions.

‘‘404. Prohibited practices by credit repair organizations.

‘‘405. Disclosures.

‘‘406. Credit repair organizations contracts.

‘‘407. Right to cancel contract.

‘‘408. Noncompliance with this title.

‘‘409. Civil liability.

‘‘410. Administrative enforcement.
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‘‘411. Relation to State law.

1 ‘‘SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.

2 ‘‘This title may be cited as the ‘Credit Repair Organi3 zations Act’.

4 ‘‘SEC. 402. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

5 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following

6 findings:

7 ‘‘(1) Consumers have a vital interest in estab8 lishing and maintaining their creditworthiness and

9 credit standing in order to obtain and use credit. As

10 a result, consumers who have experienced credit

11 problems may seek assistance from credit repair or12 ganizations which offer to improve the credit stand13 ing of such consumers.

14 ‘‘(2) Certain advertising and business practices

15 of some companies engaged in the business of credit

16 repair services have worked a financial hardship

17 upon consumers, particularly those of limited eco18 nomic means and who are inexperienced in credit

19 matters.

20 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are as

21 follows:

22 ‘‘(1) To ensure that prospective buyers of the

23 services of credit repair organizations are provided

24 with the information necessary to make an informed

25 decision regarding the purchase of such services.
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1 ‘‘(2) To protect the public from unfair or decep2 tive advertising and business practices by credit re3 pair organizations.

4 ‘‘SEC. 403. DEFINITIONS.

5 ‘‘For purposes of this title—

6 ‘‘(1) CONSUMER.—The term ‘consumer’ means

7 an individual.

8 ‘‘(2) CONSUMER CREDIT TRANSACTION.—The

9 term ‘consumer credit transaction’ means any trans10 action in which credit is offered or extended to an

11 individual for personal, family, or household pur12 poses.

13 ‘‘(3) CREDIT REPAIR ORGANIZATION.—The

14 term ‘credit repair organization’—

15 ‘‘(A) means any person who uses any in16 strumentality of interstate commerce or the

17 mails to sell, provide, or perform (or represent

18 that such person can or will sell, provide, or

19 perform) any service, in return for the payment

20 of money or other valuable consideration, for

21 the express or implied purpose of—

22 ‘‘(i) improving any consumer’s credit

23 record, credit history, or credit rating; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) providing advice or assistance to

2 any consumer with regard to any activity

3 or service described in clause (i); and

4 ‘‘(B) does not include—

5 ‘‘(i) any nonprofit organization which

6 is exempt from taxation under section

7 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of

8 1986; or

9 ‘‘(ii) any attorney-at-law who is a

10 member of the bar of the highest court of

11 any State or otherwise licensed under the

12 laws of any State, with respect to services

13 rendered which are within the scope of reg14 ulations applicable to members of such bar

15 or such licensees.

16 ‘‘(4) CREDIT.—The term ‘credit’ has the mean17 ing given to such term in section 103(e) of this Act.

18 ‘‘SEC. 404. PROHIBITED PRACTICES.

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No person may—

20 ‘‘(1) make any statement, or counsel or advise

21 any consumer to make any statement, which is un22 true or misleading (or which, upon the exercise of

23 reasonable care, should be known by the credit re24 pair organization, officer, employee, agent, or other

25 person to be untrue or misleading) with respect to
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1 any consumer’s creditworthiness, credit standing, or

2 credit capacity to—

3 ‘‘(A) any consumer reporting agency (as

4 defined in section 603(f) of this Act); or

5 ‘‘(B) any person—

6 ‘‘(i) who has extended credit to the

7 consumer; or

8 ‘‘(ii) to whom the consumer has ap9 plied or is applying for an extension of

10 credit;

11 ‘‘(2) make any statement, or counsel or advise

12 any consumer to make any statement, the intended

13 effect of which is to alter the consumer’s identifica14 tion to prevent the display of the consumer’s credit

15 record, history, or rating for the purpose of conceal16 ing adverse information that is accurate and not ob17 solete to—

18 ‘‘(A) any consumer reporting agency;

19 ‘‘(B) any person—

20 ‘‘(i) who has extended credit to the

21 consumer; or

22 ‘‘(ii) to whom the consumer has ap23 plied or is applying for an extension of

24 credit;
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1 ‘‘(3) make or use any untrue or misleading rep2 resentation of the services of the credit repair orga3 nization; or

4 ‘‘(4) engage, directly or indirectly, in any act,

5 practice, or course of business that constitutes or re6 sults in the commission of, or an attempt to commit,

7 a fraud or deception on any person in connection

8 with the offer or sale of the services of the credit re9 pair organization.

10 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT IN ADVANCE.—No credit repair orga11 nization may charge or receive any money or other valu12 able consideration for the performance of any service

13 which the credit repair organization has agreed to perform

14 for any consumer before such service is fully performed.

15 ‘‘SEC. 405. DISCLOSURES.

16 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE REQUIRED.—Any credit repair or17 ganization shall provide any consumer with the following

18 written statement before any contract or agreement be19 tween the consumer and the credit repair organization is

20 executed:

21 ‘‘ ‘Consumer Credit File Rights

22 Under State and Federal Law

23 ‘‘ ‘You have a right to dispute inaccurate information

24 in your credit report by contacting the credit bureau di25 rectly. However, neither you nor any ‘‘credit repair’’ com-
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1 pany or credit repair organization has the right to have

2 accurate, current, and verifiable information removed

3 from your credit report. The credit bureau must remove

4 accurate, negative information from your report only if it

5 is over 7 years old. Bankruptcy information can be re6 ported for 10 years.

7 ‘‘ ‘You have a right to obtain a copy of your credit

8 report from a credit bureau. You may be charged a rea9 sonable fee. There is no fee, however, if you have been

10 turned down for credit, employment, insurance, or a rental

11 dwelling because of information in your credit report with12 in the preceding 60 days. The credit bureau must provide

13 someone to help you interpret the information in your

14 credit file. The credit report is available annually at no

15 charge.

16 ‘‘ ‘You have a right to sue a credit repair company

17 that violates the Credit Repair Organization Act. This law

18 prohibits deceptive practices by credit repair companies.

19 ‘‘ ‘You have the right to cancel your contract with any

20 credit repair organization for any reason within 3 business

21 days from the date you signed it.

22 ‘‘ ‘Credit bureaus are required to follow reasonable

23 procedures to ensure that creditors report information ac24 curately. However, mistakes may occur.
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1 ‘‘ ‘You may, on your own, notify a credit bureau in

2 writing that you dispute the accuracy of information in

3 your credit file. The credit bureau must then reinvestigate

4 and modify or remove inaccurate or incomplete informa5 tion. The credit bureau may not charge any fee for this

6 service. Any pertinent information and copies of all docu7 ments you have concerning an error should be given to

8 the credit bureau.

9 ‘‘ ‘If reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute to

10 your satisfaction, you may send a brief statement to the

11 credit bureau, to be kept in your file, explaining why you

12 think the record is inaccurate. The credit bureau must in13 clude a summary of your statement about disputed infor14 mation with any report it issues about you.

15 ‘‘ ‘The Federal Trade Commission regulates credit

16 bureaus and credit repair organizations. For more infor17 mation contact:

18 The Public Reference Branch

19 Federal Trade Commission

20 Washington, D.C. 20580’.

21 ‘‘(b) SEPARATE STATEMENT REQUIREMENT.—The

22 written statement required under this section shall be pro23 vided as a document which is separate from any written

24 contract or other agreement between the credit repair or-
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1 ganization and the consumer or any other written material

2 provided to the consumer.

3 ‘‘(c) RETENTION OF COMPLIANCE RECORDS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The credit repair organiza5 tion shall maintain a copy of the statement signed

6 by the consumer acknowledging receipt of the state7 ment.

8 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE FOR 2 YEARS.—The copy

9 of any consumer’s statement shall be maintained in

10 the organization’s files for 2 years after the date on

11 which the statement is provided to the consumer.

12 ‘‘SEC. 406. CREDIT REPAIR ORGANIZATIONS CONTRACTS.

13 ‘‘(a) WRITTEN CONTRACTS REQUIRED.—No services

14 may be provided by any credit repair organization for any

15 consumer—

16 ‘‘(1) unless a written and dated contract (for

17 the purchase of such services) which meets the re18 quirements of subsection (b) has been signed by the

19 consumer; or

20 ‘‘(2) before the end of the 3-business day period

21 beginning on the date the contract is signed.

22 ‘‘(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT.—No

23 contract referred to in subsection (a) meets the require24 ments of this subsection unless such contract includes the

25 following information (in writing):
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1 ‘‘(1) The terms and conditions of payment, in2 cluding the total amount of all payments to be made

3 by the consumer to the credit repair organization or

4 to any other person.

5 ‘‘(2) A full and detailed description of the serv6 ices to be performed by the credit repair organiza7 tion for the consumer, including—

8 ‘‘(A) all guarantees of performance; and

9 ‘‘(B) an estimate of—

10 ‘‘(i) the date by which the perform11 ance of the services (to be performed by

12 the credit repair organization or any other

13 person) will be complete; or

14 ‘‘(ii) the length of the period nec15 essary to perform such services.

16 ‘‘(3) The credit repair organization’s name and

17 principal business address.

18 ‘‘(4) A conspicuous statement in bold face type,

19 in immediate proximity to the space reserved for the

20 consumer’s signature on the contract, which reads as

21 follows: ‘You may cancel this contract without pen22 alty or obligation at any time before midnight of the

23 3rd-business day after the date on which you signed

24 the contract. See the attached notice of cancellation

25 form for an explanation of this right.’.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 407. RIGHT TO CANCEL CONTRACT.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any consumer may cancel any

3 contract with any credit repair organization without pen4 alty or obligation by notifying the credit repair organiza5 tion of the consumer’s intention to do so at any time be6 fore midnight of the 3rd-business day which begins after

7 the date on which the contract or agreement between the

8 consumer and the credit repair organization is executed

9 or would, but for this subsection, become enforceable

10 against the parties.

11 ‘‘(b) CANCELLATION FORM AND OTHER INFORMA12 TION.—Each contract shall be accompanied by a form, in

13 duplicate, which has the heading ‘Notice of Cancellation’

14 and contains in bold face type the following statement:

15 ‘‘ ‘You may cancel this contract, without any

16 penalty or obligation, at any time before midnight of

17 the 3rd day which begins after the date the contract

18 is signed by you.

19 ‘‘ ‘To cancel this contract, mail or deliver a

20 signed, dated copy of this cancellation notice, or any

21 other written notice to [ name of credit repair

22 organization ] at [ address of credit repair

23 organization ] before midnight on [ date ]

24 ‘‘ ‘I hereby cancel this transaction,

25 [ date ]

26 [ purchaser’s signature ].’.
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1 ‘‘(c) CONSUMER COPY OF CONTRACT REQUIRED.—

2 Any consumer who enters into any contract with any cred3 it repair organization shall be given, by the organization—

4 ‘‘(1) a copy of the completed contract and the

5 disclosure statement required under section 405; and

6 ‘‘(2) a copy of any other document the credit

7 repair organization requires the consumer to sign,

8 at the time the contract or the other document is signed.

9 ‘‘SEC. 408. NONCOMPLIANCE WITH THIS TITLE.

10 ‘‘(a) CONSUMER WAIVERS INVALID.—Any waiver by

11 any consumer of any protection provided by or any right

12 of the consumer under this title—

13 ‘‘(1) shall be treated as void; and

14 ‘‘(2) may not be enforced by any Federal or

15 State court or any other person.

16 ‘‘(b) ATTEMPT TO OBTAIN WAIVER.—Any attempt

17 by any person to obtain a waiver from any consumer of

18 any protection provided by or any right of the consumer

19 under this title shall be treated as a violation of this title.

20 ‘‘(c) CONTRACTS NOT IN COMPLIANCE.—Any con21 tract for services which does not comply with the applica22 ble provisions of this title—

23 ‘‘(1) shall be treated as void; and

24 ‘‘(2) may not be enforced by any Federal or

25 State court or any other person.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 409. CIVIL LIABILITY.

2 ‘‘(a) LIABILITY ESTABLISHED.—Any person who

3 fails to comply with any provision of this title with respect

4 to any other person shall be liable to such person in an

5 amount equal to the sum of the amounts determined

6 under each of the following paragraphs:

7 ‘‘(1) ACTUAL DAMAGES.—The greater of—

8 ‘‘(A) the amount of any actual damage

9 sustained by such person as a result of such

10 failure; or

11 ‘‘(B) any amount paid by the person to the

12 credit repair organization.

13 ‘‘(2) PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—

14 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS.—In the case of

15 any action by an individual, such additional

16 amount as the court may allow.

17 ‘‘(B) CLASS ACTIONS.—In the case of a

18 class action, the sum of—

19 ‘‘(i) the aggregate of the amount

20 which the court may allow for each named

21 plaintiff; and

22 ‘‘(ii) the aggregate of the amount

23 which the court may allow for each other

24 class member, without regard to any mini25 mum individual recovery.
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1 ‘‘(3) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—In the case of any

2 successful action to enforce any liability under para3 graph (1) or (2), the costs of the action, together

4 with reasonable attorneys’ fees.

5 ‘‘(b) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN AWARDING

6 PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—In determining the amount of any

7 liability of any credit repair organization under subsection

8 (a)(2), the court shall consider, among other relevant fac9 tors—

10 ‘‘(1) the frequency and persistence of non11 compliance by the credit repair organization;

12 ‘‘(2) the nature of the noncompliance;

13 ‘‘(3) the extent to which such noncompliance

14 was intentional; and

15 ‘‘(4) in the case of any class action, the number

16 of consumers adversely affected.

17 ‘‘(c) JURISDICTION.—Any action under this section

18 may be brought in any United States district court, or

19 in any other court of competent jurisdiction, before the

20 later of—

21 ‘‘(1) the end of the 2-year period beginning on

22 the date of the occurrence of the violation involved;

23 or
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1 ‘‘(2) in any case in which any credit repair or2 ganization has materially and willfully misrepre3 sented any information which—

4 ‘‘(A) the credit repair organization is re5 quired, by any provision of this title, to disclose

6 to any consumer; and

7 ‘‘(B) is material to the establishment of

8 the credit repair organization’s liability to the

9 consumer under this section,

10 the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date

11 of the discovery by the consumer of the misrepresen12 tation.

13 ‘‘SEC. 410. ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Compliance with the require15 ments imposed under this title with respect to credit repair

16 organizations shall be enforced under the Federal Trade

17 Commission Act by the Federal Trade Commission.

18 ‘‘(b) VIOLATIONS OF THIS TITLE TREATED AS VIO19 LATIONS OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of the ex21 ercise by the Federal Trade Commission of the Com22 mission’s functions and powers under the Federal

23 Trade Commission Act, any violation of any require24 ment or prohibition imposed under this title with re25 spect to credit repair organizations shall constitute
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1 an unfair or deceptive act or practice in commerce

2 in violation of section 5(a) of the Federal Trade

3 Commission Act.

4 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY UNDER OTHER

5 LAW.—All functions and powers of the Federal

6 Trade Commission under the Federal Trade Com7 mission Act shall be available to the Commission to

8 enforce compliance with this title by any person sub9 ject to enforcement by the Federal Trade Commis10 sion pursuant to this subsection, including the power

11 to enforce the provisions of this title in the same

12 manner as if the violation had been a violation of

13 any Federal Trade Commission trade regulation

14 rule, without regard to whether the credit repair or15 ganization—

16 ‘‘(A) is engaged in commerce; or

17 ‘‘(B) meets any other jurisdictional tests in

18 the Federal Trade Commission Act.

19 ‘‘(c) STATE ENFORCEMENT OF TITLE.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The attorney general of

21 any State, or an official or agency designated under

22 the law of any State, may enforce the provisions of

23 this title in Federal or State court.

24 ‘‘(2) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—Any

25 State may bring a civil action in any Federal or
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1 State court to enjoin any violation of this title and

2 recover damages under this title for consumers who

3 reside in such State, and may seek such other rem4 edies as are provided under State law.

5 ‘‘SEC. 411. RELATION TO STATE LAW.

6 ‘‘This title shall not annul, alter, affect, or exempt

7 any person subject to the provisions of this title from com8 plying with any law of any State except to the extent that

9 such law is inconsistent with any provision of this title,

10 and then only to the extent of the inconsistency.’’.

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