IB 

Union Calendar No. 288 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3642 

[Report No. 116–363] 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to fix the consumer report dispute 

process, to ban misleading and unfair consumer reporting practices, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2019 

Ms. ADAMS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Financial Services 

DECEMBER 23, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 9, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to fix the consumer 

report dispute process, to ban misleading and unfair 

consumer reporting practices, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Im5 proving Credit Reporting for All Consumers Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Effective date. 

Sec. 4. Consumer Bureau rulemaking. 

TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS TO THE DISPUTE PROCESS 

Sec. 101. Dispute procedures and disclosures relating to reinvestigations. 

Sec. 102. Consumer awareness of dispute rights. 

Sec. 103. Maintenance of records by furnishers. 

Sec. 104. Duties of furnishers relating to dispute procedures, notices, and disclosures. 

Sec. 105. Right to appeal disputes relating to reinvestigations and investigations. 

Sec. 106. Revised consumer reports. 

Sec. 107. Indication of dispute by consumers and use of disputed information. 

Sec. 108. Accuracy and completeness report duties for consumer reporting agencies and furnishers. 

Sec. 109. Inclusion of public record data sources in consumer reports. 

Sec. 110. Injunctive relief for victims. 

TITLE II—PROHIBITION ON MISLEADING AND UNFAIR CONSUMER 

REPORTING PRACTICES 

Sec. 201. Prohibition on automatic renewals for promotional consumer reporting 

and credit scoring products and services. 

Sec. 202. Prohibition on misleading and deceptive marketing related to the provision of consumer reporting and credit scoring products and services. 

Sec. 203. Prohibiton on excessive direct-to-consumer sales. 

Sec. 204. Fair access to consumer reporting and credit scoring disclosures for 

nonnative English speakers and the visually and hearing impaired. 

Sec. 205. Comparison shopping for loans without harm to credit standing. 

Sec. 206. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies registry. 

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds the following: 

10 (1) GENERAL FINDINGS.— 


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1 (A) Consumer reporting agencies (‘‘CRAs’’) 

2 are companies that collect, compile, and provide 

3 information about consumers in the form of con4 sumer reports for certain permissible statutory 

5 purposes under the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

6 (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (‘‘FCRA’’). The three 

7 largest CRAs in this country are Equifax, 

8 TransUnion, and Experian. These CRAs are re9 ferred to as nationwide CRAs and the reports 

10 that they prepare are commonly referred to as 

11 credit reports. Furnishers, such as creditors, 

12 lenders, and debt collection agencies, voluntarily 

13 submit information to CRAs about their ac14 counts such as the total amount for each loan or 

15 credit limit for each credit card and the con16 sumer’s payment history on these products. Re17 ports also include identifying information about 

18 a consumer, such as their birthdate, previous 

19 mailing addresses, and current and previous em20 ployers. 

21 (B) In a December 2012 paper, ‘‘Key Di22 mensions and Processes in the U.S. Credit Re23 porting System: A review for how the nation’s 

24 largest credit bureaus manage consumer data’’, 

25 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 


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1 (‘‘Consumer Bureau’’) noted that the three na2 tionwide CRAs maintain credit files on approxi3 mately 200 million adults and receive informa4 tion from about 10,000 furnishers. On a monthly 

5 basis, these furnishers provide information on 

6 over 1.3 billion consumer credit accounts or other 

7 trade lines. 

8 (C) The 10 largest institutions furnishing 

9 credit information to each of the nationwide 

10 CRAs account for more than half of all accounts 

11 reflected in consumers’ credit files. 

12 (D) Consumer reports play an increasingly 

13 important role in the lives of American con14 sumers. Most creditors, for example, review these 

15 reports to make decisions about whether to ex16 tend credit to consumers and what terms and 

17 conditions to offer them. As such, information 

18 contained in these reports affects whether a per19 son is able to get a private education loan to pay 

20 for college costs, to secure a mortgage loan to buy 

21 a home, or to obtain a credit card, as well as the 

22 terms and conditions under which consumer 

23 credit products or services are offered to them. 

24 (E) Credit reports are also increasingly 

25 used for many noncredit decisions, including by 


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1 landlords to determine whether to rent an apart2 ment to a prospective tenant and by employers 

3 to decide whether to hire potential job applicants 

4 or to offer a promotion to existing employees. 

5 (F) CRAs have a statutory obligation to 

6 verify independently the accuracy and complete7 ness of information included on the reports that 

8 they provide. 

9 (G) The nationwide CRAs have failed to es10 tablish and follow reasonable procedures, as re11 quired by existing law, to establish the max12 imum level of accuracy of information contained 

13 on consumer reports. Given the repeated failures 

14 of these CRAs to comply with accuracy require15 ments on their own, legislation is intended to 

16 provide them with detailed guidance improving 

17 the accuracy and completeness of information 

18 contained in consumer reports, including proce19 dures, policies, and practices that these CRAs 

20 should already be following to ensure full compli21 ance with their existing obligations. 

22 (H) The presence of inaccurate or incom23 plete information on these reports can result in 

24 substantial financial and emotional harm to 

25 consumers. Credit reporting errors can lead to 


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1 the loss of a new employment opportunity or a 

2 denial of a promotion in an existing job, stop 

3 someone from being able to access credit on fa4 vorable terms, prevent a person from obtaining 

5 rental housing, or even trigger mental distress. 

6 (I) Current industry practices impose an 

7 unfair burden of proof on consumers trying to 

8 fix errors on their reports. 

9 (J) Consumer reports containing inaccurate 

10 or incomplete credit information also undermine 

11 the ability of creditors and lenders to effectively 

12 and accurately underwrite and price credit. 

13 (K) Recognizing that credit reporting affects 

14 the lives of almost all consumers in this country 

15 and that the consequences of errors on a con16 sumer report can be catastrophic for a consumer, 

17 the Consumer Bureau began accepting consumer 

18 complaints about credit reporting in October 

19 2012. 

20 (L) As of February 2017, the Consumer Bu21 reau has handled approximately 185,717 credit 

22 reporting complaints, making credit reporting 

23 consistently the third most-complained-about 

24 subject matter on which the Consumer Bureau 

25 accepts consumer complaints. 


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1 (M) In the ‘‘Monthly Complaint Report Vol2 ume 20’’, released in February 2017, the Con3 sumer Bureau noted that 76 percent of credit re4 porting complaints involved incorrect informa5 tion on reports, with consumers frequently ex6 pressing their frustrations about the burdensome 

7 and time-consuming process to disputing items. 

8 (N) Other common types of credit reporting 

9 complaints submitted to the Consumer Bureau 

10 related to the improper use of a report, trouble 

11 obtaining a report or credit score, CRAs’ inves12 tigations, and credit monitoring or identity pro13 tection. 

14 (O) In the summer 2015 ‘‘Supervisory 

15 Highlights’’, the Consumer Bureau noted that 

16 one or more of the largest CRAs failed to ade17 quately oversee furnishers to ensure that they 

18 were adhering to the CRA’s vetting policies and 

19 to establish proper procedures to verify public 

20 record information. 

21 (P) According to the fall 2016 ‘‘Supervisory 

22 Highlights’’, Consumer Bureau examiners deter23 mined that one or more debt collectors never in24 vestigated indirect disputes that lacked detail or 

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1 evant information from the consumer. Exam2 iners also found that notifications sent to con3 sumers about disputes considered frivolous failed 

4 to identify for the consumers the type of material 

5 that they could provide in order for the debt col6 lector to complete the investigation of the dis7 puted item. 

8 (Q) A February 2014 Consumer Bureau re9 port titled ‘‘Credit Reporting Complaint Snap10 shot’’ found that consumers are confused about 

11 the extent to which the nationwide CRAs are re12 quired to provide them with validation and doc13 umentation of a debt that appears on their credit 

14 report. 

15 (R) As evidence that the current system 

16 lacks sufficient market incentives for CRAs to de17 velop more robust procedures to increase the ac18 curacy and completeness of information on credit 

19 reports, litigation discovery documented by the 

20 National Consumer Law Center (‘‘NCLC’’), as 

21 part of a January 2009 report titled, ‘‘Auto22 mated Injustice: How a Mechanized Dispute Sys23 tem Frustrates Consumers Seeking to Fix Errors 

24 in Their Credit Reports’’, showed that at least 

25 two of the three largest CRAs use quota systems 


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1 to force employees to process disputes hastily and 

2 without the opportunity for conducting meaning3 ful investigations. At least one nationwide CRA 

4 only allowed dispute resolution staff five minutes 

5 to handle a consumer’s call. Furthermore, these 

6 CRAs were found to have awarded bonuses for 

7 meeting quotas and punished those who didn’t 

8 meet production numbers with probation. 

9 (S) Unlike most other business relation10 ships, where consumers can register their satis11 faction or unhappiness with a particular credit 

12 product or service simply by taking their busi13 ness elsewhere, consumers have no say in whether 

14 their information is included in the CRAs data15 bases and limited legal remedies to hold the 

16 CRAs accountable for inaccuracies or poor serv17 ice. 

18 (T) Accordingly, despite the existing statu19 tory mandate for CRAs to follow reasonable pro20 cedures to assure the maximum possible accuracy 

21 of the information whenever they prepare con22 sumer reports, numerous studies, the high volume 

23 of consumer complaints submitted to the Con24 sumer Bureau about incorrect information on 

25 consumer reports, and supervisory activities by 


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1 the Consumer Bureau demonstrate that CRAs 

2 continue to skirt their obligations under the law. 

3 (2) INCORRECT INFORMATION ON CONSUMER RE4 PORTS.— 

5 (A) Consumers are entitled to dispute errors 

6 on their consumer reports with either the CRA, 

7 who issued the report, or directly with fur8 nishers, who supplied the account information to 

9 the CRA, and request that mistakes be deleted or 

10 removed. Consumers, who believe an investiga11 tion has not correctly resolved their dispute, how12 ever, have few options, other than requesting that 

13 a statement about the dispute be included with 

14 their future reports. 

15 (B) CRAs have a statutory obligation under 

16 the FCRA to perform a reasonable investigation 

17 by conducting a substantive and searching in18 quiry when a consumer disputes an item on 

19 their report. In doing so, CRAs must conduct an 

20 independent review about the accuracy of any 

21 disputed item and cannot merely rely on a fur22 nisher’s ‘‘rubber-stamp’’ verification of the integ23 rity of the information they have provided to 

24 CRAs. 


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1 (C) The Federal Trade Commission 

2 (‘‘FTC’’), in a ‘‘Report to Congress Under Sec3 tion 319 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Trans4 actions Act of 2003’’ released in December 2012, 

5 found that 26 percent of survey participants 

6 identified at least one potentially material error 

7 on their consumer reports, and 13 percent expe8 rienced a change in their credit score once the 

9 error was fixed. 

10 (D) Consumer Bureau examiners have iden11 tified repeated deficiencies with the nationwide 

12 CRAs’ information collection. In the summer 

13 2015 ‘‘Supervisory Highlights’’ released in June 

14 2015, the Consumer Bureau noted continued 

15 weaknesses with CRAs’ methods and processes for 

16 assuring maximum possible accuracy in their re17 ports. Examiners also found, with certain excep18 tions, no quality control policies and procedures 

19 in place to test consumer reports for accuracy. 

20 (E) In its ‘‘Credit Reporting Complaint 

21 Snapshot’’ released in February 2014, the Con22 sumer Bureau found that consumers were uncer23 tain about the depth and validity of the inves24 tigations performed about a disputed item. Con25 sumers also expressed frustration that, even 


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1 though they provided supporting materials that 

2 they believed demonstrated the inaccuracy of the 

3 information provided by furnishers, errors con4 tinued to remain on their reports. 

5 (F) In the winter 2015 ‘‘Supervisory High6 lights’’ released in March 2015, the Consumer 

7 Bureau reported that one or more nationwide 

8 CRAs failed to adequately fulfill their dispute9 handling obligations, including by not for10 warding to furnishers all relevant information 

11 found in letters and supporting documents sup12 plied by consumers when they submitted disputes 

13 failing to notify consumers that they had com14 pleted investigations, and not providing con15 sumers with the results of the CRAs’ reviews 

16 about their disputes. 

17 (G) Consumer Bureau examiners also noted 

18 in the fall 2016 ‘‘Supervisory Highlights’’ re19 leased in October 2016 that one or more entities 

20 failed to provide adequate guidance and training 

21 to staff about how to differentiate FCRA disputes 

22 from general customer inquiries, complaints, or 

23 debt validation requests. Consumer Bureau su24 pervisors also directed one or more entities to de25 velop and implement reasonable procedures to 


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1 ensure that direct and indirect disputes are ap2 propriately logged, categorized, and resolved. 

3 (H) Consumers’ increasing frustration 

4 about the difficulties of trying to fix credit re5 porting errors, evidenced through the volume of 

6 consumer complaints related to errors submitted 

7 to the Consumer Bureau, are also echoed in an8 other FTC study issued in January 2015. In the 

9 ‘‘Report to Congress under Section 319 for the 

10 Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 

11 2003’’, the FTC found that nearly 70 percent (84 

12 people) of participants from a previous survey 

13 that had filed disputes with CRAs continued to 

14 believe that at least some of the disputed infor15 mation remained inaccurate at the time of the 

16 follow-up survey. Despite these views, 50 percent 

17 (42 people) of the survey participants decided to 

18 just give up trying to fix the errors, with only 

19 45 percent (38 people) of them planning to con20 tinue to try to resolve their disputes. 

21 (I) The consistently high volume of con22 sumer complaints submitted to the Consumer 

23 Bureau about credit reporting errors, coupled 

24 with the largest CRAs’ repeated quality control 

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1 iners, show that the nationwide CRAs have 

2 failed to establish and follow reasonable proce3 dures to assure maximum accuracy of informa4 tion and to conduct independent investigations 

5 of consumers’ disputes. These ongoing problems 

6 demonstrate the need for legislation to— 

7 (i) enhance obligations on furnishers to 

8 substantiate information and require fur9 nishers to keep records for the same amount 

10 of time that adverse information about these 

11 accounts may appear on a person’s con12 sumer report; 

13 (ii) eliminate CRAs’ discretion to de14 termine the relevancy of materials provided 

15 by consumers to support their dispute 

16 claims by instead requiring them to pass all 

17 material onto furnishers and eliminating 

18 CRA’s discretion to deem some disputes 

19 frivolous or irrelevant when a consumer re20 submits a claim that they believe has been 

21 inadequately resolved; 

22 (iii) enhance educational content on 

23 CRAs’ websites to improve consumers’ un24 derstanding of the dispute process and to 

25 make it easier for all consumers to initiate 


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1 claims, including by providing these disclo2 sures in other languages besides English; 

3 and 

4 (iv) create a new consumer right to ap5 peal reviews by CRAs and furnishers of the 

6 initial disputes. 

7 (3) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 

8 (A) Despite the fact that the FCRA cur9 rently provides implicit authority for injunctive 

10 relief, consumers have been prevented from exer11 cising this right. Legislation explicitly clarifying 

12 this right is intended to underscore congressional 

13 intent that injunctive relief should be viewed as 

14 a remedy available to consumers. 

15 (B) Myriad findings by the courts, regu16 lators, consumers, and consumer advocates make 

17 clear that CRAs have failed to establish adequate 

18 standards for the accuracy and completeness of 

19 consumer reports, yet the nationwide CRAs have 

20 demonstrated little willingness to voluntarily re21 tool their policies and procedures to fix the prob22 lems. 

23 (C) Providing courts with explicit authority 

24 to issue injunctive relief, by telling the CRAs to 

25 remedy unlawful practices and procedures, 


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1 would further CRAs’ mandate under the FCRA 

2 to assure the maximum possible accuracy and 

3 completeness of information contained on credit 

4 reports. 

5 (D) Absent explicit authority to issue in6 junctions, history suggests that the nationwide 

7 CRAs are likely to continue conducting business 

8 as usual in treating any monetary settlements 

9 with individual consumers and fines imposed by 

10 State attorneys general and Federal regulators, 

11 simply as the ‘‘cost of doing business’’. 

12 (4) DECEPTIVE AND MISLEADING MARKETING

13 PRACTICES.— 

14 (A) The Consumer Bureau’s February 2015 

15 report titled ‘‘Consumer Voices on Credit Reports 

16 and Scores’’ found that some consumers did not 

17 obtain a copy of their consumer report due to 

18 concerns about security or of being trapped into 

19 purchasing unwanted products like an addi20 tional report or a credit monitoring service. 

21 (B) In January 2017, the Consumer Bu22 reau fined TransUnion and Equifax for decep23 tively marketing credit scores for purchase by 

24 consumers as the same credit scores typically 

25 used by lenders to determine creditworthiness 


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1 and for luring consumers into costly subscription 

2 services that were advertised as ‘‘free’’ or ‘‘$1’’ 

3 that automatically charged recurring fees unless 

4 cancelled by consumers. The Consumer Bureau 

5 also found that Equifax was illegally advertising 

6 its products on webpages that consumers accessed 

7 through AnnualCreditReport.com before con8 sumers obtained their free disclosures. Because of 

9 these troubling practices, TransUnion was or10 dered to pay $13.9 million in restitution to 

11 harmed consumers and a civil penalty of $3 mil12 lion to the Consumer Bureau. Equifax was or13 dered to pay more than $3.7 million to affected 

14 consumers as well as a civil money penalty of 

15 $2.5 million to the Consumer Bureau. As part of 

16 the consent orders, the CRAs are also supposed 

17 to change the way that they sell their products 

18 to consumers. The CRAs must also obtain con19 sumers’ express consent before enrolling them 

20 into subscription services as well as make it 

21 easer for consumers to cancel these programs. 

22 (C) The Consumer Bureau fined the other 

23 nationwide CRA—Experian—in March 2017 for 

24 deceiving consumers about the use of credit scores 

25 that it marketed and sold to consumers as credit 


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1 scores that were used by lenders and for illegally 

2 advertising its products on web pages that con3 sumers accessed through 

4 AnnualCreditReport.com before they obtained 

5 their free annual disclosures. Experian was or6 dered to pay more than $3.7 million in restitu7 tion to harmed consumers and a civil monetary 

8 penalty of $2.5 million to the Consumer Bureau. 

9 (D) The Consumer Bureau’s January and 

10 March 2017 consent orders with the three nation11 wide CRAs show that these CRAs have enticed 

12 consumers into purchasing products and services 

13 that they may not want or need, in some in14 stances by advertising products or services ‘‘free’’ 

15 that automatically converted into an ongoing 

16 subscription service at the regular price unless 

17 cancelled by the consumer. Although these CRAs 

18 must now change their deceptive marketing prac19 tices, codifying these duties is an appropriate 

20 way to ensure that these companies never revert 

21 back to such misleading tactics. 

22 (E) Given the ubiquitous use of consumer 

23 reports in consumers’ lives and the fact that con24 sumers’ participation in the credit reporting sys25 tem is involuntary, CRAs should also prioritize 


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1 providing consumers with the effective means to 

2 safeguard their personal and financial informa3 tion and improve their credit standing, rather 

4 than seeking to exploit consumers’ concerns and 

5 confusion about credit reporting and scoring, to 

6 boost their companies’ profits. 

7 (F) Vulnerable consumers, who have legiti8 mate concerns about the security of their per9 sonal and financial information, deserve clear, 

10 accurate, and transparent information about the 

11 credit reporting tools that may be available to 

12 them, such as fraud alerts and freezes. 

13 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

14 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 2 

15 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 4. CONSUMER BUREAU RULEMAKING. 

17 Except as otherwise provided, not later than the end 

18 of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 

20 shall issue final rules to implement the amendments made 

21 by this Act. 


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1 TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS TO 

2 THE DISPUTE PROCESS 

3 SEC. 101. DISPUTE PROCEDURES AND DISCLOSURES RE4 LATING TO REINVESTIGATIONS. 

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

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

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(a) REINVESTIGATIONS OF DISPUTED INFORMATION

9 BY A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) REINVESTIGATIONS REQUIRED.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection 

12 (f), if the completeness or accuracy of any item 

13 of information contained in a consumer’s file at 

14 a consumer reporting agency is disputed by the 

15 consumer and the consumer notifies the agency 

16 (either directly or indirectly through a reseller or 

17 an authorized third party) of such dispute, the 

18 agency shall, free of charge— 

19 ‘‘(i) conduct a reasonable reinvestiga20 tion using the process described in para21 graph (3) to determine whether the disputed 

22 information is inaccurate, incomplete, or 

23 cannot be verified; 

24 ‘‘(ii) notify the consumer that a nota25 tion described in section 605(e) will be 


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1 added to the consumer’s file until the re2 investigation has been completed and that 

3 such notation can be removed at the request 

4 of the consumer; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) before the end of the 30-day pe6 riod beginning on the date on which the 

7 consumer reporting agency receives the no8 tice of the dispute from the consumer or the 

9 reseller— 

10 ‘‘(I) record the current status of 

11 the disputed information; or 

12 ‘‘(II) delete or modify the item in 

13 accordance with paragraph (3)(D). 

14 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF PERIOD TO REINVES15 TIGATE.—Except as provided in subparagraph 

16 (C), the 30-day period described in subpara17 graph (A) may be extended for period not to ex18 ceed 15 days if the consumer reporting agency 

19 receives additional information from the con20 sumer or the reseller regarding the dispute after 

21 the date on which the consumer reporting agency 

22 notified any person who provided any item of 

23 information in dispute under paragraph (2)(A). 

24 ‘‘(C) LIMITATIONS ON EXTENSION OF PE25 RIOD TO REINVESTIGATE.—Subparagraph (B) 


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1 shall not apply to any reinvestigation in which, 

2 during the 30-day period described in subpara3 graph (A), the disputed information is found to 

4 be inaccurate or incomplete, or the consumer re5 porting agency determines that the disputed in6 formation cannot be verified. 

7 ‘‘(2) PROMPT NOTICE OF DISPUTE TO FUR8 NISHER OF INFORMATION; PROVISION OF INFORMA9 TION REGARDING DISPUTE PROVIDED BY THE CON10 SUMER OR RESELLER.— 

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

12 period of 5 business days beginning on the date 

13 on which a consumer reporting agency receives 

14 notice of a dispute from any consumer or reseller 

15 under paragraph (1)(A), the consumer reporting 

16 agency shall provide notification of the dispute 

17 to any person who provided any item of infor18 mation in dispute, at the address and in the 

19 manner established with such person. The notice 

20 shall include all information, including substan21 tiating documents, regarding the dispute that 

22 was submitted to the consumer reporting agency. 

23 ‘‘(B) PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA24 TION REGARDING DISPUTE AFTER NOTIFICATION

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1 sumer reporting agency receives additional infor2 mation regarding the dispute from the consumer 

3 or reseller after the agency provides the notifica4 tion described under subparagraph (A) and be5 fore the end of the 30-day period described in 

6 paragraph (1)(A), the consumer reporting agen7 cy shall, not later than 3 business days after re8 ceiving such information, provide such informa9 tion to the person who provided the information 

10 in dispute. 

11 ‘‘(3) REASONABLE STANDARDS FOR CONSUMER

12 REPORTING AGENCIES FOR CONDUCTING REINVES13 TIGATIONS AND RESOLVING DISPUTES SUBMITTED BY

14 CONSUMERS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In conducting a re16 investigation of disputed information, a con17 sumer reporting agency shall, at a minimum— 

18 ‘‘(i) maintain sufficient resources and 

19 trained staff, commensurate with the volume 

20 and complexity of disputes received or rea21 sonably anticipated to be received, to deter22 mine whether the disputed information is 

23 accurate, complete, or can be verified by the 

24 person who provided the information; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ensure that all staff involved at 

2 any level of the reinvestigation process, in3 cluding any individual with ultimate au4 thority over determining whether the dis5 puted information is inaccurate, incom6 plete, or cannot be verified, are located 

7 within the United States; 

8 ‘‘(iii) verify that the personally identi9 fiable information of the consumer submit10 ting the dispute matches the personally 

11 identifiable information contained in the 

12 consumer’s file, and that such information 

13 is accurate and complete; 

14 ‘‘(iv) verify that the consumer report15 ing agency has a record of the information 

16 being disputed; and 

17 ‘‘(v) conduct a reasonable review that 

18 considers all information, including sub19 stantiating documents, provided by the con20 sumer or reseller. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONSUMER REPORTING.—The con22 sumer reporting agency shall not impose any 

23 limitation or otherwise impede the ability of a 

24 consumer to submit information about the dis25 puted item. 


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1 ‘‘(C) INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS.—The re2 investigation conducted under subparagraph (A) 

3 shall be an independent analysis, separate from 

4 any investigation by a reseller or a person who 

5 provided the disputed information. 

6 ‘‘(D) DELETION OR MODIFICATION OF IN7 FORMATION CONTAINED IN A CONSUMER FILE.— 

8 If the disputed information is found to be inac9 curate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, the dis10 pute resolution staff of the consumer reporting 

11 agency shall have the direct authority to delete 

12 or modify such information in the consumer’s 

13 file, as appropriate, during the 30-day period 

14 described in paragraph (1)(A), shall promptly 

15 notify the consumer of the results of the reinves16 tigation as described in paragraph (4), and shall 

17 promptly notify any person who provided such 

18 information to the consumer reporting agency of 

19 the modification or deletion made to the con20 sumer’s file. 

21 ‘‘(4) NOTICE TO CONSUMER OF RESULTS OF RE22 INVESTIGATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 busi24 ness days after the conclusion of a reinvestiga25 tion conducted under this subsection, the conVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3642.RH H3642

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1 sumer reporting agency shall provide written no2 tice to the consumer of the results of the reinves3 tigation by postal mail or, if authorized by the 

4 consumer for that purpose, by other means avail5 able to the agency. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF NOTICE TO CONSUMER

7 OF RESULTS OF REINVESTIGATION.—The notice 

8 described in subparagraph (A) shall include— 

9 ‘‘(i) a statement that the reinvestiga10 tion of the disputed information has been 

11 completed; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a statement informing the con13 sumer as to whether the disputed informa14 tion was determined to be inaccurate, in15 complete, or unverifiable, including a state16 ment of the specific reasons supporting the 

17 determination; 

18 ‘‘(iii) if information in the consumer’s 

19 file has been deleted or modified as a result 

20 of the reinvestigation— 

21 ‘‘(I) a copy of the consumer report 

22 and credit score or educational score 

23 (if applicable) that is based upon the 

24 consumer’s revised file; 


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1 ‘‘(II) a statement identifying the 

2 specific information from the con3 sumer’s file that was deleted or modi4 fied because such information was de5 termined to be inaccurate, incomplete, 

6 or unverifiable by the consumer report7 ing agency; 

8 ‘‘(III) a statement that the con9 sumer has the right, free of charge, to 

10 obtain an additional consumer report 

11 and credit score or educational credit 

12 score (if applicable) within the 12- 

13 month period following the date of the 

14 conclusion of the reinvestigation, re15 gardless of whether the consumer ob16 tained or will obtain a free annual 

17 consumer report and credit score or 

18 educational score (if applicable) under 

19 section 612; and 

20 ‘‘(IV) a statement that the con21 sumer has the right, free of charge, to 

22 request under subsection (d) that the 

23 consumer reporting agency furnish no24 tifications of the consumer’s revised re25 port; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a description of the procedure 

2 used by the dispute resolution staff of the 

3 consumer reporting agency to determine the 

4 accuracy or completeness of the information, 

5 including the business name, mailing ad6 dress, telephone number, and Internet 

7 website address (if available) of any person 

8 who provided information who was con9 tacted by the staff in connection with the 

10 determination; 

11 ‘‘(v) a statement that the consumer has 

12 the right, free of charge, to add a narrative 

13 statement to the consumer’s file disputing 

14 the accuracy or completeness of the informa15 tion, regardless of the results of the reinves16 tigation by the agency, and the process for 

17 submitting such a narrative pursuant to 

18 subsection (b); 

19 ‘‘(vi) a copy of all information relating 

20 to the consumer that was used by the con21 sumer reporting agency in carrying out the 

22 reinvestigation and relied upon as the basis 

23 for the determination about the accuracy 

24 and completeness of the disputed informa25 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) a statement that a consumer 

2 may, free of charge, challenge the results of 

3 the reinvestigation by appeal within 120 

4 days after the date the notice of the results 

5 of the reinvestigation was provided to the 

6 consumer and the process for submitting an 

7 appeal; 

8 ‘‘(viii) a statement informing the con9 sumer that a notation described in section 

10 605(e) will be added to the file of the con11 sumer during the period in which the con12 sumer appeals the results of a reinvestiga13 tion and that such notation can be removed 

14 at the request of the consumer; and 

15 ‘‘(ix) any other information, as deter16 mined by the Bureau. 

17 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO REINSERTION

18 OF PREVIOUSLY DELETED OR MODIFIED MATERIAL.— 

19 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION OF NEW DETERMINA20 TION THAT ITEM IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE.— 

21 A consumer reporting agency may not reinsert 

22 into a consumer’s file any information that was 

23 previously deleted or modified pursuant to para24 graph (3)(D), unless the person who provided the 

25 information— 


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1 ‘‘(i) requests that the consumer report2 ing agency reinsert such information; 

3 ‘‘(ii) submits a written certification 

4 that the information is accurate and com5 plete; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) provides a statement describing 

7 the specific reasons why the information 

8 should be inserted. 

9 ‘‘(B) NOTICE TO CONSUMER BEFORE RE10 INSERTION CAN OCCUR.—Upon receipt of a re11 quest for reinsertion of disputed information 

12 under subparagraph (A), the consumer reporting 

13 agency shall, not later than 5 business days be14 fore the consumer reporting agency reinserts the 

15 information into the consumer’s file, notify the 

16 consumer in writing of such request for reinser17 tion. Such notice shall include— 

18 ‘‘(i) the business name, mailing ad19 dress, telephone number, and Internet 

20 website address (if available) of any person 

21 who provided information to or contacted 

22 the consumer reporting agency in connec23 tion with the reinsertion; 

24 ‘‘(ii) a copy of the information relating 

25 to the consumer, the certification that the 


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1 information is accurate or complete, and 

2 the statement of the reasons supporting re3 insertion provided by the person who pro4 vided the information to the consumer re5 porting agency under subparagraph (A); 

6 ‘‘(iii) a statement that the consumer 

7 may obtain, free of charge and within the 

8 12-month period following the date the no9 tice under this subparagraph was issued, a 

10 consumer report and credit score or edu11 cational score (if applicable) from the con12 sumer reporting agency that includes the re13 inserted information, regardless of whether 

14 the consumer obtained or will obtain a free 

15 annual consumer report and credit score or 

16 educational credit score (if applicable) 

17 under section 612; 

18 ‘‘(iv) a statement that the consumer 

19 may appeal the determination that the pre20 viously deleted or modified information is 

21 accurate or complete and a description of 

22 the procedure for the consumer to make such 

23 an appeal pursuant to subsection (h); and 

24 ‘‘(v) a statement that the consumer has 

25 the right to add a narrative statement, free 


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1 of charge, to the consumer’s file disputing 

2 the accuracy or completeness of the disputed 

3 information and a description of the process 

4 to add such a narrative statement pursuant 

5 to subsection (b). 

6 ‘‘(6) EXPEDITED DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—If a 

7 consumer reporting agency determines that the infor8 mation provided by the consumer is sufficient to sub9 stantiate that the item of information is inaccurate, 

10 incomplete, or cannot be verified by the person who 

11 furnished such information, and the consumer report12 ing agency deletes or modifies such information with13 in 3 business days of receiving notice of the dispute, 

14 the consumer reporting agency shall be exempt from 

15 the requirements of paragraph (4), if the consumer re16 porting agency provides to the consumer— 

17 ‘‘(A) prompt notice confirming the deletion 

18 or modification of the information from the con19 sumer’s file in writing or by other means, if 

20 agreed to by the consumer when the information 

21 is disputed; 

22 ‘‘(B) a statement of the consumer’s right to 

23 request that the consumer reporting agency fur24 nish notifications of a revised consumer report 

25 pursuant to subsection (d); 


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1 ‘‘(C) not later than 5 business days after de2 leting or modifying the information, a copy of 

3 the consumer report and credit score or edu4 cational score (if applicable) that is based upon 

5 the consumer’s revised file; and 

6 ‘‘(D) a statement that the consumer may 

7 obtain, free of charge and within the 12-month 

8 period following the date the notice under this 

9 paragraph was sent to the consumer, a consumer 

10 report and credit score or educational score (if 

11 applicable) from the consumer reporting agency, 

12 regardless of whether the consumer obtained or 

13 will obtain their free annual consumer report 

14 and credit score or educational score (if applica15 ble) under section 612. 

16 ‘‘(7) NO EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO CONDUCT RE17 INVESTIGATION.—A consumer reporting agency may 

18 not refuse to conduct a reinvestigation under this sub19 section because the agency determines that the dispute 

20 was submitted by an authorized third party, unless 

21 the agency has clear and convincing evidence that the 

22 third party is not authorized to submit the dispute on 

23 the consumer’s behalf. If the consumer reporting agen24 cy refuses to reinvestigate a dispute for these reasons, 

25 it shall provide a clear and conspicuous notice to the 


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1 consumer explaining the reasons for the refusal and 

2 describing the specific information the consumer is re3 quired to provide for the agency to conduct the re4 investigation.’’. 

5 (b) ENSURING CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES FUR6 NISH CERTAIN NOTIFICATIONS WITHOUT CHARGE.—Sec7 tion 611(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 1681i(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and without charge’’ 

9 after ‘‘request of the consumer’’. 

10 (c) INCLUDING SPECIALTY CONSUMER REPORTING

11 AGENCIES IN REPORTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 611(e) of the Fair 

13 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(e)) is amended 

14 by inserting ‘‘or 603(x)’’ after ‘‘section 603(p)’’ each 

15 place such term appears. 

16 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 

17 such section (15 U.S.C. 1681i(e)(1)) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘The Bu19 reau’’. 

20 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such Act is further 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in section 605B(c)(2), by striking ‘‘section 

23 611(a)(5)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 611(a)(5)’’; 

24 (2) in section 611— 


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1 (A) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘unless 

2 there is reasonable grounds to believe that it is 

3 frivolous or irrevelant,’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (f)(3)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

6 ‘‘paragraph (6), (7), or (8) of subsection 

7 (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (4) or (5) of 

8 subsection (a)’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

10 ‘‘in the manner required under paragraph 

11 (8)(A)’’; and 

12 (3) in section 623(b)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘rel13 evant’’ before ‘‘information’’. 

14 (e) GLOBAL TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO REF15 ERENCES TO NATIONWIDE SPECIALTY CONSUMER REPORT16 ING AGENCY.—Such Act is further amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘section 603(w)’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘section 603(x)’’ each place such term appears; and 

19 (2) in section 612(a)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘(w)’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘(x)’’. 

21 SEC. 102. CONSUMER AWARENESS OF DISPUTE RIGHTS. 

22 Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 1681i) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(i) INCREASED CONSUMER AWARENESS OF DISPUTE

2 RIGHTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this subsection, each 

5 consumer reporting agency described under subsection 

6 (p) or (x) of section 603 shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) establish an Internet website accessible 

8 to consumers; and 

9 ‘‘(B) post on the home page of such website 

10 a hyperlink to a separate webpage established 

11 and maintained solely for the purpose of pro12 viding information to a consumer about how to 

13 dispute an item of information in the consumer 

14 report of the consumer. 

15 ‘‘(2) DISPUTE WEBPAGE REQUIREMENTS.—For a 

16 consumer reporting agency described under subsection 

17 (p) or (x) of section 603, the separate dispute webpage 

18 described in paragraph (1)(B)— 

19 ‘‘(A) may not include any type or form of 

20 marketing, advertising, information, or material 

21 associated with any products or services offered 

22 or sold to consumers; 

23 ‘‘(B) shall clearly and conspicuously dis24 close a concise statement regarding how to file a 


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1 dispute through the agency, free of charge, in the 

2 manner and format prescribed by the Bureau; 

3 ‘‘(C) shall describe the types of documents 

4 that will be used by the agency in resolving the 

5 dispute, including the business name and mail6 ing address to which a consumer may send such 

7 documents; 

8 ‘‘(D) shall include a clear and concise ex9 planation of and the process for using electronic 

10 or other means to submit such documents, free of 

11 charge, and without any character or data limi12 tation imposed by the agency; 

13 ‘‘(E) shall include a statement that the con14 sumer may submit information, free of charge, 

15 that the consumer believes will assist the con16 sumer reporting agency in determining the re17 sults of the reinvestigation of the dispute; 

18 ‘‘(F) shall clearly and conspicuously dis19 close a statement describing the procedure likely 

20 to be used by the consumer reporting agency in 

21 carrying out a reinvestigation to determine the 

22 accuracy or completeness of the disputed item of 

23 information, including the time period in which 

24 the consumer will be notified of the results of the 

25 reinvestigation, and a statement that the agency 


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1 may extend the reinvestigation period by an ad2 ditional 15 days if the consumer submits addi3 tional information after a certain date; and 

4 ‘‘(G) shall provide translations of all infor5 mation on the webpage in each of the 10 most 

6 commonly spoken languages, other than English, 

7 in the United States, as determined by the Bu8 reau of the Census on an ongoing basis, and in 

9 formats accessible to individuals with hearing or 

10 vision impairments.’’. 

11 SEC. 103. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS BY FURNISHERS. 

12 Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 1681s–2) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(f) DUTY OF FURNISHERS TO MAINTAIN RECORDS OF

16 CONSUMERS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who furnishes in18 formation to a consumer reporting agency relating to 

19 a consumer who has an account with that person 

20 shall maintain all information necessary to substan21 tiate the accuracy and completeness of the informa22 tion furnished, including any records establishing the 

23 liability and terms and conditions under which credit 

24 was extended to a consumer and any payment history 

25 with respect to such credit. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RETENTION PERIOD.—Records described 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be maintained until the 

3 information with respect to which the records relate 

4 may no longer be included in a consumer report pur5 suant to section 605. 

6 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP.—If a person 

7 providing information to a consumer reporting agen8 cy is acquired by another person, or if another person 

9 acquires the right to repayment connected to such in10 formation, the acquiring person shall be subject to the 

11 requirements of this subsection with respect to such 

12 information to the same extent as the person who ini13 tially provided such information to the consumer re14 porting agency. The person selling or transferring the 

15 right to repayment shall provide the information de16 scribed in paragraph (1) to the transferee or the 

17 acquirer.’’. 

18 SEC. 104. DUTIES OF FURNISHERS RELATING TO DISPUTE 

19 PROCEDURES, NOTICES, AND DISCLOSURES. 

20 (a) DUTY TO PROVIDE ACCURATE AND COMPLETE IN21 FORMATION.—Section 623(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

22 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)) is amended— 

23 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ‘‘AND

24 COMPLETE’’ after ‘‘ACCURATE’’; 

25 (2) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘or incomplete’’ after ‘‘in2 accurate’’ each place that term appears; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘or 

4 completeness’’ after ‘‘accuracy’’; and 

5 (3) in paragraph (8)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and 

7 completeness’’ after ‘‘accuracy’’; and 

8 (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘or 

9 completeness’’ after ‘‘accuracy’’. 

10 (b) NEGATIVE INFORMATION NOTICES TO CON11 SUMERS.—Section 623(a)(7) (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(7)) of 

12 such Act is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(7) DUTY OF FURNISHERS TO INFORM CON14 SUMERS ABOUT REPORTING NEGATIVE INFORMA15 TION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) GENERAL NEGATIVE INFORMATION

17 WARNING NOTICE TO ALL CONSUMERS PRIOR TO

18 FURNISHING SUCH INFORMATION.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person that 

20 regularly furnishes negative information to 

21 a consumer reporting agency described in 

22 subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 about 

23 activity on any accounts of a consumer held 

24 by such person or transactions associated 

25 with credit extended to a consumer by such 


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1 person shall provide a written general nega2 tive information warning notice to each 

3 such consumer before such person may fur4 nish any negative information relating to 

5 such a consumer. 

6 ‘‘(ii) CONTENT.—Such notice shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) be clear and conspicuous; 

8 ‘‘(II) describe the types of activi9 ties that constitute negative informa10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(III) inform the consumer that 

12 the person may report negative infor13 mation relating to any such accounts 

14 or transactions to a consumer report15 ing agency described in subsection (p) 

16 or (x) of section 603; 

17 ‘‘(IV) state that the negative infor18 mation may appear on a consumer re19 port of the consumer for the periods de20 scribed in section 605 and that during 

21 such periods, the negative information 

22 may adversely impact the consumer’s 

23 credit score; 

24 ‘‘(V) state that in some limited 

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1 tion may result in other adverse ac2 tions, including a denial of a new job 

3 or a promotion from existing employ4 ment; and 

5 ‘‘(VI) state that the consumer has 

6 right to— 

7 ‘‘(aa) obtain a copy of their 

8 consumer report and credit score 

9 or educational score (if applica10 ble), which in some instances can 

11 be obtained free of charge, from 

12 any consumer reporting agency to 

13 which negative information may 

14 be been sent; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) dispute, free of charge, 

16 any errors on a consumer report 

17 relating to the consumer. 

18 ‘‘(iii) TIMING OF NOTICE.—Such per19 son shall provide such notice to a consumer 

20 not later than 90 days before the date on 

21 which the person furnishes negative infor22 mation relating to such consumer. 

23 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC NEGATIVE INFORMATION NO24 TICE TO A CONSUMER.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) that has fur3 nished negative information relating to ac4 tivity on any accounts of a consumer held 

5 by such person or transactions associated 

6 with credit extended to a consumer by such 

7 person to a consumer reporting agency de8 scribed in subsection (p) or (x) of section 

9 603 shall send a written notice to each such 

10 consumer. 

11 ‘‘(ii) CONTENT.—Such notice shall— 

12 ‘‘(I) be clear and conspicuous; 

13 ‘‘(II) inform the consumer that 

14 the person has furnished negative in15 formation relating to such accounts or 

16 transactions to a consumer reporting 

17 agency described in subsection (p) or 

18 (x) of section 603; 

19 ‘‘(III) identify any consumer re20 porting agency to which the negative 

21 information was furnished, including 

22 the name of the agency, mailing ad23 dress, Internet website address, and 

24 toll-free telephone number; and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) include the statements de2 scribed in subclauses (IV), (V), and 

3 (VI) of subparagraph (A)(ii). 

4 ‘‘(iii) TIME OF NOTICE.—Such person 

5 shall provide such notice to a consumer not 

6 later than 5 business days after the date on 

7 which the person furnished negative infor8 mation relating to such consumer. 

9 ‘‘(C) NOTICE EFFECTIVE FOR SUBSEQUENT

10 SUBMISSIONS.—After providing the notice de11 scribed in subparagraph (B), the person may 

12 submit additional negative information to a con13 sumer reporting agency described in subsection 

14 (p) or (x) of section 603 without providing addi15 tional notice to the consumer, unless another per16 son acquires the right to repayment connected to 

17 the additional negative information. The acquir18 ing person shall be subject to the requirements of 

19 this paragraph and shall be required to send 

20 consumers the written notices described in this 

21 paragraph, if applicable. 

22 ‘‘(D) NON-TRADITIONAL DATA FUR23 NISHERS.—Any person that furnishes negative 

24 information to a consumer reporting agency de25 scribed in subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3642.RH H3642

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1 lating to any accounts of, or transactions associ2 ated with, a consumer by such person involving 

3 non-traditional data shall be subject to the re4 quirements described in subparagraphs (A), (B), 

5 and (C). 

6 ‘‘(E) MODEL NOTICES.— 

7 ‘‘(i) DUTY OF BUREAU.—Not later 

8 than 6 months after date of the enactment 

9 of this paragraph, the Bureau shall issue 

10 model forms for the notices described in sub11 paragraphs (A) and (B) that a person may 

12 use to comply with the requirements of this 

13 paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(ii) USE OF MODEL NOTICE NOT RE15 QUIRED.—No provision of this paragraph 

16 may be construed to require a person to use 

17 the model notices prescribed by the Bureau. 

18 ‘‘(iii) COMPLIANCE USING MODEL NO19 TICES.—A person shall be deemed to be in 

20 compliance with the requirements of sub21 paragraph (A)(ii) or (B)(ii) (as applicable) 

22 if the person uses the model notice pre23 scribed by the Bureau. 

24 ‘‘(F) ISSUANCE OF GENERAL NEGATIVE

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1 TIVE INFORMATION.—No provision of this para2 graph may be construed to require a person de3 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (D) to furnish 

4 negative information about a consumer to a con5 sumer reporting agency described in subsection 

6 (p) or (x) of section 603. 

7 ‘‘(G) SAFE HARBOR.—A person shall not be 

8 liable for failure to perform the duties required 

9 by this paragraph if the person reasonably be10 lieves that the person is prohibited, by law, from 

11 contacting the consumer. 

12 ‘‘(H) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements 

13 of subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) shall 

14 not take effect until the date that is 6 months 

15 after the date of the issuance of model forms for 

16 notices under subparagraph (E). 

17 ‘‘(I) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph, the 

18 following definitions shall apply: 

19 ‘‘(i) NEGATIVE INFORMATION.—The 

20 term ‘negative information’ means informa21 tion concerning a consumer’s delinquencies, 

22 late payments, insolvency, or any form of 

23 default. 

24 ‘‘(ii) NON-TRADITIONAL DATA.—The 

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1 communications payments, utility pay2 ments, rent payments, remittances, wire 

3 transfers, and such other items as deter4 mined by the Bureau.’’. 

5 (c) DUTIES OF FURNISHERS AFTER RECEIVING NO6 TICE OF DISPUTE FROM A CONSUMER.—Section 

7 623(a)(8)(E) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 1681s–2(a)(8)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(E) DUTIES OF FURNISHERS AFTER RE10 CEIVING NOTICE OF DISPUTE FROM A CON11 SUMER.—After receiving a notice of dispute from 

12 a consumer pursuant to subparagraph (D), the 

13 person that provided the information in dispute 

14 to a consumer reporting agency shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) promptly provide to each con16 sumer reporting agency to which the person 

17 furnished the disputed information the no18 tice of dispute; 

19 ‘‘(ii) review all information, including 

20 any substantiating documents, provided by 

21 the consumer about the disputed informa22 tion and conduct an investigation, separate 

23 from any reinvestigation by a consumer re24 porting agency or a reseller conducted with 

25 respect to the disputed information; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) before the expiration of the pe2 riod under section 611(a)(1) within which a 

3 consumer reporting agency would be re4 quired to complete its action if the con5 sumer had elected to dispute the informa6 tion under that section, complete an inves7 tigation of the disputed information pursu8 ant to the standards described in subpara9 graph (G); 

10 ‘‘(iv) notify the consumer, in writing, 

11 of the receipt of the dispute that includes— 

12 ‘‘(I) a statement about any infor13 mation additional to the information 

14 that the person is required to maintain 

15 under subsection (f) that would sup16 port the person’s ability to carry out 

17 an investigation to resolve the con18 sumer’s dispute; and 

19 ‘‘(II) a statement that the con20 sumer reporting agency to which the 

21 disputed information was provided 

22 will include a notation described in 

23 section 605(e) in the consumer’s file 

24 until the investigation has been com25 pleted, and information about how a 


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1 consumer may request that such nota2 tion is removed by the agency; 

3 ‘‘(v) if the investigation determines the 

4 disputed information is inaccurate, incom5 plete, or unverifiable, promptly notify each 

6 consumer reporting agency to which the 

7 person furnished such information in ac8 cordance with paragraph (2); and 

9 ‘‘(vi) notify the consumer of the results 

10 of the investigation, in writing, in accord11 ance with subparagraph (H).’’. 

12 (d) ELIMINATING FURNISHERS’ AUTHORITY TO DIS13 MISS DISPUTES AS FRIVOLOUS OR IRRELEVANT.—Section 

14 623(a)(8) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(8)) is amended 

15 by striking subparagraph (F) and redesignating subpara16 graph (G) as subparagraph (F). 

17 (e) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—Section 623(a)(8) of such 

18 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(8)) is further amended by add19 ing at the end the following new subparagraphs: 

20 ‘‘(G) REASONABLE STANDARDS FOR FUR21 NISHERS FOR CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS AND

22 RESOLVING DISPUTES SUBMITTED BY CON23 SUMERS.—In any investigation conducted by a 

24 person who furnishes information to a consumer 

25 reporting agency of an item of information being 


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1 disputed by a consumer, the person, at a min2 imum— 

3 ‘‘(i) shall maintain sufficient resources 

4 and trained staff, commensurate with the 

5 volume and complexity of disputes received 

6 or reasonably anticipated to be received, to 

7 conduct investigations; 

8 ‘‘(ii) shall verify that the person has a 

9 record of the particular information being 

10 disputed, consistent with the requirements 

11 of subsection (f); 

12 ‘‘(iii) shall verify that the personally 

13 identifiable information of the consumer 

14 submitting the dispute matches the person15 ally identifiable information contained on 

16 such records; 

17 ‘‘(iv) shall conduct a reasonable review 

18 to determine whether the disputed informa19 tion is accurate, complete, and can be 

20 verified that considers all the information, 

21 including any substantiating documents, 

22 provided by the consumer about the dis23 puted information; 

24 ‘‘(v) shall ensure that the investigation 

25 is an independent analysis that is separate 


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1 from any reinvestigation by a consumer re2 porting agency or a reseller conducted with 

3 respect to the disputed information; and 

4 ‘‘(vi) may not impose any limitations 

5 or otherwise impede the ability of a con6 sumer to submit information, including any 

7 substantiating documents, about the dis8 puted information. 

9 ‘‘(H) CONTENTS OF THE NOTICE TO THE

10 CONSUMER ABOUT THE RESULTS OF THE INVES11 TIGATION BY THE FURNISHER.—The notice of the 

12 results of the investigation described in subpara13 graph (E) shall include— 

14 ‘‘(i) a statement informing the con15 sumer as to whether the disputed informa16 tion was determined to be inaccurate, in17 complete, or unverifiable; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a statement of the specific reasons 

19 supporting the results of the investigation; 

20 ‘‘(iii) a description of the procedure 

21 used by the dispute resolution staff of the 

22 person who furnishes information to a con23 sumer reporting agency to determine the ac24 curacy or completeness of the information, 

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1 dress, telephone number, and Internet 

2 website address (if available) of any person 

3 who was contacted by the staff in connec4 tion with the determination; 

5 ‘‘(iv) a copy of all information relating 

6 to the consumer that was used in carrying 

7 out the investigation and was the basis for 

8 any determination about the accuracy or 

9 completeness of the disputed information; 

10 ‘‘(v) a statement that consumer will re11 ceive, free of charge, a copy of their con12 sumer report and credit score or edu13 cational credit score (if applicable), from 

14 any consumer reporting agency to which the 

15 disputed information had been provided, re16 gardless of whether the consumer obtained 

17 or will obtain a free consumer report and 

18 credit score or educational credit score (if 

19 applicable) in the 12-month period pre20 ceding receipt of the notice described in this 

21 subparagraph pursuant to section 

22 612(a)(1); 

23 ‘‘(vi) if the disputed information was 

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1 port of the consumer shall be revised to re2 flect the change to the consumer’s file as a 

3 result of the investigation; 

4 ‘‘(vii) a statement that the consumer 

5 has the right to appeal the results of the in6 vestigation under paragraph (10), free of 

7 charge, within 120 days after the date of the 

8 notice of the results of the investigation was 

9 provided to the consumer and the process 

10 for submitting an appeal; 

11 ‘‘(viii) a statement that the consumer 

12 may add a narrative statement, free of 

13 charge, to the consumer’s file held by the 

14 consumer reporting agency to which the in15 formation has been furnished disputing the 

16 accuracy or completeness of the information, 

17 regardless of the results of the investigation 

18 by the person, and the process for contacting 

19 any agency that received the consumer’s in20 formation from the person to submit a nar21 rative statement; 

22 ‘‘(ix) a statement informing the con23 sumer that a notation described in section 

24 605(e) will be added to the consumer’s file 

25 during the period in which the consumer 


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1 appeals the results of an investigation and 

2 that such notation can be removed at the re3 quest of the consumer; and 

4 ‘‘(x) a statement that the consumer has 

5 the right to request a copy of their consumer 

6 report and credit score or educational credit 

7 score (if applicable), free of charge, within 

8 the 12-month period following the date of 

9 the conclusion of the investigation from any 

10 consumer reporting agency in which the 

11 disputed information had been provided, re12 gardless of whether the consumer obtained 

13 or will obtain a free annual consumer re14 port and credit score or educational credit 

15 score (if applicable) under this subpara16 graph or section 612(a)(1).’’. 

17 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 615(a)(4)(B) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘, under section 611, with a con20 sumer reporting agency’’; and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘furnished by the agency’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘to a consumer reporting agency under sec23 tion 611 or to a person who furnished information to 

24 an agency under section 623’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. RIGHT TO APPEAL DISPUTES RELATING TO RE2 INVESTIGATIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS. 

3 (a) APPEALS OF REINVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY

4 A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY.—Section 611 of the 

5 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘or if the con7 sumer is unsatisfied with the results of an appeal 

8 conducted under subsection (h),’’ after ‘‘resolve the 

9 dispute,’’; and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) (as added by 

11 section 102) the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(i) CONSUMER RIGHT TO APPEAL RESULTS OF A

13 CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY REINVESTIGATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 120 days after the 

15 date of receipt of the results of a reinvestigation con16 ducted under subsection (a), a consumer (or author17 ized third party) may, free of charge, appeal the re18 sults of such reinvestigation by submitting a notice of 

19 appeal to the consumer reporting agency. 

20 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF APPEAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—A notice of appeal 

22 described in paragraph (1) may be submitted in 

23 writing, or through a toll-free telephone number 

24 or other electronic means established by the con25 sumer reporting agency (including on the Inter26 net website described in subsection (g)), and— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall identify the information con2 tained in the consumer’s file that is the sub3 ject of the appeal; 

4 ‘‘(ii) shall describe the specific reasons 

5 for submitting the notice of appeal; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) may provide any information 

7 the consumer believes is relevant to substan8 tiate the validity of the dispute. 

9 ‘‘(B) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY NO10 TICE TO CONSUMER.—Upon receipt of such no11 tice of appeal, the consumer reporting agency 

12 shall promptly provide to the consumer a state13 ment confirming the receipt of the consumer’s 

14 notice of appeal that shall include— 

15 ‘‘(i) an approximate date on which the 

16 consumer’s appeal review will be completed; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the process and procedures by 

18 which such review will be conducted; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) an employee reference number or 

20 other employee identifier for each of the spe21 cific individuals designated by the consumer 

22 reporting agency who, upon the request of 

23 the consumer, may discuss the substance 

24 and status of the appeal. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY REQUIRE2 MENTS UPON RECEIPT OF NOTICE OF APPEAL.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 20 days 

4 after receiving a notice of appeal, the consumer 

5 reporting agency shall review the appeal. If the 

6 consumer reporting agency determines the infor7 mation is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be 

8 verified, the consumer reporting agency shall de9 lete or modify the item of information being dis10 puted by the consumer from the file of the con11 sumer before the end of the 20-day period begin12 ning on the date on which the consumer report13 ing agency receives a notice of an appeal from 

14 the consumer. 

15 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF APPEAL TO FURNISHER; 

16 INFORMATION REGARDING DISPUTE PROVIDED BY

17 THE CONSUMER.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of 

19 the period of 3 business days beginning on 

20 the date on which a consumer reporting 

21 agency receives a notice of appeal, the con22 sumer reporting agency shall provide notice 

23 of the appeal, including all information re24 lating to the specific appeal that the con25 sumer reporting agency has received from 


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1 the consumer, to any person who provided 

2 any information in dispute. 

3 ‘‘(ii) PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL IN4 FORMATION REGARDING THE DISPUTE.—If 

5 the consumer reporting agency receives ad6 ditional information from the consumer 

7 after the agency provides the notice required 

8 under clause (i) and before the end of the 

9 20-day period described in subparagraph 

10 (A), the consumer reporting agency shall, 

11 not later than 3 business days after receiv12 ing such information, provide such informa13 tion to any person who provided the infor14 mation in dispute and shall have an addi15 tional 10 business days to complete the ap16 peal review. 

17 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR APPEALS

18 EMPLOYEES.— 

19 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATION.—Upon receipt of a 

20 notice of appeal under paragraph (1), a 

21 consumer reporting agency shall designate 

22 one or more specific employees who— 

23 ‘‘(I) shall be assigned an employee 

24 reference number or other employee 

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1 sumer to discuss the appeal with the 

2 specific individuals handling the ap3 peal; 

4 ‘‘(II) shall have direct authority 

5 to resolve the dispute that is the subject 

6 of the notice of appeal from the review 

7 stage to its completion; 

8 ‘‘(III) shall meet minimum train9 ing and ongoing certification require10 ments at regular intervals, as estab11 lished by the Bureau; 

12 ‘‘(IV) shall be located within the 

13 United States; 

14 ‘‘(V) may not have been involved 

15 in the reinvestigation conducted or ter16 minated pursuant to subsection (a); 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(VI) may not be subject to any 

19 requirements linking incentives, in20 cluding promotion, to the number of 

21 appeals processed within a certain 

22 time period. 

23 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—Such employ24 ees shall conduct a robust review of the ap25 peal and make a determination regarding 


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1 the accuracy and completeness of the dis2 puted information by— 

3 ‘‘(I) conducting an independent 

4 analysis, separate from any investiga5 tion by a reseller or person who pro6 vided the disputed information, and 

7 separate from any prior reinvestiga8 tion conducted by the consumer report9 ing agency of the disputed informa10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(II) verifying that the personally 

12 identifiable information of the con13 sumer submitting the dispute matches 

14 the personally identifiable information 

15 contained on the consumer’s file; 

16 ‘‘(III) analyzing the notice of ap17 peal and all information, including 

18 any substantiating documents, pro19 vided by the consumer with the notice 

20 of appeal; 

21 ‘‘(IV) evaluating the validity of 

22 any information submitted by any per23 son that was used by the consumer re24 porting agency in the reinvestigation 

25 of the initial dispute; 


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1 ‘‘(V) verifying that the consumer 

2 reporting agency has a record of the 

3 information being disputed; and 

4 ‘‘(VI) applying any additional 

5 factors or investigative processes, as 

6 specified by the Bureau. 

7 ‘‘(D) NOTICE OF APPEAL RESULTS.—Not 

8 later than 5 days after the end of the 20-day pe9 riod described under subparagraph (A) (or the 

10 10-day extension period, as applicable) the con11 sumer reporting agency shall provide the con12 sumer with written notice of the results of the 

13 appeal by postal mail or, if requested by the con14 sumer, by other means. The contents of such no15 tice shall include— 

16 ‘‘(i) a statement that the appeal is 

17 completed and the date on which it was 

18 completed, the results of the appeal, and the 

19 specific reasons supporting the results of the 

20 appeal; 

21 ‘‘(ii) a copy of all information relating 

22 to the consumer that was used as a basis for 

23 deciding the results of the appeal; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a consumer report that is based 

2 upon the consumer’s file as that file may 

3 have been revised as a result of the appeal; 

4 ‘‘(iv) a description of the procedure 

5 used to determine the accuracy and com6 pleteness of the information, including the 

7 business name, telephone number, mailing 

8 address, and Internet website address (if ap9 plicable) of any person who provided infor10 mation that was contacted in connection 

11 with such information, if reasonably avail12 able; 

13 ‘‘(v) information describing that the 

14 consumer may submit a statement, without 

15 charge, disputing the accuracy or complete16 ness of information in the consumer’s file 

17 that was the subject of an appeal under this 

18 subsection by submitting a statement di19 rectly to each consumer reporting agency 

20 that received the information; 

21 ‘‘(vi) a description of the consumer’s 

22 rights pursuant to subsection (d) (relating 

23 to furnishing notifications to certain users 

24 of consumer reports); and 


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1 ‘‘(vii) any other information, as deter2 mined by the Bureau. 

3 ‘‘(E) NO EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO CONDUCT

4 APPEAL.—A consumer reporting agency may not 

5 refuse to conduct a review of an appeal under 

6 this subsection because the agency determines 

7 that the notice of appeal was submitted by an 

8 authorized third party, unless the agency has 

9 clear and convincing evidence that the third 

10 party is not authorized to submit the notice of 

11 appeal on the consumer’s behalf. If the consumer 

12 reporting agency refuses to conduct a review of 

13 the appeal for these reasons, it shall provide a 

14 clear and conspicuous written notice to the con15 sumer explaining the reasons for the refusal and 

16 describing any information the consumer is re17 quired to provide for the agency to conduct a re18 view of the appeal.’’. 

19 (b) APPEALS OF INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY

20 FURNISHERS OF INFORMATION.—Section 623(a) of the Fair 

21 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)) is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(10) DUTY OF FURNISHERS OF INFORMATION

24 UPON NOTICE OF APPEAL OF INVESTIGATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 120 days of the 

2 date of receipt of the results of an investigation 

3 conducted under paragraph (8)(E), a consumer 

4 may, free of charge, appeal such results by sub5 mitting a notice of appeal to the person who pro6 vided the information in the dispute to a con7 sumer reporting agency (hereafter in this para8 graph referred to as the ‘furnisher’). 

9 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF APPEAL.—A notice of ap10 peal described in subparagraph (A) may be sub11 mitted in writing, through a toll-free telephone 

12 number, or by other electronic means established 

13 by the furnisher, and— 

14 ‘‘(i) shall identify the information con15 tained in the consumer’s file that is the sub16 ject of the appeal; 

17 ‘‘(ii) shall describe the specific reasons 

18 for submitting the notice of appeal; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) may include any information, 

20 including substantiating documents, the 

21 consumer believes is relevant to the appeal. 

22 ‘‘(C) FURNISHER ACTIONS.—Upon receipt 

23 of such notice of appeal, the furnisher shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) before the end of the period of 3 

25 business days beginning on the date on 


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1 which the furnisher receives the notice of 

2 appeal, notify each consumer reporting 

3 agency to which the person furnished such 

4 information a statement identifying the 

5 items of information that a consumer is ap6 pealing; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) notify the consumer confirming 

8 the receipt of the consumer’s notice of ap9 peal, including an approximate date when 

10 the consumer’s appeal will be completed, the 

11 process and procedures by which a review of 

12 the appeal will be conducted, and the spe13 cific individual designated by the consumer 

14 reporting agency who, upon the request of 

15 the consumer, may discuss the substance 

16 and status of the appeal. 

17 ‘‘(D) FURNISHER REQUIREMENTS UPON RE18 CEIPT OF NOTICE OF APPEAL.—Not later than 20 

19 days after receiving a notice of appeal, the fur20 nisher shall determine whether the item of infor21 mation being disputed by the consumer is inac22 curate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, and 

23 shall notify the consumer reporting agency of the 

24 determination. If the furnisher cannot verify the 

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1 mation, the furnisher shall, before the end of the 

2 20-day period beginning on the date on which 

3 the furnisher receives notice of an appeal from 

4 the consumer, submit instructions to the con5 sumer reporting agency that the item of informa6 tion being disputed by the consumer should be 

7 deleted from the file of the consumer. 

8 ‘‘(E) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR APPEALS

9 EMPLOYEES.—Upon receipt of a notice of appeal 

10 under subparagraph (A), a furnisher shall des11 ignate one or more specific employees who— 

12 ‘‘(i) shall be assigned an employee ref13 erence number or other employee identifier 

14 that can be used by the consumer to discuss 

15 the appeal with the specific individuals 

16 handling the appeal; 

17 ‘‘(ii) shall have direct authority to re18 solve the dispute that is the subject of the 

19 notice of appeal on behalf of the furnisher 

20 from the review stage to its completion; 

21 ‘‘(iii) shall meet minimum training 

22 and ongoing certification requirements at 

23 regular intervals, as established by the Bu24 reau; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) may not have been involved in an 

2 investigation conducted pursuant to para3 graph (8); and 

4 ‘‘(v) may not be subject to any require5 ments linking incentives, including pro6 motion, to the number of appeals processed 

7 within a certain time period. 

8 ‘‘(F) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPEALS PROC9 ESS.—Such employees shall conduct a robust re10 view of the appeal and make a determination re11 garding the accuracy and completeness of the 

12 disputed information by— 

13 ‘‘(i) conducting an independent anal14 ysis, separate from any reinvestigation by a 

15 reseller or consumer reporting agency, of the 

16 disputed information; 

17 ‘‘(ii) verifying that the personally 

18 identifiable information related to the dis19 pute is accurate and complete; 

20 ‘‘(iii) analyzing the notice of appeal 

21 and all information, including substan22 tiating documents, provided by the con23 sumer with the notice of appeal; 

24 ‘‘(iv) evaluating the validity of any in25 formation submitted by any person that 


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1 was used by the furnisher in the initial in2 vestigation into the dispute; 

3 ‘‘(v) verifying that the information 

4 being disputed relates to the consumer in 

5 whose file the information is located; 

6 ‘‘(vi) verifying that the furnisher has a 

7 record of the information being disputed; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(vii) applying any additional factors 

10 or investigative processes, as specified by the 

11 Bureau. 

12 ‘‘(G) EXTENSION OF REVIEW PERIOD.—If a 

13 consumer submits additional information related 

14 to the appeal after the period of 3 business days 

15 described in subparagraph (C)(i) and before the 

16 end of the 20-day period described in subpara17 graph (D), the furnisher shall have an additional 

18 10 business days to complete the review of the 

19 appeal. 

20 ‘‘(H) NOTICE OF APPEAL RESULTS.—Not 

21 later than 5 days after the end of the 20-day pe22 riod described in subparagraph (D) (or the 10 

23 business day extension described under subpara24 graph (G), as applicable) the furnisher shall pro25 vide the consumer with written notice of the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3642.RH H3642

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1 sults of the appeal by mail or, if requested by the 

2 consumer, by other means. The contents of such 

3 notice shall include— 

4 ‘‘(i) a statement that the appeal is 

5 completed and the date on which it was 

6 completed, the results of the appeal, and the 

7 specific reasons supporting the results of the 

8 appeal; 

9 ‘‘(ii) a copy of all information relating 

10 to the consumer that was used as a basis for 

11 deciding the results of the appeal; 

12 ‘‘(iii) if the appeal results in any 

13 change to the consumer report, a notifica14 tion that the consumer shall receive a copy, 

15 free of charge, of a revised consumer report 

16 (based upon the consumer’s file as that file 

17 was changed as a result of the appeal) and 

18 a credit score or educational credit score (if 

19 applicable) from each consumer reporting 

20 agency that had been furnished incorrect in21 formation; 

22 ‘‘(iv) a description of the procedure 

23 used to determine the accuracy and com24 pleteness of the information, including the 

25 business name, telephone number, mailing 


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1 address, and Internet website address (if ap2 plicable), of any person who provided infor3 mation that was contacted in connection 

4 with such information, if reasonably avail5 able; 

6 ‘‘(v) information describing that the 

7 consumer may submit a statement, without 

8 charge, disputing the accuracy or complete9 ness of information in the consumer’s file 

10 that was the subject of an appeal under this 

11 paragraph by submitting a statement di12 rectly to each consumer reporting agency 

13 that received the information; and 

14 ‘‘(vi) a notification that the consumer 

15 may request the furnisher to submit to each 

16 consumer reporting agency the consumer’s 

17 request to furnish notifications pursuant to 

18 section 611(d) (relating to furnishing notifi19 cations to certain users of consumer re20 ports).’’. 

21 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 623(a)(8)(A) of 

22 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s– 

23 2(a)(8)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘reinvestigate’’ and in24 serting ‘‘investigate’’. 


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1 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 609 of the 

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

3 (1) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘Bureau’’ each place that term appears; 

6 (B) in the subsection heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘RIGHTS TO OBTAIN AND DISPUTE INFORMA8 TION IN CONSUMER REPORTS AND TO OBTAIN

9 CREDIT SCORES’’ and inserting ‘‘KEY CON10 SUMER REPORTING RIGHTS’’; and 

11 (C) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘COM13 MISSION’’ and inserting ‘‘BUREAU’’; 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

15 (I) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘a 

16 consumer report without charge under 

17 section 612’’ and inserting ‘‘consumer 

18 reports and credit scores or educational 

19 credit scores (as applicable) without 

20 charge under subsections (f), (g), (i), or 

21 (j) or section 612’’; 

22 (II) in clause (iii), by inserting 

23 ‘‘or section 623’’ after ‘‘section 611’’; 

24 (III) by striking clauses (iv) and 

25 (vi); 


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1 (IV) by inserting after clause (iii) 

2 the following new clause: 

3 ‘‘(iv) the right of a consumer to appeal 

4 a determination of a reinvestigation con5 ducted by a consumer reporting agency 

6 under section 611(h) or an investigation 

7 conducted by a furnisher of information 

8 under section 623(a)(10);’’; and 

9 (V) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new clause: 

11 ‘‘(vi) the method and circumstances 

12 under which consumers can obtain a 1-year 

13 fraud alert, 7-year fraud alert, active duty 

14 alert, or security freeze as described in sec15 tion 605A through a consumer reporting 

16 agency described under section 603(p).’’; 

17 (iii) in subparagraph (C) (as amended 

18 by subparagraph (A)) by inserting ‘‘and the 

19 Commission’’ after ‘‘Bureau’’; and 

20 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

21 new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(D) PUBLICATION OF SUMMARY RIGHTS.— 

23 A consumer reporting agency described under 

24 subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 shall display 

25 in a clear and conspicuous manner, including on 


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1 the Internet website of the consumer reporting 

2 agency, the summary of rights prepared by the 

3 Bureau under this paragraph.’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘Bureau and 

5 the’’ before ‘‘Commission’’. 

6 SEC. 106. REVISED CONSUMER REPORTS. 

7 Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 1681i), as amended by section 105(a)(2), is further 

9 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(j) REQUIREMENT TO SEND REVISED CONSUMER

11 REPORT TO CONSUMER.—Upon receiving a notice described 

12 in section 623(a)(8)(E)(iv), each consumer reporting agen13 cy shall send to the consumer a revised consumer report 

14 and credit score or education credit score (if applicable) 

15 based upon the consumer’s file as that file was changed as 

16 a result of the investigation.’’. 

17 SEC. 107. INDICATION OF DISPUTE BY CONSUMERS AND 

18 USE OF DISPUTED INFORMATION. 

19 Section 605(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

20 U.S.C. 1681c(f)) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(f) INDICATION OF DISPUTE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting agen23 cy shall include in any consumer report based on the 

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1 formation that is currently in dispute by the con2 sumer if— 

3 ‘‘(A) a consumer disputes the completeness 

4 or accuracy of any item of information con5 tained in a consumer’s file pursuant to section 

6 611(a)(1); 

7 ‘‘(B) a consumer files with a consumer re8 porting agency an appeal of a reinvestigation 

9 pursuant to section 611(i); or 

10 ‘‘(C) the consumer reporting agency is noti11 fied by a person that furnished any items of in12 formation that are currently in dispute by the 

13 consumer that— 

14 ‘‘(i) a consumer disputes the complete15 ness or accuracy of any information fur16 nished by a person to any consumer report17 ing agency pursuant to paragraph (3) or 

18 (8) of section 623(a); or 

19 ‘‘(ii) a consumer submits a notice of 

20 appeal under section 623(a)(10). 

21 ‘‘(2) OPT OUT.—A consumer may submit a re22 quest to a consumer reporting agency or a person who 

23 furnished the information in dispute, as applicable, to 

24 have the notation described in paragraph (1) omitted 


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1 from the consumer report. Upon receipt of such a re2 quest— 

3 ‘‘(A) by a consumer reporting agency, such 

4 agency shall remove the notation within 1 busi5 ness day; and 

6 ‘‘(B) by a person who furnished the infor7 mation in dispute, such person shall submit such 

8 request to each consumer reporting agency to 

9 which the person furnished such information 

10 within 1 business day and such agency shall re11 move the notation within 1 business day of re12 ceipt of such request.’’. 

13 SEC. 108. ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS REPORT DUTIES 

14 FOR CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES AND 

15 FURNISHERS. 

16 Section 607(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 1681e) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(b) ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF REPORT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In preparing a consumer re20 port, a consumer reporting agency shall maintain 

21 reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible ac22 curacy and completeness of the information con23 cerning the individual to whom the consumer report 

24 relates. 


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1 ‘‘(2) BUREAU RULE TO ASSURE MAXIMUM POS2 SIBLE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS WITH CREDIT

3 REPORTING PRACTICES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) RULE.—Not later than 18 months 

5 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

6 Bureau shall issue a final rule establishing the 

7 procedures described in paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In formulating the 

9 rule required under subparagraph (A), the Bu10 reau shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) develop standards for matching the 

12 personally identifiable information included 

13 in the consumer’s file with the personally 

14 identifiable information furnished by the 

15 person who provided the information to the 

16 consumer reporting agency (hereafter in this 

17 subsection referred to as the ‘furnisher’), in18 cluding the full name of a consumer, the 

19 date of birth of a consumer, the full social 

20 security number of a consumer, and any 

21 other information that the Bureau deter22 mines would aid in assuring maximum 

23 possible accuracy and completeness of such 

24 consumer reports; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) establish processes for a consumer 

2 reporting agency to monitor the integrity of 

3 the data provided by furnishers and the 

4 compliance of furnishers with the require5 ments of this title; 

6 ‘‘(iii) establish processes for a con7 sumer reporting agency to regularly rec8 oncile data relating to accounts in collec9 tion, including those that have not been 

10 paid in full, by specifying the circumstances 

11 under which the consumer reporting agency 

12 shall remove or suppress negative or adverse 

13 information from a consumer’s file that has 

14 not been updated by a furnisher who is also 

15 a debt collector (as defined in section 803 of 

16 the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) 

17 within the time period established by the 

18 Bureau; 

19 ‘‘(iv) establish procedures to require 

20 each consumer reporting agency to review 

21 and monitor the quality of information re22 ceived from any source, including informa23 tion from public records, by regularly and 

24 on an ongoing basis comparing the infor25 mation received to the information available 


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1 from the original source and ensuring that 

2 the information received is the most current 

3 information; 

4 ‘‘(v) develop standards and procedures 

5 for consumer reporting agencies to identify 

6 furnishers that repeatedly fail to provide ac7 curate and complete information, to take 

8 corrective action against such furnishers, 

9 and to reject information submitted by such 

10 furnishers; 

11 ‘‘(vi) develop standards and procedures 

12 for consumer reporting agencies to adopt re13 garding collection of public record data, in14 cluding standards and procedures to con15 sider the ultimate data source, how the pub16 lic record information is filed and its avail17 ability and accessibility, and whether infor18 mation relating to the satisfaction of judg19 ments or other updates to the public record 

20 are available on a reasonably timely basis 

21 from a particular source; and 

22 ‘‘(vii) establish any other factors, pro23 cedures, or processes determined by the Bu24 reau to be necessary to assist consumer re25 porting agencies in achieving maximum 


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1 possible accuracy and completeness of the 

2 information in consumer reports. 

3 ‘‘(3) CORRECTIVE ACTION FOR FURNISHERS

4 THAT REPEATEDLY FURNISH INACCURATE OR INCOM5 PLETE INFORMATION.—Upon identifying a furnisher 

6 that repeatedly fails to furnish accurate, complete, or 

7 verifiable information to consumer reporting agencies, 

8 the Bureau shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) ensure the prompt removal of any ad10 verse information relating to a consumer’s ac11 counts submitted by such furnisher; and 

12 ‘‘(B) take corrective action, which may in13 clude— 

14 ‘‘(i) mandatory revised training and 

15 training materials for the staff of the fur16 nisher regarding the furnishing of accurate 

17 and complete information; 

18 ‘‘(ii) sharing industry best practices 

19 and procedures regarding accuracy and 

20 completeness; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) temporarily prohibiting a fur22 nisher from providing information to a con23 sumer reporting agency.’’. 


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1 SEC. 109. INCLUSION OF PUBLIC RECORD DATA SOURCES 

2 IN CONSUMER REPORTS. 

3 Section 605(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

4 U.S.C. 1681c(d)) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC RECORD DATA SOURCE.—Any con7 sumer reporting agency that furnishes a consumer re8 port that contains public record data shall also in9 clude in such report the source from which that data 

10 was obtained, including the particular court, if any, 

11 and the date that the data was initially reported or 

12 publicized.’’. 

13 SEC. 110. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF FOR VICTIMS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended— 

16 (1) in section 616— 

17 (A) in subsection (a), by amending the sub18 section heading to read as follows: ‘‘DAMAGES’’; 

19 (B) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) 

20 as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

21 (C) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol22 lowing new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(c) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—In addition to any other 

24 remedy set forth in this section, a court may award injunc25 tive relief to require compliance with the requirements im26 posed under this title with respect to any consumer. In the 


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1 event of any successful action for injunctive relief under this 

2 subsection, the court may award to the prevailing party 

3 costs and reasonable attorney fees (as determined by the 

4 court) incurred during the action by such party.’’; and 

5 (2) in section 617— 

6 (A) in subsection (a), by amending the sub7 section heading to read as follows: ‘‘DAMAGES’’; 

8 (B) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub9 section (c); and 

10 (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol11 lowing new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(b) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—In addition to any other 

13 remedy set forth in this section, a court may award injunc14 tive relief to require compliance with the requirements im15 posed under this title with respect to any consumer. In the 

16 event of any successful action for injunctive relief under this 

17 subsection, the court may award to the prevailing party 

18 costs and reasonable attorney fees (as determined by the 

19 court) incurred during the action by such party.’’. 

20 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS21 SION.—Section 621(a)(2)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

22 Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(a)(2)(A)) is amended— 

23 (1) by amending the subparagraph heading to 

24 read as follows: ‘‘NEGLIGENT, WILLFUL, OR KNOWING

25 VIOLATIONS’’; and 


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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘negligent, willful, or’’ before 

2 ‘‘knowing’’. 

3 TITLE II—PROHIBITION ON MIS4 LEADING AND UNFAIR CON5 SUMER REPORTING PRAC6 TICES 

7 SEC. 201. PROHIBITION ON AUTOMATIC RENEWALS FOR 

8 PROMOTIONAL CONSUMER REPORTING AND 

9 CREDIT SCORING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. 

10 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec13 tion: 

14 ‘‘§ 630. Promotional periods 

15 ‘‘(a) TERMINATION NOTICE.—With respect to any 

16 product or service related to a consumer report or a credit 

17 score that is provided to a consumer under promotional 

18 terms, the seller or provider of such product or service shall 

19 provide clear and conspicuous notice to the consumer with20 in a reasonable period of time before the promotional period 

21 ends. 

22 ‘‘(b) OPT-IN.—With respect to any such product or 

23 service, the seller or provider may not continue to sell or 

24 provide such product or service to the consumer after the 

25 end of the promotional period unless the consumer specifiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3642.RH H3642

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1 cally agrees at the end of the promotional period to continue 

2 receiving the product or service.’’; and 

3 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, by in4 serting after the item relating to section 629 the fol5 lowing new item: 

‘‘630. Promotional periods.’’. 

6 SEC. 202. PROHIBITION ON MISLEADING AND DECEPTIVE 

7 MARKETING RELATED TO THE PROVISION OF 

8 CONSUMER REPORTING AND CREDIT SCOR9 ING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. 

10 Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘request, except’’ and 

15 all that follows through ‘‘consumer to 

16 whom’’ and inserting ‘‘request, unless the 

17 consumer to whom’’; 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘disclosure; and’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘disclosure.’’; and 

20 (iii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

21 and 

22 (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘or edu23 cational credit score (if applicable) under sub24 section (f) or section 612’’ before the period at 

25 the end; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(h) DISCLOSURES ON PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.— 

4 The Bureau, in consultation with the Federal Trade Com5 mission, shall issue regulations within 18 months of the 

6 date of the enactment of this subsection requiring each con7 sumer reporting agency and reseller to clearly and con8 spicuously disclose all material terms and conditions, in9 cluding any fee and pricing information associated with 

10 any products or services offered, advertised, marketed, or 

11 sold to consumers by the agency or reseller. Such disclosures 

12 shall be made in all forms of communication to consumers 

13 and displayed prominently on the agency or reseller’s 

14 website and all other locations where products or services 

15 are offered, advertised, marketed, or sold to consumers.’’. 

16 SEC. 203. PROHIBITON ON EXCESSIVE DIRECT-TO-CON17 SUMER SALES. 

18 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et 

19 seq.), as amended by section 201, is further amended— 

20 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec21 tion: 

22 ‘‘§ 631. Fair and reasonable fees for products and 

23 services 

24 ‘‘The Bureau may, with respect to any product or serv25 ice offered by a consumer reporting agency to a consumer, 


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1 set a fair and reasonable maximum fee that may be charged 

2 for such product or service, except where such maximum 

3 fee is otherwise provided under this title.’’; and 

4 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, as 

5 amended by section 201, by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new item: 

‘‘631. Fair and reasonable fees for products and services.’’. 

7 SEC. 204. FAIR ACCESS TO CONSUMER REPORTING AND 

8 CREDIT SCORING DISCLOSURES FOR NON9 NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS AND THE VIS10 UALLY AND HEARING IMPAIRED. 

11 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et 

12 seq.), as amended by section 203, is further amended— 

13 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec14 tion: 

15 ‘‘§ 632. Fair access to information for nonnative 

16 English speakers and the visually and 

17 hearing impaired 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this section, the Bureau shall issue 

20 a rule to require consumer reporting agencies and persons 

21 who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies 

22 under this title, to the maximum extent reasonably prac23 ticable— 

24 ‘‘(1) to provide any information, disclosures, or 

25 other communication with consumers— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in each of the 10 most commonly spo2 ken languages, other than English, in the United 

3 States, as determined by the Bureau of the Cen4 sus on an ongoing basis; and 

5 ‘‘(B) in formats accessible to individuals 

6 with hearing or vision impairments; and 

7 ‘‘(2) to ensure that— 

8 ‘‘(A) customer service representatives, in9 cluding employees assigned to handle disputes or 

10 appeals under sections 611 and 623, who are 

11 available to assist consumers are highly familiar 

12 with the requirements of this title; 

13 ‘‘(B) such representatives are available dur14 ing regular business hours and outside of regular 

15 business hours, including evenings and weekends; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(C) at least one among such representa18 tives is fluent in each of the 10 most commonly 

19 spoken languages, other than English, in the 

20 United States, as determined by the Bureau of 

21 the Census on an ongoing basis. 

22 ‘‘(b) BUREAU CONSULTATION.—The Bureau shall con23 sult with advocates for civil rights, consumer groups, com24 munity groups, and organizations that serve traditionally 


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1 underserved communities and populations in issuing the 

2 rule described in subsection (a).’’; and 

3 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, as 

4 amended by section 203, by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new item: 

‘‘632. Fair access to information for nonnative English speakers and the visually 

and hearing impaired.’’. 

6 SEC. 205. COMPARISON SHOPPING FOR LOANS WITHOUT 

7 HARM TO CREDIT STANDING. 

8 Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

9 U.S.C. 1681c) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(i) ENCOURAGING CONSUMERS TO COMPARISON

12 SHOP FOR LOANS BY TREATING GROUPED ENQUIRIES OF

13 THE SAME TYPE WITHIN A REASONABLE PERIOD AS A SIN14 GLE ENQUIRY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to multiple 

16 enquiries of the same type made to a consumer re17 porting agency for a consumer report or credit score 

18 with respect to a consumer, any credit scoring model 

19 shall treat such enquiries as a single enquiry if the 

20 enquiries are made within a 120-day period. 

21 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF ENQUIRIES OF THE SAME

22 TYPE.—With respect to multiple enquiries made to a 

23 consumer reporting agency for a consumer report or 

24 credit score with respect to a consumer, such enquiries 


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1 are ‘of the same type’ if the consumer reporting agen2 cy has reason to believe that the enquiries are all 

3 made for the purpose of determining the consumer’s 

4 creditworthiness for an extension of credit described 

5 in one of the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) Any loan primarily for personal, fam7 ily, or household use that is secured by a mort8 gage, deed of trust, or other equivalent consen9 sual security interest on a dwelling (as defined 

10 in section 103(w) of the Truth in Lending Act), 

11 including a loan in which the proceeds will be 

12 used for— 

13 ‘‘(i) a manufactured home (as defined 

14 in section 603 of the Housing and Commu15 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

16 5402)); 

17 ‘‘(ii) any installment sales contract, 

18 land contract, or contract for deed on a res19 idential property; or 

20 ‘‘(iii) a reverse mortgage transaction 

21 (as defined in section 103 of the Truth in 

22 Lending Act). 

23 ‘‘(B) A motor vehicle loan or lease (as de24 scribed in section 609(j)). 

25 ‘‘(C) A private education loan. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Any other consumer financial product 

2 or service, as determined by the Bureau.’’. 

3 SEC. 206. NATIONWIDE CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES 

4 REGISTRY. 

5 The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et 

6 seq.), as amended by section 204, is further amended— 

7 (1) by adding at the end the following new sec8 tion: 

9 ‘‘§ 633. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies reg10 istry 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this section, the Bureau shall establish 

13 and maintain a publicly accessible registry of consumer re14 porting agencies described in subsection (p) or (x) of section 

15 603 (and any other agencies the Bureau determines provide 

16 similar services to such consumer reporting agencies) that 

17 includes current contact information of each such agency, 

18 including the Internet website address of the Internet 

19 website described under section 611(h), and information on 

20 how consumers can obtain their consumer report, credit 

21 scores, or educational credit scores (as applicable) by toll22 free telephone, postal mail, or electronic means. 

23 ‘‘(b) REGISTRY REQUIREMENTS.—The registry de24 scribed in subsection (a) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) identify the largest agencies and the mar2 kets and demographics covered by such agencies; and 

3 ‘‘(2) disclose, with respect to each agency, wheth4 er the agency is subject to the supervisory authority 

5 of the Bureau under this title. 

6 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION UPDATES.—Each agency described 

7 under subsection (a) shall submit to the Bureau contact in8 formation for the registry, including any updates to such 

9 information. The Bureau shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) independently verify information submitted 

11 by each agency; and 

12 ‘‘(2) update the registry not less frequently than 

13 annually.’’; and 

14 (2) in the table of contents for such Act, as 

15 amended by section 204, by adding at the end the fol16 lowing new item: 

‘‘633. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies registry.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 288 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3642 

[Report No. 116–363] 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to fix the 

and for other purposes. leading and unfair consumer reporting practices, consumer report dispute process, to ban misDECEMBER 23, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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