I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4115 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting act to restore the impaired credit 
of victims of predatory activities and unfair consumer reporting practices, 
to expand access to tools to protect vulnerable consumers from identity 
theft, fraud, or a related crime, and protect victims from further harm, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 24, 2021 
Ms. TLAIB introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting act to restore the im-
paired credit of victims of predatory activities and unfair 
consumer reporting practices, to expand access to tools 
to protect vulnerable consumers from identity theft, 
fraud, or a related crime, and protect victims from fur-
ther harm, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Restoring Unfairly Impaired Credit and Protecting Con-
sumers Act’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Effective date. 
Sec. 4. General Bureau rulemaking. 
TITLE I—RESTORING THE IMPAIRED CREDIT OF VICTIMS OF 
PREDATORY ACTIVITIES AND UNFAIR CONSUMER REPORTING 
PRACTICES 
Sec. 101. Shortens the time period that most adverse credit information stays 
on consumer reports. 
Sec. 102. Mandates the expedited removal of fully paid or settled debt from 
consumer reports. 
Sec. 103. Imposes restrictions on the appearance of medical collections on con-
sumer reports and requires the expedited removal of fully paid 
or settled medical collections from consumer reports. 
Sec. 104. Provides credit restoration for victims of predatory mortgage lending 
and servicing. 
Sec. 105. Provides credit relief for private education loans borrowers who were 
defrauded or mislead by proprietary education institution or 
career education programs. 
Sec. 106. Establishes right for victims of financial abuse to have adverse infor-
mation associated with an abuser’s fraudulent activity removed 
from their consumer reports. 
Sec. 107. Prohibits treatment of credit restoration or rehabilitation as adverse 
information. 
TITLE II—EXPANDING ACCESS TO TOOLS TO PROTECT VULNER-
ABLE CONSUMERS FROM IDENTITY THEFT, FRAUD, OR A RE-
LATED CRIME, AND PROTECT VICTIMS FROM FURTHER HARM 
Sec. 201. Identity theft report definition. 
Sec. 202. Amendment to protection for files and credit records of protected 
consumers. 
Sec. 203. Enhances fraud alert protections. 
Sec. 204. Amendment to security freezes for consumer reports. 
Sec. 205. Clarification of information to be included with agency disclosures. 
Sec. 206. Provides access to fraud records for victims. 
Sec. 207. Required Bureau to set procedures for reporting identity theft, fraud, 
and other related crime. 
Sec. 208. Establishes the right to free credit monitoring and identity theft pro-
tection services for certain consumers. 
Sec. 209. Ensures removal of inquiries resulting from identity theft, fraud, or 
other related crime from consumer reports. 
TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 
Sec. 301. Definitions. 
Sec. 302. Technical correction related to risk-based pricing notices. 
Sec. 303. FCRA findings and purpose; voids certain contracts not in the public 
interest. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) GENERAL FINDINGS.— 
(A) 
Consumer 
reporting 
agencies 
(‘‘CRAs’’) are companies that collect, compile, 
and provide information about consumers in the 
form of consumer reports for certain permis-
sible statutory purposes under the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) 
(‘‘FCRA’’). The three largest CRAs in this 
country 
are 
Equifax, 
TransUnion, 
and 
Experian. These CRAs are referred to as na-
tionwide CRAs and the reports that they pre-
pare are commonly referred to as credit reports. 
Furnishers, such as creditors, lenders, and debt 
collection agencies, voluntarily submit informa-
tion to CRAs about their accounts such as the 
total amount for each loan or credit limit for 
each credit card and the consumer’s payment 
history on these products. Reports also include 
identifying information about a consumer, such 
as their birthdate, previous mailing addresses, 
and current and previous employers. 
(B) In a December 2012 paper, ‘‘Key Di-
mensions and Processes in the U.S. Credit Re-
porting System: A review for how the nation’s 
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largest credit bureaus manage consumer data’’, 
the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 
(‘‘Consumer Bureau’’) noted that the three na-
tionwide CRAs maintain credit files on approxi-
mately 200 million adults and receive informa-
tion from about 10,000 furnishers. On a 
monthly basis, these furnishers provide infor-
mation on over 1.3 billion consumer credit ac-
counts or other trade lines. 
(C) The 10 largest institutions furnishing 
credit information to each of the nationwide 
CRAs account for more than half of all ac-
counts reflected in consumers’ credit files. 
(D) Consumer reports play an increasingly 
important role in the lives of American con-
sumers. Most creditors, for example, review 
these reports to make decisions about whether 
to extend credit to consumers and what terms 
and conditions to offer them. As such, informa-
tion contained in these reports affects whether 
a person is able to get a private education loan 
to pay for college costs, to secure a mortgage 
loan to buy a home, or to obtain a credit card, 
as well as the terms and conditions under which 
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consumer credit products or services are offered 
to them. 
(E) Credit reports are also increasingly 
used for many noncredit decisions, including by 
landlords to determine whether to rent an 
apartment to a prospective tenant and by em-
ployers to decide whether to hire potential job 
applicants or to offer a promotion to existing 
employees. 
(F) CRAs have a statutory obligation to 
verify independently the accuracy and complete-
ness of information included on the reports that 
they provide. 
(G) The nationwide CRAs have failed to 
establish and follow reasonable procedures, as 
required by existing law, to establish the max-
imum level of accuracy of information contained 
on consumer reports. Given the repeated fail-
ures of these CRAs to comply with accuracy re-
quirements on their own, legislation is intended 
to provide them with detailed guidance improv-
ing the accuracy and completeness of informa-
tion contained in consumer reports, including 
procedures, policies, and practices that these 
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CRAs should already be following to ensure full 
compliance with their existing obligations. 
(H) The presence of inaccurate or incom-
plete information on these reports can result in 
substantial financial and emotional harm to 
consumers. Credit reporting errors can lead to 
the loss of a new employment opportunity or a 
denial of a promotion in an existing job, stop 
someone from being able to access credit on fa-
vorable terms, prevent a person from obtaining 
rental housing, or even trigger mental distress. 
(I) Current industry practices impose an 
unfair burden of proof on consumers trying to 
fix errors on their reports. 
(J) Consumer reports containing inac-
curate or incomplete credit information also un-
dermine the ability of creditors and lenders to 
effectively and accurately underwrite and price 
credit. 
(K) Recognizing that credit reporting af-
fects the lives of almost all consumers in this 
country and that the consequences of errors on 
a consumer report can be catastrophic for a 
consumer, the Consumer Bureau began accept-
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ing consumer complaints about credit reporting 
in October 2012. 
(L) As of February 2017, the Consumer 
Bureau has handled approximately 185,717 
credit reporting complaints, making credit re-
porting consistently the third most-complained- 
about subject matter on which the Consumer 
Bureau accepts consumer complaints. 
(M) In the ‘‘Monthly Complaint Report 
Volume 20’’, released in February 2017, the 
Consumer Bureau noted that 76 percent of 
credit reporting complaints involved incorrect 
information on reports, with consumers fre-
quently expressing their frustrations about the 
burdensome and time-consuming process to dis-
puting items. 
(N) Other common types of credit report-
ing complaints submitted to the Consumer Bu-
reau related to the improper use of a report, 
trouble obtaining a report or credit score, 
CRAs’ investigations, and credit monitoring or 
identity protection. 
(O) In the summer 2015 ‘‘Supervisory 
Highlights’’, the Consumer Bureau noted that 
one or more of the largest CRAs failed to ade-
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quately oversee furnishers to ensure that they 
were adhering to the CRA’s vetting policies and 
to establish proper procedures to verify public 
record information. 
(P) According to the fall 2016 ‘‘Super-
visory Highlights’’, Consumer Bureau exam-
iners determined that one or more debt collec-
tors never investigated indirect disputes that 
lacked detail or were not accompanied by at-
tachments with relevant information from the 
consumer. Examiners also found that notifica-
tions sent to consumers about disputes consid-
ered frivolous failed to identify for the con-
sumers the type of material that they could pro-
vide in order for the debt collector to complete 
the investigation of the disputed item. 
(Q) A February 2014 Consumer Bureau 
report titled ‘‘Credit Reporting Complaint 
Snapshot’’ found that consumers are confused 
about the extent to which the nationwide CRAs 
are required to provide them with validation 
and documentation of a debt that appears on 
their credit report. 
(R) As evidence that the current system 
lacks sufficient market incentives for CRAs to 
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develop more robust procedures to increase the 
accuracy and completeness of information on 
credit reports, litigation discovery documented 
by 
the 
National 
Consumer 
Law 
Center 
(‘‘NCLC’’), as part of a January 2009 report 
titled, ‘‘Automated Injustice: How a Mecha-
nized Dispute System Frustrates Consumers 
Seeking to Fix Errors in Their Credit Re-
ports’’, showed that at least two of the three 
largest CRAs use quota systems to force em-
ployees to process disputes hastily and without 
the opportunity for conducting meaningful in-
vestigations. At least one nationwide CRA only 
allowed dispute resolution staff five minutes to 
handle a consumer’s call. Furthermore, these 
CRAs were found to have awarded bonuses for 
meeting quotas and punished those who didn’t 
meet production numbers with probation. 
(S) Unlike most other business relation-
ships, where consumers can register their satis-
faction or unhappiness with a particular credit 
product or service simply by taking their busi-
ness elsewhere, consumers have no say in 
whether their information is included in the 
CRAs databases and limited legal remedies to 
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hold the CRAs accountable for inaccuracies or 
poor service. 
(T) Accordingly, despite the existing statu-
tory mandate for CRAs to follow reasonable 
procedures to assure the maximum possible ac-
curacy of the information whenever they pre-
pare consumer reports, numerous studies, the 
high volume of consumer complaints submitted 
to the Consumer Bureau about incorrect infor-
mation on consumer reports, and supervisory 
activities by the Consumer Bureau demonstrate 
that CRAs continue to skirt their obligations 
under the law. 
(2) PRIVATE EDUCATION LOANS.— 
(A) The Consumer Bureau’s October 2014 
report titled ‘‘Annual Report of the CFPB Stu-
dent Loan Ombudsman’’ noted many private 
education loan borrowers, who sought to nego-
tiate a modified repayment plan when they were 
experiencing a period of financial distress, were 
unable to get assistance from their loan holders, 
which often resulting in them defaulting on 
their loans. This pattern resembles the dif-
ficulty that a significant number of mortgage 
loan borrowers experienced when they sought to 
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take responsible steps to work with their mort-
gage loan servicer to avoid foreclosure during 
the Great Recession. 
(B) Although private student loan holders 
may allow a borrower to postpone payments 
while enrolled in school full-time, many limit 
this option to a certain time period, usually 48 
to 66 months. This limited time period may not 
be sufficient for those who need additional time 
to obtain their degree or who want to continue 
their education by pursing a graduate or profes-
sional degree. The Consumer Bureau found 
that borrowers who were unable to make pay-
ments often defaulted or had their accounts 
sent to collections before they were even able to 
graduate. 
(3) DECEPTIVE PRACTICES AT CERTAIN PRO-
PRIETARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND CAREER 
EDUCATION PROGRAMS.— 
(A) NCLC cited the proliferation of law 
enforcement actions against many for-profit 
schools in its June 2014 report, titled ‘‘Ensur-
ing Educational Integrity: 10 Steps to Improve 
State Oversight of For-profit Schools’’, to dem-
onstrate the pervasive problem in this sector of 
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targeting low-income students with deceptive 
high-pressure sales techniques involving inflated 
job placement rates and misleading data on 
graduate wages, and false representations about 
the transferability of credits and the employ-
ability of graduates in occupations that require 
licensure. Student loan borrowers at these 
schools may be left with nothing but worthless 
credentials and large debt. Those who default 
on their student loans face years with damaged 
credit that will adversely impact their ability to 
rent or buy homes, purchase cars, and find em-
ployment. 
(B) The closure and bankruptcy of Corin-
thian Colleges, which was found to have de-
ceived students by steering them into high-in-
terest student loans based on misleading grad-
uation rates and employment data, is a good 
example of the problem. Even after its closure, 
many Corinthian students remained saddled 
with student loan debt, worthless degrees, and 
few prospects for employment. 
(C) Attending a two-year, for-profit college 
costs, on average, four times as much as at-
tending a community college. Students at for- 
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profit colleges represent only about 11 percent 
of the total higher education population but a 
startling 44 percent of all Federal student loan 
defaults, according to the United States De-
partment of Education (‘‘DOE’’). 
(D) According to NCLC, a dispropor-
tionate number of for-profit students are low-in-
come and people of color. These schools target 
veterans, working parents, first-generation stu-
dents, and non-English speaking students, who 
may be more likely than their public or private 
nonprofit school counterparts to drop out, incur 
enormous student debt, and default on this 
debt. In the 2011–2012 school year, 28 percent 
of African Americans and 15 percent of Latinos 
attending four-year institutions were enrolled in 
a for-profit school, compared to 10 percent of 
Whites. 
(E) As highlighted in a press release titled 
‘‘Obama Administration Announces Final Rules 
to Protect Students from Poor-Performing Ca-
reer College Programs’’, that was issued by the 
DOE on October 30, 2014, ‘‘øt¿oo often, stu-
dents at career colleges—including thousands of 
veterans—are charged excessive costs, but don’t 
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survivor’s inability to make timely payments on 
their valid obligations due to loss or changes in 
income that can occur when their abuser steals 
from or coerces the survivor to relinquish their 
paychecks or savings. 
(B) By racking up substantial debts in the 
survivor’s name, abusers are able to exercise fi-
nancial control over their survivors to make it 
economically difficult for the survivor, whose 
credit is often destroyed, to escape the situa-
tion. 
(C) Domestic abuse survivors with poor 
credit are likely to face significant obstacles in 
establishing financial independence from their 
abusers. This can be due, in part, because con-
sumer reports may be used when a person at-
tempts to obtain a checking account, housing, 
insurance, utilities, employment, and even a se-
curity clearance as required for certain jobs. 
(D) Providing documentation of identity 
(‘‘ID’’) theft in order to dispute information on 
one’s consumer report can be particularly chal-
lenging for those who know their financial 
abuser. 
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rower’s status of a request to remove any adverse informa-
tion relating to any private education loan with respect 
to which such consumer is a qualifying private education 
loan borrower. A consumer report in which a person fur-
nishes such codes shall be deemed to comply with the re-
quirements for accuracy and completeness required under 
sections 623(a)(1) and 630. Such codes shall not appear 
on any report provided to a third party, and shall be re-
moved from the consumer’s credit report upon the success-
ful restoration of the consumer’s credit under this section. 
‘‘(f) DEFRAUDMENT CLAIM DEFINED.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘defraudment claim’ means 
a claim made with respect to a consumer who is a bor-
rower of a private education loan with respect to a propri-
etary educational institution or career education program 
in which the consumer alleges that— 
‘‘(1) the proprietary educational institution or 
career education program— 
‘‘(A) engaged in an unfair, deceptive, or 
abusive act or practice, or a fraudulent, dis-
criminatory, or illegal activity— 
‘‘(i) as defined by State law of the 
State in which the proprietary educational 
institution or career education program is 
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