I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6129 
To amend the Credit Repair Organizations Act to clarify the applicability 
of certain provisions to credit monitoring services, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 20, 2006 
Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Ms. BEAN, 
Mr. BACHUS, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SESSIONS, and Ms. GINNY 
BROWN-WAITE of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Credit Repair Organizations Act to clarify 
the applicability of certain provisions to credit monitoring 
services, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Credit Monitoring 
Clarification Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION RELATING TO CREDIT MONI-
TORING SERVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of the Credit Repair 
Organizations Act (15 U.S.C. 1679a) is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘For purposes of this title’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 
title’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b) CLARIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN 
CREDIT MONITORING SERVICES UNDER CERTAIN CIR-
CUMSTANCES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the following shall not be considered activities de-
scribed in clause (i) of subsection (a)(3)(A): 
‘‘(A) The provision of, or provision of ac-
cess to, credit reports, credit monitoring notifi-
cations, credit scores and scoring algorithms, 
and other credit score-related tools to a con-
sumer (including generation of projections and 
forecasts of such consumer’s potential credit 
scores under various prospective trends or hypo-
thetical or alternative scenarios). 
‘‘(B) Any analysis, evaluation, and expla-
nation of such actual or hypothetical credit 
scores, or any similar projections, forecasts, 
analyses, evaluations or explanations. 
‘‘(C) In conjunction with offering any of 
the services described in subparagraph (A) or 
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(B), the provision of materials or services to as-
sist a consumer who is a victim of identity 
theft. 
‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR APPLICATION OF PARA-
GRAPH (1).—Paragraph (1) shall apply with respect 
to any person engaging in any activity described in 
such paragraph only if— 
‘‘(A) the person does not represent, ex-
pressly or by implication, that such person— 
‘‘(i) will or can modify or remove, or 
assist the consumer in modifying or remov-
ing, adverse information that is accurate 
and not obsolete in the consumer’s credit 
report; or 
‘‘(ii) will or can alter, or assist the 
consumer in altering, the consumer’s iden-
tification to prevent the display of the con-
sumer’s credit record, history, or rating for 
the purpose of concealing adverse informa-
tion that is accurate and not obsolete; 
‘‘(B) in any case in which the person rep-
resents, expressly or by implication, that it will 
or can modify or remove, or assist the consumer 
in modifying or removing, any information in 
the consumer’s credit report, except for a rep-
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resentation with respect to any requirement im-
posed on the person under section 611 or 
623(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the 
person discloses, clearly and conspicuously, be-
fore the consumer pays or agrees to pay any 
money or other valuable consideration to such 
person, whichever occurs first, the following 
statement: 
‘‘ ‘NOTICE: Neither you nor anyone 
else has the right to have accurate and 
current information removed from your 
credit report. If information in your report 
is inaccurate, you have the right to dispute 
it by contacting the credit bureau di-
rectly.’; 
‘‘(C) the person discloses, clearly and con-
spicuously, to the consumer the following state-
ment— 
‘‘(i) in writing; and 
‘‘(ii) except as provided in subpara-
graph (D), before the consumer pays or 
agrees to pay any money or other valuable 
consideration to such person, whichever oc-
curs first: 
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‘‘ ‘Your Rights Concerning Your Consumer 
Credit File 
‘‘ ‘You have a right to obtain a free copy 
of your credit report once every 12 months 
from each of the nationwide consumer reporting 
agencies. To request your free annual credit re-
port, 
you 
may 
go 
to 
www.annualcreditreport.com, or call 877–322– 
8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report 
Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit 
Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, At-
lanta, GA 30348–5281. You can obtain addi-
tional copies of your credit report from a credit 
bureau, for which you may be charged a reason-
able fee. There is no fee, however, if you have 
been turned down for credit, employment, in-
surance, or a rental dwelling because of infor-
mation in your credit report within the pre-
ceding 60 days. The credit bureau must provide 
someone to help you interpret the information 
in your credit file. You are entitled to receive a 
free copy of your credit report if you are unem-
ployed and intend to apply for employment in 
the next 60 days, if you are a recipient of pub-
lic welfare assistance, or if you have reason to 
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believe that there is inaccurate information in 
your credit report due to fraud. 
‘‘ ‘You have the right to cancel your con-
tract with a credit monitoring service without 
fee or penalty at any time, and if you have pre-
paid for more than one month of a credit moni-
toring service, you will receive a pro rata refund 
if you cancel. 
‘‘ ‘The Federal Trade Commission regu-
lates credit bureaus and credit monitoring serv-
ices. For more information contact: 
‘‘ ‘Federal Trade Commission 
‘‘ ‘Washington, D.C. 20580 
‘‘ ‘1–877–FTC–HELP 
‘‘ ‘www.ftc.gov.’ ’’; 
‘‘(D) in the case where a consumer pays or 
agrees to pay for the service during a telephone 
call, an in-person conversation or other oral 
communication, the person discloses to the con-
sumer the following statements: 
‘‘(i) during the telephone call, in-per-
son conversation or other oral communica-
tion and before the consumer pays or 
agrees to pay for the service, whichever oc-
curs first— 
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‘‘(I) you have a right to obtain a 
free copy of your credit report once 
every 12 months from each of the na-
tionwide consumer reporting agencies; 
‘‘(II) if the contract is for a cred-
it monitoring service, the following ad-
ditional statement: ‘You may cancel 
the credit monitoring service without 
fee or penalty at any time’; and 
‘‘(III) if the consumer is billed 
for a credit monitoring service on 
other than a monthly basis, the fol-
lowing additional statement: ‘You will 
receive a pro rata refund if you can-
cel’; and 
‘‘(ii) within 30 days of the telephone 
call, in-person conversation or other oral 
communication, the written statement pro-
vided for in subparagraph (C); and 
‘‘(E) in any case in which the person offers 
a subscription to a credit monitoring program 
to a consumer— 
‘‘(i) the consumer may cancel the 
credit monitoring service at any time upon 
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written notice to the person without pen-
alty or fee for such cancellation; and 
‘‘(ii) in any case in which the con-
sumer is billed for the credit monitoring 
service on other than a monthly basis, the 
person shall make a pro rata refund to the 
consumer of any fee prepaid by the con-
sumer. The pro rata refund shall be cal-
culated from the date that the person re-
ceives the consumer’s notice of cancellation 
until the end of the period. The person 
shall issue the refund required under this 
subparagraph to the consumer within 60 
days of receipt of the consumer’s notice of 
cancellation.’’. 
(b) CLARIFICATION OF NONEXEMPT STATUS.—Sec-
tion 403(a) of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (15 
U.S.C. 1679a) (as so redesignated by subsection (a) of 
this section) is amended, in paragraph (3)(B)(i), by insert-
ing ‘‘and is not for its own profit or for that of its mem-
bers’’ before the semicolon at the end. 
(c) REVISION OF DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.—Sec-
tion 405(a) of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (15 
U.S.C. 1679c) is amended by striking everything after the 
heading of the disclosure statement contained in such sec-
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tion and inserting the following new text of the disclosure 
statement: 
‘‘You have a right to dispute inaccurate information 
in your credit report by contacting the credit bureau di-
rectly. However, neither you nor any ‘credit repair’ com-
pany or credit repair organization has the right to have 
accurate, current, and verifiable information removed 
from your credit report. The credit bureau must remove 
accurate, negative information from your report only if it 
is over 7 years old. Bankruptcy information can be re-
ported for 10 years. 
‘‘You have a right to obtain a free copy of your credit 
report once every 12 months from each of the nationwide 
consumer reporting agencies. To request your free annual 
credit report, you may go to www.annualcreditreport.com, 
or call 877–322–8228, or complete the Annual Credit Re-
port Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report 
Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348– 
5281. You can obtain additional copies of your credit re-
port from a credit bureau, for which you may be charged 
a reasonable fee. There is no fee, however, if you have 
been turned down for credit, employment, insurance, or 
a rental dwelling because of information in your credit re-
port within the preceding 60 days. The credit bureau must 
provide someone to help you interpret the information in 
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your credit file. You are entitled to receive a free copy 
of your credit report if you are unemployed and intend 
to apply for employment in the next 60 days, if you are 
a recipient of public welfare assistance, or if you have rea-
son to believe that there is inaccurate information in your 
credit report due to fraud. 
‘‘You have a right to sue a credit repair organization 
that violates the Credit Repair Organizations Act. This 
law prohibits deceptive practices by credit repair organiza-
tions. 
‘‘You have the right to cancel your contract with any 
credit repair organization for any reason within 3 business 
days from the date you signed it. 
‘‘Credit bureaus are required to follow reasonable 
procedures to ensure that the information they report is 
accurate. However, mistakes may occur. 
‘‘You may, on your own, notify a credit bureau in 
writing that you dispute the accuracy of information in 
your credit file. The credit bureau must then reinvestigate 
and modify or remove inaccurate or incomplete informa-
tion. The credit bureau may not charge any fee for this 
service. Any pertinent information and copies of all docu-
ments you have concerning an error should be given to 
the credit bureau. 
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‘‘If the credit bureau’s reinvestigation does not re-
solve the dispute to your satisfaction, you may send a brief 
statement to the credit bureau, to be kept in your file, 
explaining why you think the record is inaccurate. The 
credit bureau must include a summary of your statement 
about disputed information with any report it issues about 
you. 
‘‘The Federal Trade Commission regulates credit bu-
reaus and credit repair organizations. For more informa-
tion contact: 
‘‘Federal Trade Commission 
‘‘Washington, D.C. 20580 
‘‘1–877–FTC–HELP 
‘‘(877–382–4357) 
‘‘www.ftc.gov.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 403(b)(2)(E) of the 
Credit Repair Organizations Act shall take effect upon the 
enactment of this Act. The requirements for written dis-
closures under sections 403(b)(2)(B), 403(b)(2)(C) and 
403(b)(2)(D), as applicable, shall take effect 90 days after 
enactment of this Act. 
(e) DISCLOSURE UPDATES.—The written disclosures 
required under section 403(b)(2)(D) and section 405(a) 
of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (15 U.S.C. 1679 
et seq.) (as amended by this Act) shall, if any changes 
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are made to the centralized source contact information for 
obtaining a free credit report, be updated by the parties 
distributing the disclosures. 
Æ 
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