FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 601
NOTICES OF RIGHTS AND DUTIES
UNDER
THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Publication of guidance for
prescribed notice forms.
SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission
is publishing three notices that it is required to
prescribe under recent amendments to the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA). These are: A summary of consumer
rights under the FCRA; a notice setting forth the
responsibilities under the FCRA of those who regularly
furnish consumer report information to consumer reporting
agencies; and a notice setting forth the duties of any
person who uses information covered by the FCRA. These
notices must be distributed by consumer reporting
agencies once the amendments to the FCRA become effective
on September 30, 1997. A consumer reporting agency will
be in compliance with the FCRA if it provides notices
substantially similar to those prescribed by the
Commission.
DATES: The amendments become
effective September 30, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Federal Trade Commission,
Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Clarke Brinckerhoff or William Haynes, Attorneys,
Division of Credit Practices, Federal Trade Commission,
Washington, DC 20580, 202-326-3224.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), originally
enacted in 1970,(1) was
extensively amended in 1996. Most of the amendments to
the law, including those discussed in this notice, go
into effect on September 30, 1997.
As amended, the FCRA requires each consumer reporting
agency ("CRA," usually a credit bureau) to
distribute three types of notices in order to better
educate consumers, furnishers and users of consumer
report information as to their rights or duties under the
law. Section 609(c) of the amended FCRA mandates that
each CRA provide, as part of its file disclosure to
consumers, a written summary of consumer rights
("summary" or "consumer summary")
under the FCRA. Section 607(d) requires each CRA to
provide a notice to persons who buy consumer information
from the CRA of their responsibilities under the FCRA
("user notice"), and a notice to persons who
regularly furnish consumer information to the CRA of
their responsibilities under the FCRA ("furnisher
notice"). The Federal Trade Commission
("Commission") is required to prescribe the
content of the notices, and, in the case of the consumer
summary, the form as well. A CRA complies with the law if
it provides the applicable party with a summary or notice
that is substantially similar to the one prescribed by
the Commission.
On February 28, 1997, the Commission published for
comment proposed versions of the three notices
(collectively, "the notices"). The discussion
accompanying the proposed notices outlined in detail the
relevant FCRA sections, and set forth a number of
questions designed to facilitate public comment on the
proposals. 62 Fed. Reg. 9123 (1997).
The comment period closed on March 31, 1997. The
Commission received 28 comments from credit bureaus and
other CRAs, creditors (and other parties that make use of
consumer reports and/or furnish information to CRAs),
consumers and their representatives, regulatory
authorities, and other interested parties. Although the
Commission stated that it was requesting comments until
March 31, 1997, comments received after that date were
taken into account.
This document highlights the principal areas in which
the Commission revised the proposed versions of the
notices or decided not to do so.
I. Consumer Summary
The comments overwhelmingly supported the content and
organization of the proposed summary. Many commenters
praised the Commission's effort in offering a proposal
that was thorough, understandable, succinct, and
user-friendly. None suggested any major revision to the
overall presentation. Accordingly, the basic framework of
the notice remains unchanged -- a two-page document that
starts with an introductory paragraph explaining the FCRA
very generally, features ten "bullet" sections
to describe significant consumer FCRA rights, and
includes the required list of the federal agencies with
FCRA enforcement authority at the end.
A. Principal Revisions Based on Public
Comments
1. Additions and deletions. The amended FCRA
provides conflicting guidance as to whether the consumer
summary should be brief or comprehensive. The law
mandates a "summary of all the rights the consumer
has under" the FCRA (Section 609(c)(1)(A)). The law
also requires "a brief description of . . . all
rights of consumers" provided by that law (Section
609(c)(2)(A)). Arguably, no document that is actually a
"summary" -- or that constitutes a "brief
description" of FCRA consumer rights -- could
literally include "all" consumer rights.
The Commission specifically asked for suggestions as
to areas in which the proposed form was too long to be
effective as a summary, or, conversely, had omitted
something important to consumers. 62 Fed. Reg. 9123, 9124
(1997). The Commission has deleted three items from the
proposed form that were persuasively cited by commenters
as unnecessary or not helpful to the goal of educating
consumers about their FCRA rights:
The sentence noting that a CRA is not required
to include a "risk score" or "credit
score" in disclosures to consumers of their credit
histories. The Commission included the sentence
in the proposed summary to try to answer a question that
consumers would otherwise ask of CRAs. Upon review of the
diverse comments,(2) the
Commission now believes that the reference would be more
hindrance than help, and accordingly has deleted it.
A discussion of FCRA litigants' ability to
obtain attorney's fees from one another. The
comments made it clear that the topic cannot be covered
both briefly and precisely, because of the complexity of
this portion of the amended FCRA.(3)
For that reason, and because the issue is ancillary to
the consumer's right to sue for damages that continues to
be emphasized in this portion of the summary, the
Commission decided not to retain the discussion of
attorney's fees.
The reference to a toll-free number in the
case of nationwide CRAs. National CRAs are
required to include this number in their file
disclosures; however (as noted by one such CRA), it need
not be part of the summary.(4)
Conversely, other commenters noted that the summary
needed more discussion of the rights of consumers who
dispute file data with CRAs. These rights, which are
central to the FCRA and provide important protections for
consumers, are found in Section 611.(5)
Accordingly, the Commission has added a discussion of
(1) the right provided consumers by Section 611(b) to
add a brief statement to their files when they continue
to dispute information that the CRA has investigated and
concluded to be accurate, and (2) the right of consumers
under Section 611(d) to have revised reports provided to
all recent recipients of information from their files.(6)
2. Editorial revisions. The Commission's most
significant editorial revisions to the summary are two
adjustments in the opening paragraph to avoid misleading
consumers about the range of parties covered by the FCRA,
and to emphasize consumer rights under state law. In the
first case, a major credit bureau asserted that the
proposed summary focused on CRAs to a degree that is
unwarranted in view of the fact that the amended FCRA
also imposes substantial duties on users and furnishers
of CRA data. The Commission therefore revised the text to
eliminate the unnecessary reference to FCRA rights
"in dealing with CRAs (which must) provide you with
a summary of these rights as listed below"(7) that preceded the body of
the summary. In the second case, state regulatory
authorities asserted that the discussion of state law,
which is specifically required by Section 609(c)(2)(D),
should be featured more prominently. Accordingly, the
Commission increased the emphasis by moving the reference
to the opening paragraph. The Commission did not intend
the proposed notice to single out CRAs, or to give short
shrift to state law; these two revisions to the opening
paragraph of the prescribed summary should make that
clear.
The Commission also adopted some suggestions for
stylistic or technical changes where the Commission
believed the change would make the summary appreciably
more precise or useful for consumers. For example, in the
second sentence of the introductory paragraph, the
Commission added an example of consumer report users
(landlords) that a state regulator recommended as useful
and deleted a type of CRA information (where consumers
work and live) that industry representatives cited as a
poor example for a summary. Also, the Commission revised
a sentence, formerly in the fourth (now in the third)
bullet, to make it clear that national CRAs are not
required to report erroneous information to one another;
rather, furnishers must report to them any disputed data
that they find to be inaccurate or incomplete, a task
made easier by an automated system to be created by
national CRAs.
The Commission also made some minor changes to improve
the technical legal accuracy of the summary. The heading
to the fourth bullet was expanded ("Inaccurate
information must be corrected or deleted") to
describe precisely a CRA's options when its investigation
shows that disputed information is not accurate.(8) Similarly, the statement
of consumers' right to sue violators has been amended to
state that furnishers can be sued only "in some
cases" because the amended FCRA limits the
situations in which consumers are authorized to sue
directly for damages.(9)
B. Principal Public Comments Not Adopted
Commenters made suggestions for stylistic revisions of
the consumer summary, many of which were adopted because
they improved the clarity or comprehensibility of the
summary. However, the Commission could not make all of
these changes without unduly lengthening the document.
Because of the large volume of suggested wording and
other changes contained in more than 170 pages of
comments received by the Commission, it is not feasible
to discuss them all in this notice. This section is
intended to identify some of the more significant
comments that are not reflected in the finally-prescribed
consumer summary.
1. Form of the summary. The principal credit
bureau trade association expressed the view that the
Commission specifications for the form of the summary
were unduly "rigid" in two ways. First,
the Commission proposed that the summary be on paper no
smaller that 8 x 11 inches in size. The commenter noted
that continuous feed forms are not always perforated as 8
x 11-inch sheets, and that the requirement that the
summary be "on paper" would inhibit the
possibility of electronic disclosures. Second, the
Commission proposed that the notice be in 12-point type
(8-point for the table at the end). The commenter stated
that type sizes may vary based on the font being used.
Section 609(c)(3) of the amended FCRA specifically
states that the "Commission shall prescribe
the form and substance of" the summary
(emphasis added). The Commission is required by law to
prescribe a format that ensures that consumers will
receive a summary that is readable and useful, and
believes that the format prescribed in the proposal is
appropriate for that purpose. However, the Commission
does not intend to impose an absolutely "rigid"
standard, which would be inappropriate under the statute.
Section 609(c)(3) requires only that a summary be
"substantially similar" (i.e., not
identical) to the Commission-prescribed version.
Therefore, a format that approximates that published by
the Commission as "Appendix A" (which meets the
type size requirements and can be printed, with
comfortable margins, on two 8 x 11-inch pages) will
comply, even if the print is technically not 12-point in
size because of a different font, or it is provided on
computer paper that is slightly smaller in size.
Similarly, an electronic submission that normally allows
the recipient to receive it in a format similar to the
prescribed version will also comply.(10)
Such summaries will not result in the consumer receiving
a form that is harder to read or use than the exact
prescribed version.(11)
2. Items required by Section 609(c)(2). The
Commission received a number of comments relating to each
of three sections the amended FCRA requires be included
in the summary: (1) a reference to rights provided by
state law, (2) a statement that the CRAs are not required
to delete accurate data that is not obsolete under
Section 605, and (3) a list of federal agencies that have
authority to enforce the FCRA. The Commission made few
additions or deletions in these areas, because Congress
has given precise instructions. This section describes
the nature of those comments and the basis for the
Commission's decision in most cases not to change the
proposed form.
State regulators suggested a substantial expansion of
the reference to state law required by Section
609(c)(2)(D), including multiple references to state and
local authorities, and more detailed instructions on how
to reach them. As noted above (I-A-2), the Commission has
decided to feature the statutorily-required section more
prominently in the summary. However, the Commission does
not believe the section should be expanded because it
currently uses the language prescribed by Congress.
Several commenters offered revisions of the sentence,
required by Section 609(c)(2)(E), reminding consumers in
bold letters that they cannot require CRAs to remove
information that is accurate and not outdated. The
Commission adopted a suggestion by a CRA trade
association to add a parenthetical cross-reference to
clarify that "outdated" means the FCRA's seven
year period (ten for bankruptcies), a change that made
the bold statement more precise. It did not adopt
suggestions for change that were not specifically
authorized by the statute.(12)
Similarly, the Commission did not adopt suggestions by
commenters to reduce the list of federal agencies with
regulatory authority. Section 609(c)(2)(C) requires that
the summary include "a list of all federal agencies
responsible for enforcing [the FCRA] and the address and
any appropriate phone number of each such agency, in a
form that will assist the consumer in selecting the
appropriate agency." Suggestions for pruning this
section involved using a narrative to replace the
required "list," reducing the list from
"all" agencies by eliminating those deemed to
be of low interest to consumers, and other revisions that
would delete or reduce the jurisdictional summaries
designed to "assist the consumer in selecting the
appropriate agency." The comments appeared
well-intended, but the Commission concluded that the
summary should reflect the specific instructions of
Congress on this point.
3. Use of "CRA" as an acronym. A
number of commenters from different sectors asserted that
"CRA" is an awkward acronym for "consumer
reporting agency; most of them suggested that
"credit bureau" would be more easily
understood. Some opined that "CRA" is too
easily confused with a common acronym for the Community
Reinvestment Act.
The term "credit bureau" is certainly known
to more consumers than "CRA," but it has major
drawbacks that the Commission believes make its use
inappropriate here. The FCRA unquestionably applies to all
consumer reporting agencies, a universe that includes
more than credit bureaus (e.g., specialized CRAs
that report only on mortgage or tenant applications, or
only on consumers' check writing habits). It thus would
be legally inaccurate to use "credit bureau" as
a replacement. In addition, it would make the summary
confusing to a consumer who receives it from a CRA that
is not a credit bureau. While some commenters who are
knowledgeable about financial laws may be accustomed to
"CRA" as an acronym for the Community
Reinvestment Act, only a small fraction of consumers who
get this summary may make such a connection.(13)
II. Notices to Furnishers and Users
The furnisher and user notices occasioned relatively
few comments, and thus are little changed from the
proposed versions. The Commission, responding to a
suggestion by state regulators, added a sentence to each
notice referring to the possible applicability of state
law. With the exception of a few subjects discussed in
the following sections on each of these notices, the only
changes were revisions that were very slight adjustments
that the Commission believes, based on the comments,
would make the notice more clearly reflect the FCRA and
be of assistance to the recipients.
The Commission specifically asked whether the public
wanted guidance as to the timing and frequency of notice
distribution, in view of the amended FCRA's silence on
the point. 62 Fed. Reg. 9123, 9125 (1997). The
overwhelming majority of the commenters did not address
the issue, and those who commented gave very different
views -- a comment from state regulators advocated
requiring frequent notices, two furnishers/users asked
for a ruling limiting or not requiring multiple notices,
and a CRA trade association urged that the marketplace be
allowed to work its will in light of the FCRA's silence.
Based on the limited number of (and wide disagreement
among) commenters, formal guidance on these issues at
this early stage seems unwise. If experience after the
amendments become effective indicates a need for such
action, the Commission can revisit the issue.
A. Furnisher Notice
The one significant change in the furnisher notice is
the addition of a reference to the fact that two of the
sections apply only to parties that furnish information
to CRAs regularly and in the ordinary course of their
business.(14) The
Commission specifically asked for public comment on this
issue. 62 Fed. Reg. 9123, 9125 (1997). There was a
consensus among the commenters that the notice should be
revised to include reference to the different standards
that apply to occasional users.
Representatives of different furnishers suggested two
additions that the Commission did not adopt. First,
credit card issuers advocated adding a section spelling
out the limitations on consumers' ability to sue
furnishers, a topic that seemed inappropriate for a
Commission-prescribed notice of duties to furnishers. Second,
debt collectors and creditors urged that the notice
specify that a furnisher's duty to report an item as
"disputed" lasts only while it is investigating
the dispute. This point involves an issue of statutory
interpretation that is more appropriately resolved in
another forum.
Finally, the Commission asked for comments on whether
the prescribed form should include the text of Section
623. 62 Fed. Reg. 9123, 9125 (1997). The Commission has
not included the text, because the commenters generally
stated that it was unnecessary. However, a CRA form that
does so will be "substantially similar" and
thus in compliance with Section 609(c).
B. User Notice
The Commission asked for comment as to whether it
should prescribe separate notices for different types of
specialized users (62 Fed. Reg. 9125). The overwhelming
majority of the commenters stated that a single notice
(as the Commission proposed) was best.
One commenter representing specialized reporting
services, while agreeing that a single notice is
appropriate for most CRAs, stated that its members'
business activities are so focused that the information
provided to their clients would never relate to some of
the points in the comprehensive notice. As an example,
the commenter asserted that the portions of the proposed
notice concerning employment reports (section II of the
Notice), investigative reports (section III), medical
information (section IV) or prescreened lists (section V)
might not be pertinent to purposes of any clients of a
mortgage reporting company. Similarly, it noted that a
different set of sections might not be relevant to the
purposes of any customers of a CRA that provides reports
only for employment or tenant screening uses. The
Commission agrees that a CRA may delete sections of the
notice that are irrelevant to the business purposes for
which any user is contractually authorized to purchase
consumer reports from the CRA, in the same fashion that a
creditor may omit inapplicable sections of prescribed
forms under other statutes.(15)
The only significant addition to the user notice is in
Section I-B of the notice, concerning the certification
of permissible purpose that users must provide to CRAs
that sell consumer reports to them. Several parties
advocated that the Commission expand this Section to
account for the possibility of a general certification,
as permitted by Section 604(f). The Commission has done
so, but added the words "as appropriate" to
make it clear that some consumer report users whose
activities involve both permissible and impermissible
purposes,(16) or who have
given the CRA reason to believe they have violated a
general certification, must be required to provide
individual certifications for each consumer report.
III. Impact on Small Businesses
In publishing the proposed notices, the Commission
stated that the notices would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The Commission explained that it is prescribing
the notices at the direction of Congress, so that any
economic costs imposed on small entities by the required
dissemination of the notices are in fact imposed by
statute. The Commission noted further that its
publication of forms for the proposed notices could be
said to lessen the burden on small businesses, since the
entities can -- but need not -- adopt the Commission's
forms, and thereby avoid the risk and expense of
developing their notices independently. The Commission
nevertheless requested comments in order to ensure that
it did not overlook any substantial economic impact on
small businesses.
The Commission received four comments addressing the
question of the notices' economic impact on small
businesses. Two commenters agreed that the Commission's
publication of the notices would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small
businesses. One commenter disagreed, but provided data
supporting the conclusion that the statutory requirement
would create a significant economic impact, rather than
any evidence that the Commission's publication of the
model forms for the notices would do so. Finally, one
commenter stated that small businesses would be
significantly burdened if the Commission were to require
repeated distribution of the notices. As stated in the
second paragraph of Section II above, the Commission has
determined not to impose any requirements concerning the
timing and frequency of dissemination of the notices at
this time. Accordingly, the Commission has determined
that public comments and information before the
Commission do not alter the conclusion that its
publication in final form of the models for the
prescribed notices will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities.
IV. Paperwork Reduction Act
In its initial review of the proposed notices, the
Commission considered whether it was "sponsoring or
conducting" any "collection[s] of
information" that would trigger the provisions of
the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35. In
this regard, the Commission observed that the notices
contain only statutorily imposed investigation,
disclosure, and recordkeeping requirements; the FTC
introduces no additional elements. Further, two of the
notices will become effective on September 30, 1997,
regardless of whether the FTC has provided the language
for these forms by that time. In this situation, the
Commission does not "require" or
"cause" the disclosures to occur.
The Commission also observed that the three notices
contain all the information that subject firms will be
required to disclose to third parties. The reporting
agencies can simply adopt these notices for distribution
without any change to the language. Therefore, the three
notices fall within an exception to the definition of a
"collection of information" as being
"[t]he public disclosure of information originally
supplied by the Federal government to the recipient for
the purpose of disclosure to the public.") 5 C.F.R.
1320.3(c)(2). Accordingly, none of the three require
approval by OMB. Nonetheless, the Commission requested
public comment on this matter. No comments were received.
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 601
Credit, Trade practices.
Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1681g and 1681s, the FTC hereby
adds to Subchapter F of Chapter I of 16 CFR a new Part
601 to read as follows:
PART 601 -- SUMMARY OF CONSUMER RIGHTS, NOTICE
OF USER RESPONSIBILITIES, AND NOTICE OF FURNISHER
RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT
- Sec.
- 601.1 Authority and purpose.
- 601.2 Legal effect.
- Appendix A to Part 601 - Prescribed Summary of
Consumer Rights
- Appendix B to Part 601 - Prescribed Notice of
Furnisher Responsibilities
- Appendix C to Part 601 - Prescribed Notice of
User Responsibilities
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1681g and 1681s.
601.1 Authority and purpose.
(a) Authority. This part is issued by the
Commission pursuant to the provisions of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as most
recently amended by the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform
Act of 1996 (Title II, Subtitle D, Chapter 1, of the
Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year
1997), Public Law 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009-426 (Sept. 30,
1996).
(b) Purpose. The purpose of this part is to
comply with sections 607(c) and 609(c) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, as amended. Section 609(c)(3) directs the
FTC to prescribe the form and content of a summary of
consumers' legal rights under the FCRA that the amended
law requires each consumer reporting agency to provide
when disclosing the information in its file to consumers,
and section 609(c)(4) provides that the summary need not
be provided until the FTC has in fact prescribed its form
and content. Section 607(d)(2) directs the FTC to
prescribe the content of notices that consumer reporting
agencies are required to provide to parties that supply
information to, or purchase consumer reports from, the
agency. These notices will set forth the responsibilities
under the FCRA of all persons who furnish information to
consumer reporting agencies or use information subject to
the FCRA.
601.2 Legal effect.
The forms prescribed by the FTC do not constitute a
trade regulation rule. They carry out the directive in
the statute that the FTC prescribe the summary and
notices. A consumer reporting agency that provides
notices substantially similar to those prescribed by the
FTC will be in compliance with Section 607(d) or 609(c)
of the FCRA, as applicable.
Appendix A
to Part 601 - Prescribed Summary of Consumer Rights
Appendix B
to Part 601 - Prescribed Notice of Furnisher Responsibilities
Appendix C
to Part 601 - Prescribed Notice of User Responsibilities
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
1. 15 U.S.C. Sections 1681-1681u; Title VI of the
Consumer Credit Protection Act.
2. This sentence in the second bullet ("You
can find out what is in your file") was based on a
clause specifically added to Section 609(a)(1). One
comment from major creditors stated that the reference
should be expanded to refer to "any information
concerning" such scores "or other
predictors." A more frequent view, offered by a
major CRA, a trade association, and a federal regulatory
agency stated that the section was unnecessary and would
confuse rather than educate consumers.
3. This sentence, which appeared in the last bullet
("You may seek damages from violators"), was an
effort to synthesize the various applicable provisions of
Sections 616-17, as amended. The Commission's decision to
delete this reference follows the recommendation of two
commenters from disparate points of view -- a nationwide
credit bureau and a nationwide consumer advocacy
organization. Other comments suggested expanding it
further to make it more precise.
4. This appeared in the proposed notice after the
tenth and last bullet, before the list of federal
agencies.
5. Because of space limitations, the proposed
notice focused on the rights provided for the first time
by the amended section 611(a): the 30-day period for CRA
investigations; the CRA obligation to consider (and pass
on to the furnisher of the item) "all relevant
information" submitted by the consumer when a
dispute occurs; the consumer's right to a written
statement of results of an investigation; and limits on
the ability of CRAs to re-insert an item of information
deleted pursuant to a consumer dispute.
6. These items are now included in the third bullet
of the prescribed notice ("You can dispute
inaccurate information with the CRA"). The sentence
dealing with limits on CRA ability to re-insert
information after it had been deleted, previously located
there, now appears in the fourth bullet ("Inaccurate
information must be corrected or deleted").
7. Partially in response to the same comment, the
Commission also revised the tenth and last bullet to
refer to the liability of users and furnishers (as well
as CRAs) in civil actions.
8. Both industry and consumer representatives
asserted that the summary should clearly inform consumers
that a CRA may cure an inaccuracy with respect to a
disputed item of information by either deleting the
information or amending it to make it accurate.
9. Section 623(c) of the amended FCRA specifically
bars consumers from bringing suit against furnishers of
information for violation of the accuracy and reporting
duties imposed by Section 623(a), allowing only
regulatory authorities to enforce those provisions.
10. Section 610(a)(2) provides that file disclosures
are normally to be made in writing. However, Section
610(b)(2) allows the consumer to specify disclosure by
other means, including electronic means if available from
the CRA.
11. In some cases, a CRA may use an entirely
different format to respond to a consumer request under
Section 610(b)(2), or to accommodate visually (or
otherwise) impaired consumers pursuant to relevant
federal or local laws.
12. One CRA accurately pointed out that it is not
technically correct to imply that a CRA must
"remove" outdated accurate information from its
files, because such data may be retained to be reported
in situations listed in Section 605(b) where the
obsolescence provisions do not apply. However, it is
common practice for credit bureaus to delete information
from their files before the time periods set forth in
Section 605; thus, it makes sense that Section
609(c)(2)(E) should direct that a summary, as
opposed to a legal brief, include a statement concerning
limits on the CRA's duty to "remove" outdated
data.
13. Of course, a credit bureau may elect to replace
"CRA" with "agency" or some other
appropriate term in the notice it provides to any party,
because it would be "substantially similar" to
the Commission's form under Section 609(c)(3).
14. Sections 623(a)(2) and (a)(4) provide that the
obligations described in the notice as "Duty to
Correct and Update Information" and "Duty to
Report Voluntary Closing of Credit Accounts" apply
only to such parties.
15. Creditors are required to notify consumers of
their rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act,
Regulation Z 226.6(d), 12 C.F.R. 226.6(d). The Federal
Reserve Board has prescribed forms for that purpose.
Regulation Z, Appendix G, Forms G-3 and G-4. However,
creditors that do not issue credit cards may omit a
section in the form on the rights of cardholders, and
creditors that are not able to debit a savings or
checking account for payment may omit a section about the
consumer's right to stop such debits. Official Staff
Commentary for Regulation Z, Appendix G-3, 12 C.F.R. Part
226, Supp. 1.
16. Certain businesses typically have both
permissible and impermissible purposes -- e.g., an
attorney could obtain a consumer report to decide whether
to hire a job applicant or to extend credit to a client,
but not to decide whether to name a person as a defendant
in a tort action.
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