[House Report 116-363]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress   }                                      {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                      {      116-363

======================================================================



 
            IMPROVING CREDIT REPORTING FOR ALL CONSUMERS ACT

                                _______
                                

 December 23, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Ms. Waters, from the Committee on Financial Services, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 3642]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 3642) 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, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................    23
Background and Need for Legislation..............................    24
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................    26
Hearings.........................................................    29
Committee Consideration..........................................    30
Committee Votes..................................................    30
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the 
  Committee......................................................    32
Statement of Performance Goals and Objectives....................    32
New Budget Authority and CBO Cost Estimate.......................    32
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................    36
Unfunded Mandate Statement.......................................    36
Advisory Committee...............................................    36
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................    36
Earmark Statement................................................    36
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................    37
Changes to Existing Law..........................................    37
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

  (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Credit 
Reporting for All Consumers Act''.
  (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. 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.

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 permissible 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 nationwide CRAs and the reports 
                that they prepare are commonly referred to as credit 
                reports. Furnishers, such as creditors, lenders, and 
                debt collection agencies, voluntarily submit 
                information 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 Dimensions and 
                Processes in the U.S. Credit Reporting System: A review 
                for how the nation's largest credit bureaus manage 
                consumer data'', the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
                Protection (``Consumer Bureau'') noted that the three 
                nationwide CRAs maintain credit files on approximately 
                200 million adults and receive information from about 
                10,000 furnishers. On a monthly basis, these furnishers 
                provide information on over 1.3 billion consumer credit 
                accounts 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 accounts reflected in consumers' 
                credit files.
                  (D) Consumer reports play an increasingly important 
                role in the lives of American consumers. 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, 
                information 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 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 employers 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 completeness 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 maximum level of accuracy of 
                information contained on consumer reports. Given the 
                repeated failures of these CRAs to comply with accuracy 
                requirements on their own, legislation is intended to 
                provide them with detailed guidance improving the 
                accuracy and completeness of information contained in 
                consumer reports, including procedures, policies, and 
                practices that these CRAs should already be following 
                to ensure full compliance with their existing 
                obligations.
                  (H) The presence of inaccurate or incomplete 
                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 favorable 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 inaccurate or 
                incomplete credit information also undermine the 
                ability of creditors and lenders to effectively and 
                accurately underwrite and price credit.
                  (K) Recognizing that credit reporting affects 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 
                accepting 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 reporting 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 
                frequently expressing their frustrations about the 
                burdensome and time-consuming process to disputing 
                items.
                  (N) Other common types of credit reporting complaints 
                submitted to the Consumer Bureau 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 adequately 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 ``Supervisory 
                Highlights'', Consumer Bureau examiners determined that 
                one or more debt collectors never investigated indirect 
                disputes that lacked detail or were not accompanied by 
                attachments with relevant information from the 
                consumer. Examiners also found that notifications sent 
                to consumers about disputes considered frivolous failed 
                to identify for the consumers the type of material that 
                they could provide 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 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 
                Mechanized Dispute System Frustrates Consumers Seeking 
                to Fix Errors in Their Credit Reports'', showed that at 
                least two of the three largest CRAs use quota systems 
                to force employees to process disputes hastily and 
                without the opportunity for conducting meaningful 
                investigations. 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 relationships, where 
                consumers can register their satisfaction or 
                unhappiness with a particular credit product or service 
                simply by taking their business elsewhere, consumers 
                have no say in whether their information is included in 
                the CRAs databases and limited legal remedies to hold 
                the CRAs accountable for inaccuracies or poor service.
                  (T) Accordingly, despite the existing statutory 
                mandate for CRAs to follow reasonable procedures to 
                assure the maximum possible accuracy of the information 
                whenever they prepare consumer reports, numerous 
                studies, the high volume of consumer complaints 
                submitted to the Consumer Bureau about incorrect 
                information on consumer reports, and supervisory 
                activities by the Consumer Bureau demonstrate that CRAs 
                continue to skirt their obligations under the law.
          (2) Incorrect information on consumer reports.--
                  (A) Consumers are entitled to dispute errors on their 
                consumer reports with either the CRA, who issued the 
                report, or directly with furnishers, who supplied the 
                account information to the CRA, and request that 
                mistakes be deleted or removed. Consumers, who believe 
                an investigation has not correctly resolved their 
                dispute, however, have few options, other than 
                requesting that a statement about the dispute be 
                included with their future reports.
                  (B) CRAs have a statutory obligation under the FCRA 
                to perform a reasonable investigation by conducting a 
                substantive and searching inquiry when a consumer 
                disputes an item on their report. In doing so, CRAs 
                must conduct an independent review about the accuracy 
                of any disputed item and cannot merely rely on a 
                furnisher's ``rubber-stamp'' verification of the 
                integrity of the information they have provided to 
                CRAs.
                  (C) The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC''), in a 
                ``Report to Congress Under Section 319 of the Fair and 
                Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003'' released in 
                December 2012, found that 26 percent of survey 
                participants identified at least one potentially 
                material error on their consumer reports, and 13 
                percent experienced a change in their credit score once 
                the error was fixed.
                  (D) Consumer Bureau examiners have identified 
                repeated deficiencies with the nationwide CRAs' 
                information collection. In the summer 2015 
                ``Supervisory Highlights'' released in June 2015, the 
                Consumer Bureau noted continued weaknesses with CRAs' 
                methods and processes for assuring maximum possible 
                accuracy in their reports. Examiners also found, with 
                certain exceptions, no quality control policies and 
                procedures in place to test consumer reports for 
                accuracy.
                  (E) In its ``Credit Reporting Complaint Snapshot'' 
                released in February 2014, the Consumer Bureau found 
                that consumers were uncertain about the depth and 
                validity of the investigations performed about a 
                disputed item. Consumers also expressed frustration 
                that, even though they provided supporting materials 
                that they believed demonstrated the inaccuracy of the 
                information provided by furnishers, errors continued to 
                remain on their reports.
                  (F) In the winter 2015 ``Supervisory Highlights'' 
                released in March 2015, the Consumer Bureau reported 
                that one or more nationwide CRAs failed to adequately 
                fulfill their dispute-handling obligations, including 
                by not forwarding to furnishers all relevant 
                information found in letters and supporting documents 
                supplied by consumers when they submitted disputes 
                failing to notify consumers that they had completed 
                investigations, and not providing consumers with the 
                results of the CRAs' reviews about their disputes.
                  (G) Consumer Bureau examiners also noted in the fall 
                2016 ``Supervisory Highlights'' released in October 
                2016 that one or more entities failed to provide 
                adequate guidance and training to staff about how to 
                differentiate FCRA disputes from general customer 
                inquiries, complaints, or debt validation requests. 
                Consumer Bureau supervisors also directed one or more 
                entities to develop and implement reasonable procedures 
                to ensure that direct and indirect disputes are 
                appropriately logged, categorized, and resolved.
                  (H) Consumers' increasing frustration about the 
                difficulties of trying to fix credit reporting errors, 
                evidenced through the volume of consumer complaints 
                related to errors submitted to the Consumer Bureau, are 
                also echoed in another FTC study issued in January 
                2015. In the ``Report to Congress under Section 319 for 
                the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 
                2003'', the FTC found that nearly 70 percent (84 
                people) of participants from a previous survey that had 
                filed disputes with CRAs continued to believe that at 
                least some of the disputed information remained 
                inaccurate at the time of the follow-up survey. Despite 
                these views, 50 percent (42 people) of the survey 
                participants decided to just give up trying to fix the 
                errors, with only 45 percent (38 people) of them 
                planning to continue to try to resolve their disputes.
                  (I) The consistently high volume of consumer 
                complaints submitted to the Consumer Bureau about 
                credit reporting errors, coupled with the largest CRAs' 
                repeated quality control weaknesses found by Consumer 
                Bureau examiners, show that the nationwide CRAs have 
                failed to establish and follow reasonable procedures to 
                assure maximum accuracy of information and to conduct 
                independent investigations of consumers' disputes. 
                These ongoing problems demonstrate the need for 
                legislation to--
                          (i) enhance obligations on furnishers to 
                        substantiate information and require furnishers 
                        to keep records for the same amount of time 
                        that adverse information about these accounts 
                        may appear on a person's consumer report;
                          (ii) eliminate CRAs' discretion to determine 
                        the relevancy of materials provided by 
                        consumers to support their dispute claims by 
                        instead requiring them to pass all material 
                        onto furnishers and eliminating CRA's 
                        discretion to deem some disputes frivolous or 
                        irrelevant when a consumer resubmits a claim 
                        that they believe has been inadequately 
                        resolved;
                          (iii) enhance educational content on CRAs' 
                        websites to improve consumers' understanding of 
                        the dispute process and to make it easier for 
                        all consumers to initiate claims, including by 
                        providing these disclosures in other languages 
                        besides English; and
                          (iv) create a new consumer right to appeal 
                        reviews by CRAs and furnishers of the initial 
                        disputes.
          (3) Injunctive relief.--
                  (A) Despite the fact that the FCRA currently provides 
                implicit authority for injunctive relief, consumers 
                have been prevented from exercising this right. 
                Legislation explicitly clarifying this right is 
                intended to underscore congressional intent that 
                injunctive relief should be viewed as a remedy 
                available to consumers.
                  (B) Myriad findings by the courts, regulators, 
                consumers, and consumer advocates make clear that CRAs 
                have failed to establish adequate standards for the 
                accuracy and completeness of consumer reports, yet the 
                nationwide CRAs have demonstrated little willingness to 
                voluntarily retool their policies and procedures to fix 
                the problems.
                  (C) Providing courts with explicit authority to issue 
                injunctive relief, by telling the CRAs to remedy 
                unlawful practices and procedures, would further CRAs' 
                mandate under the FCRA to assure the maximum possible 
                accuracy and completeness of information contained on 
                credit reports.
                  (D) Absent explicit authority to issue injunctions, 
                history suggests that the nationwide CRAs are likely to 
                continue conducting business as usual in treating any 
                monetary settlements with individual consumers and 
                fines imposed by State attorneys general and Federal 
                regulators, simply as the ``cost of doing business''.
          (4) Deceptive and misleading marketing practices.--
                  (A) The Consumer Bureau's February 2015 report titled 
                ``Consumer Voices on Credit Reports and Scores'' found 
                that some consumers did not obtain a copy of their 
                consumer report due to concerns about security or of 
                being trapped into purchasing unwanted products like an 
                additional report or a credit monitoring service.
                  (B) In January 2017, the Consumer Bureau fined 
                TransUnion and Equifax for deceptively marketing credit 
                scores for purchase by consumers as the same credit 
                scores typically used by lenders to determine 
                creditworthiness and for luring consumers into costly 
                subscription services that were advertised as ``free'' 
                or ``$1'' that automatically charged recurring fees 
                unless cancelled by consumers. The Consumer Bureau also 
                found that Equifax was illegally advertising its 
                products on webpages that consumers accessed through 
                AnnualCreditReport.com before consumers obtained their 
                free disclosures. Because of these troubling practices, 
                TransUnion was ordered to pay $13.9 million in 
                restitution to harmed consumers and a civil penalty of 
                $3 million to the Consumer Bureau. Equifax was ordered 
                to pay more than $3.7 million to affected consumers as 
                well as a civil money penalty of $2.5 million to the 
                Consumer Bureau. As part of the consent orders, the 
                CRAs are also supposed to change the way that they sell 
                their products to consumers. The CRAs must also obtain 
                consumers' express consent before enrolling them into 
                subscription services as well as make it easer for 
                consumers to cancel these programs.
                  (C) The Consumer Bureau fined the other nationwide 
                CRA--Experian--in March 2017 for deceiving consumers 
                about the use of credit scores that it marketed and 
                sold to consumers as credit scores that were used by 
                lenders and for illegally advertising its products on 
                web pages that consumers accessed through 
                AnnualCreditReport.com before they obtained their free 
                annual disclosures. Experian was ordered to pay more 
                than $3.7 million in restitution to harmed consumers 
                and a civil monetary penalty of $2.5 million to the 
                Consumer Bureau.
                  (D) The Consumer Bureau's January and March 2017 
                consent orders with the three nationwide CRAs show that 
                these CRAs have enticed consumers into purchasing 
                products and services that they may not want or need, 
                in some instances by advertising products or services 
                ``free'' that automatically converted into an ongoing 
                subscription service at the regular price unless 
                cancelled by the consumer. Although these CRAs must now 
                change their deceptive marketing practices, codifying 
                these duties is an appropriate way to ensure that these 
                companies never revert back to such misleading tactics.
                  (E) Given the ubiquitous use of consumer reports in 
                consumers' lives and the fact that consumers' 
                participation in the credit reporting system is 
                involuntary, CRAs should also prioritize providing 
                consumers with the effective means to safeguard their 
                personal and financial information and improve their 
                credit standing, rather than seeking to exploit 
                consumers' concerns and confusion about credit 
                reporting and scoring, to boost their companies' 
                profits.
                  (F) Vulnerable consumers, who have legitimate 
                concerns about the security of their personal and 
                financial information, deserve clear, accurate, and 
                transparent information about the credit reporting 
                tools that may be available to them, such as fraud 
                alerts and freezes.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

  The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. CONSUMER BUREAU RULEMAKING.

  Except as otherwise provided, not later than the end of the 2-year 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Bureau 
of Consumer Financial Protection shall issue final rules to implement 
the amendments made by this Act.

              TITLE I--IMPROVEMENTS TO THE DISPUTE PROCESS

SEC. 101. DISPUTE PROCEDURES AND DISCLOSURES RELATING TO 
                    REINVESTIGATIONS.

  (a) In General.--Section 611(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681i(a)) is amended to read as follows:
  ``(a) Reinvestigations of Disputed Information by a Consumer 
Reporting Agency.--
          ``(1) Reinvestigations required.--
                  ``(A) In general.--Subject to subsection (f), if the 
                completeness or accuracy of any item of information 
                contained in a consumer's file at a consumer reporting 
                agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer 
                notifies the agency (either directly or indirectly 
                through a reseller or an authorized third party) of 
                such dispute, the agency shall, free of charge--
                          ``(i) conduct a reasonable reinvestigation 
                        using the process described in paragraph (3) to 
                        determine whether the disputed information is 
                        inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified;
                          ``(ii) notify the consumer that a notation 
                        described in section 605(e) will be added to 
                        the consumer's file until the reinvestigation 
                        has been completed and that such notation can 
                        be removed at the request of the consumer; and
                          ``(iii) before the end of the 30-day period 
                        beginning on the date on which the consumer 
                        reporting agency receives the notice of the 
                        dispute from the consumer or the reseller--
                                  ``(I) record the current status of 
                                the disputed information; or
                                  ``(II) delete or modify the item in 
                                accordance with paragraph (3)(D).
                  ``(B) Extension of period to reinvestigate.--Except 
                as provided in subparagraph (C), the 30-day period 
                described in subparagraph (A) may be extended for 
                period not to exceed 15 days if the consumer reporting 
                agency receives additional information from the 
                consumer or the reseller regarding the dispute after 
                the date on which the consumer reporting agency 
                notified any person who provided any item of 
                information in dispute under paragraph (2)(A).
                  ``(C) Limitations on extension of period to 
                reinvestigate.--Subparagraph (B) shall not apply to any 
                reinvestigation in which, during the 30-day period 
                described in subparagraph (A), the disputed information 
                is found to be inaccurate or incomplete, or the 
                consumer reporting agency determines that the disputed 
                information cannot be verified.
          ``(2) Prompt notice of dispute to furnisher of information; 
        provision of information regarding dispute provided by the 
        consumer or reseller.--
                  ``(A) In general.--Before the end of the period of 5 
                business days beginning on the date on which a consumer 
                reporting agency receives notice of a dispute from any 
                consumer or reseller under paragraph (1)(A), the 
                consumer reporting agency shall provide notification of 
                the dispute to any person who provided any item of 
                information in dispute, at the address and in the 
                manner established with such person. The notice shall 
                include all information, including substantiating 
                documents, regarding the dispute that was submitted to 
                the consumer reporting agency.
                  ``(B) Provision of additional information regarding 
                dispute after notification to the furnisher of 
                information.--If a consumer reporting agency receives 
                additional information regarding the dispute from the 
                consumer or reseller after the agency provides the 
                notification described under subparagraph (A) and 
                before the end of the 30-day period described in 
                paragraph (1)(A), the consumer reporting agency shall, 
                not later than 3 business days after receiving such 
                information, provide such information to the person who 
                provided the information in dispute.
          ``(3) Reasonable standards for consumer reporting agencies 
        for conducting reinvestigations and resolving disputes 
        submitted by consumers.--
                  ``(A) In general.--In conducting a reinvestigation of 
                disputed information, a consumer reporting agency 
                shall, at a minimum--
                          ``(i) maintain sufficient resources and 
                        trained staff, commensurate with the volume and 
                        complexity of disputes received or reasonably 
                        anticipated to be received, to determine 
                        whether the disputed information is accurate, 
                        complete, or can be verified by the person who 
                        provided the information;
                          ``(ii) ensure that all staff involved at any 
                        level of the reinvestigation process, including 
                        any individual with ultimate authority over 
                        determining whether the disputed information is 
                        inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, 
                        are located within the United States;
                          ``(iii) verify that the personally 
                        identifiable information of the consumer 
                        submitting the dispute matches the personally 
                        identifiable information contained in the 
                        consumer's file, and that such information is 
                        accurate and complete;
                          ``(iv) verify that the consumer reporting 
                        agency has a record of the information being 
                        disputed; and
                          ``(v) conduct a reasonable review that 
                        considers all information, including 
                        substantiating documents, provided by the 
                        consumer or reseller.
                  ``(B) Consumer reporting.--The consumer reporting 
                agency shall not impose any limitation or otherwise 
                impede the ability of a consumer to submit information 
                about the disputed item.
                  ``(C) Independent analysis.--The reinvestigation 
                conducted under subparagraph (A) shall be an 
                independent analysis, separate from any investigation 
                by a reseller or a person who provided the disputed 
                information.
                  ``(D) Deletion or modification of information 
                contained in a consumer file.--If the disputed 
                information is found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or 
                cannot be verified, the dispute resolution staff of the 
                consumer reporting agency shall have the direct 
                authority to delete or modify such information in the 
                consumer's file, as appropriate, during the 30-day 
                period described in paragraph (1)(A), shall promptly 
                notify the consumer of the results of the 
                reinvestigation as described in paragraph (4), and 
                shall promptly notify any person who provided such 
                information to the consumer reporting agency of the 
                modification or deletion made to the consumer's file.
          ``(4) Notice to consumer of results of reinvestigation.--
                  ``(A) In general.--Not later than 5 business days 
                after the conclusion of a reinvestigation conducted 
                under this subsection, the consumer reporting agency 
                shall provide written notice to the consumer of the 
                results of the reinvestigation by postal mail or, if 
                authorized by the consumer for that purpose, by other 
                means available to the agency.
                  ``(B) Contents of notice to consumer of results of 
                reinvestigation.--The notice described in subparagraph 
                (A) shall include--
                          ``(i) a statement that the reinvestigation of 
                        the disputed information has been completed;
                          ``(ii) a statement informing the consumer as 
                        to whether the disputed information was 
                        determined to be inaccurate, incomplete, or 
                        unverifiable, including a statement of the 
                        specific reasons supporting the determination;
                          ``(iii) if information in the consumer's file 
                        has been deleted or modified as a result of the 
                        reinvestigation--
                                  ``(I) a copy of the consumer report 
                                and credit score or educational score 
                                (if applicable) that is based upon the 
                                consumer's revised file;
                                  ``(II) a statement identifying the 
                                specific information from the 
                                consumer's file that was deleted or 
                                modified because such information was 
                                determined to be inaccurate, 
                                incomplete, or unverifiable by the 
                                consumer reporting agency;
                                  ``(III) a statement that the consumer 
                                has the right, free of charge, to 
                                obtain an additional consumer report 
                                and credit score or educational credit 
                                score (if applicable) within the 12-
                                month period following the date of the 
                                conclusion of the reinvestigation, 
                                regardless of whether the consumer 
                                obtained or will obtain a free annual 
                                consumer report and credit score or 
                                educational score (if applicable) under 
                                section 612; and
                                  ``(IV) a statement that the consumer 
                                has the right, free of charge, to 
                                request under subsection (d) that the 
                                consumer reporting agency furnish 
                                notifications of the consumer's revised 
                                report;
                          ``(iv) a description of the procedure used by 
                        the dispute resolution staff of the consumer 
                        reporting agency to determine the accuracy or 
                        completeness of the information, including the 
                        business name, mailing address, telephone 
                        number, and Internet website address (if 
                        available) of any person who provided 
                        information who was contacted by the staff in 
                        connection with the determination;
                          ``(v) a statement that the consumer has the 
                        right, free of charge, to add a narrative 
                        statement to the consumer's file disputing the 
                        accuracy or completeness of the information, 
                        regardless of the results of the 
                        reinvestigation by the agency, and the process 
                        for submitting such a narrative pursuant to 
                        subsection (b);
                          ``(vi) a copy of all information relating to 
                        the consumer that was used by the consumer 
                        reporting agency in carrying out the 
                        reinvestigation and relied upon as the basis 
                        for the determination about the accuracy and 
                        completeness of the disputed information;
                          ``(vii) a statement that a consumer may, free 
                        of charge, challenge the results of the 
                        reinvestigation by appeal within 120 days after 
                        the date the notice of the results of the 
                        reinvestigation was provided to the consumer 
                        and the process for submitting an appeal;
                          ``(viii) a statement informing the consumer 
                        that a notation described in section 605(e) 
                        will be added to the file of the consumer 
                        during the period in which the consumer appeals 
                        the results of a reinvestigation and that such 
                        notation can be removed at the request of the 
                        consumer; and
                          ``(ix) any other information, as determined 
                        by the Bureau.
          ``(5) Requirements relating to reinsertion of previously 
        deleted or modified material.--
                  ``(A) Certification of new determination that item is 
                accurate or complete.--A consumer reporting agency may 
                not reinsert into a consumer's file any information 
                that was previously deleted or modified pursuant to 
                paragraph (3)(D), unless the person who provided the 
                information--
                          ``(i) requests that the consumer reporting 
                        agency reinsert such information;
                          ``(ii) submits a written certification that 
                        the information is accurate and complete; and
                          ``(iii) provides a statement describing the 
                        specific reasons why the information should be 
                        inserted.
                  ``(B) Notice to consumer before reinsertion can 
                occur.--Upon receipt of a request for reinsertion of 
                disputed information under subparagraph (A), the 
                consumer reporting agency shall, not later than 5 
                business days before the consumer reporting agency 
                reinserts the information into the consumer's file, 
                notify the consumer in writing of such request for 
                reinsertion. Such notice shall include--
                          ``(i) the business name, mailing address, 
                        telephone number, and Internet website address 
                        (if available) of any person who provided 
                        information to or contacted the consumer 
                        reporting agency in connection with the 
                        reinsertion;
                          ``(ii) a copy of the information relating to 
                        the consumer, the certification that the 
                        information is accurate or complete, and the 
                        statement of the reasons supporting reinsertion 
                        provided by the person who provided the 
                        information to the consumer reporting agency 
                        under subparagraph (A);
                          ``(iii) a statement that the consumer may 
                        obtain, free of charge and within the 12-month 
                        period following the date the notice under this 
                        subparagraph was issued, a consumer report and 
                        credit score or educational score (if 
                        applicable) from the consumer reporting agency 
                        that includes the reinserted information, 
                        regardless of whether the consumer obtained or 
                        will obtain a free annual consumer report and 
                        credit score or educational credit score (if 
                        applicable) under section 612;
                          ``(iv) a statement that the consumer may 
                        appeal the determination that the previously 
                        deleted or modified information is accurate or 
                        complete and a description of the procedure for 
                        the consumer to make such an appeal pursuant to 
                        subsection (h); and
                          ``(v) a statement that the consumer has the 
                        right to add a narrative statement, free of 
                        charge, to the consumer's file disputing the 
                        accuracy or completeness of the disputed 
                        information and a description of the process to 
                        add such a narrative statement pursuant to 
                        subsection (b).
          ``(6) Expedited dispute resolution.--If a consumer reporting 
        agency determines that the information provided by the consumer 
        is sufficient to substantiate that the item of information is 
        inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified by the person who 
        furnished such information, and the consumer reporting agency 
        deletes or modifies such information within 3 business days of 
        receiving notice of the dispute, the consumer reporting agency 
        shall be exempt from the requirements of paragraph (4), if the 
        consumer reporting agency provides to the consumer--
                  ``(A) prompt notice confirming the deletion or 
                modification of the information from the consumer's 
                file in writing or by other means, if agreed to by the 
                consumer when the information is disputed;
                  ``(B) a statement of the consumer's right to request 
                that the consumer reporting agency furnish 
                notifications of a revised consumer report pursuant to 
                subsection (d);
                  ``(C) not later than 5 business days after deleting 
                or modifying the information, a copy of the consumer 
                report and credit score or educational score (if 
                applicable) that is based upon the consumer's revised 
                file; and
                  ``(D) a statement that the consumer may obtain, free 
                of charge and within the 12-month period following the 
                date the notice under this paragraph was sent to the 
                consumer, a consumer report and credit score or 
                educational score (if applicable) from the consumer 
                reporting agency, regardless of whether the consumer 
                obtained or will obtain their free annual consumer 
                report and credit score or educational score (if 
                applicable) under section 612.
          ``(7) No excuse for failure to conduct reinvestigation.--A 
        consumer reporting agency may not refuse to conduct a 
        reinvestigation under this subsection because the agency 
        determines that the dispute was submitted by an authorized 
        third party, unless the agency has clear and convincing 
        evidence that the third party is not authorized to submit the 
        dispute on the consumer's behalf. If the consumer reporting 
        agency refuses to reinvestigate a dispute for these reasons, it 
        shall provide a clear and conspicuous notice to the consumer 
        explaining the reasons for the refusal and describing the 
        specific information the consumer is required to provide for 
        the agency to conduct the reinvestigation.''.
  (b) Ensuring Consumer Reporting Agencies Furnish Certain 
Notifications Without Charge.--Section 611(d) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(d)) is amended by inserting ``and 
without charge'' after ``request of the consumer''.
  (c) Including Specialty Consumer Reporting Agencies in Reports.--
          (1) In general.--Section 611(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(e)) is amended by inserting ``or 603(x)'' 
        after ``section 603(p)'' each place such term appears.
          (2) Technical amendment.--Paragraph (1) of such section (15 
        U.S.C. 1681i(e)(1)) is amended by striking ``The Commission'' 
        and inserting ``The Bureau''.
  (d) Conforming Amendments.--Such Act is further amended--
          (1) in section 605B(c)(2), by striking ``section 
        611(a)(5)(B)'' and inserting ``section 611(a)(5)'';
          (2) in section 611--
                  (A) in subsection (c), by striking ``unless there is 
                reasonable grounds to believe that it is frivolous or 
                irrevelant,''; and
                  (B) in subsection (f)(3)--
                          (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``paragraph (6), (7), or (8) of subsection 
                        (a)'' and inserting ``paragraph (4) or (5) of 
                        subsection (a)''; and
                          (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``in 
                        the manner required under paragraph (8)(A)''; 
                        and
          (3) in section 623(b)(1)(B), by striking ``relevant'' before 
        ``information''.
  (e) Global Technical Corrections to References to Nationwide 
Specialty Consumer Reporting Agency.--Such Act is further amended--
          (1) by striking ``section 603(w)'' and inserting ``section 
        603(x)'' each place such term appears; and
          (2) in section 612(a)(1)(A), by striking ``(w)'' and 
        inserting ``(x)''.

SEC. 102. CONSUMER AWARENESS OF DISPUTE RIGHTS.

  Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
  ``(i) Increased Consumer Awareness of Dispute Rights.--
          ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this subsection, each consumer reporting agency 
        described under subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 shall--
                  ``(A) establish an Internet website accessible to 
                consumers; and
                  ``(B) post on the home page of such website a 
                hyperlink to a separate webpage established and 
                maintained solely for the purpose of providing 
                information to a consumer about how to dispute an item 
                of information in the consumer report of the consumer.
          ``(2) Dispute webpage requirements.--For a consumer reporting 
        agency described under subsection (p) or (x) of section 603, 
        the separate dispute webpage described in paragraph (1)(B)--
                  ``(A) may not include any type or form of marketing, 
                advertising, information, or material associated with 
                any products or services offered or sold to consumers;
                  ``(B) shall clearly and conspicuously disclose a 
                concise statement regarding how to file a dispute 
                through the agency, free of charge, in the manner and 
                format prescribed by the Bureau;
                  ``(C) shall describe the types of documents that will 
                be used by the agency in resolving the dispute, 
                including the business name and mailing address to 
                which a consumer may send such documents;
                  ``(D) shall include a clear and concise explanation 
                of and the process for using electronic or other means 
                to submit such documents, free of charge, and without 
                any character or data limitation imposed by the agency;
                  ``(E) shall include a statement that the consumer may 
                submit information, free of charge, that the consumer 
                believes will assist the consumer reporting agency in 
                determining the results of the reinvestigation of the 
                dispute;
                  ``(F) shall clearly and conspicuously disclose a 
                statement describing the procedure likely to be used by 
                the consumer reporting agency in carrying out a 
                reinvestigation to determine the accuracy or 
                completeness of the disputed item of information, 
                including the time period in which the consumer will be 
                notified of the results of the reinvestigation, and a 
                statement that the agency may extend the 
                reinvestigation period by an additional 15 days if the 
                consumer submits additional information after a certain 
                date; and
                  ``(G) shall provide translations of all information 
                on the webpage in each of the 10 most commonly spoken 
                languages, other than English, in the United States, as 
                determined by the Bureau of the Census on an ongoing 
                basis, and in formats accessible to individuals with 
                hearing or vision impairments.''.

SEC. 103. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS BY FURNISHERS.

  Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
  ``(f) Duty of Furnishers To Maintain Records of Consumers.--
          ``(1) In general.--A person who furnishes information to a 
        consumer reporting agency relating to a consumer who has an 
        account with that person shall maintain all information 
        necessary to substantiate the accuracy and completeness of the 
        information furnished, including any records establishing the 
        liability and terms and conditions under which credit was 
        extended to a consumer and any payment history with respect to 
        such credit.
          ``(2) Retention period.--Records described under paragraph 
        (1) shall be maintained until the information with respect to 
        which the records relate may no longer be included in a 
        consumer report pursuant to section 605.
          ``(3) Transfer of ownership.--If a person providing 
        information to a consumer reporting agency is acquired by 
        another person, or if another person acquires the right to 
        repayment connected to such information, the acquiring person 
        shall be subject to the requirements of this subsection with 
        respect to such information to the same extent as the person 
        who initially provided such information to the consumer 
        reporting agency. The person selling or transferring the right 
        to repayment shall provide the information described in 
        paragraph (1) to the transferee or the acquirer.''.

SEC. 104. DUTIES OF FURNISHERS RELATING TO DISPUTE PROCEDURES, NOTICES, 
                    AND DISCLOSURES.

  (a) Duty To Provide Accurate and Complete Information.--Section 
623(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)) is 
amended--
          (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``and Complete'' 
        after ``Accurate'';
          (2) in paragraph (1)--
                  (A) by inserting ``or incomplete'' after 
                ``inaccurate'' each place that term appears; and
                  (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``or 
                completeness'' after ``accuracy''; and
          (3) in paragraph (8)--
                  (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and 
                completeness'' after ``accuracy''; and
                  (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``or 
                completeness'' after ``accuracy''.
  (b) Negative Information Notices to Consumers.--Section 623(a)(7) (15 
U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(7)) of such Act is amended to read as follows:
          ``(7) Duty of furnishers to inform consumers about reporting 
        negative information.--
                  ``(A) General negative information warning notice to 
                all consumers prior to furnishing such information.--
                          ``(i) In general.--Any person that regularly 
                        furnishes negative information to a consumer 
                        reporting agency described in subsection (p) or 
                        (x) of section 603 about activity on any 
                        accounts of a consumer held by such person or 
                        transactions associated with credit extended to 
                        a consumer by such person shall provide a 
                        written general negative information warning 
                        notice to each such consumer before such person 
                        may furnish any negative information relating 
                        to such a consumer.
                          ``(ii) Content.--Such notice shall--
                                  ``(I) be clear and conspicuous;
                                  ``(II) describe the types of 
                                activities that constitute negative 
                                information;
                                  ``(III) inform the consumer that the 
                                person may report negative information 
                                relating to any such accounts or 
                                transactions to a consumer reporting 
                                agency described in subsection (p) or 
                                (x) of section 603;
                                  ``(IV) state that the negative 
                                information may appear on a consumer 
                                report of the consumer for the periods 
                                described in section 605 and that 
                                during such periods, the negative 
                                information may adversely impact the 
                                consumer's credit score;
                                  ``(V) state that in some limited 
                                circumstances, the negative information 
                                may result in other adverse actions, 
                                including a denial of a new job or a 
                                promotion from existing employment; and
                                  ``(VI) state that the consumer has 
                                right to--
                                          ``(aa) obtain a copy of their 
                                        consumer report and credit 
                                        score or educational score (if 
                                        applicable), which in some 
                                        instances can be obtained free 
                                        of charge, from any consumer 
                                        reporting agency to which 
                                        negative information may be 
                                        been sent; and
                                          ``(bb) dispute, free of 
                                        charge, any errors on a 
                                        consumer report relating to the 
                                        consumer.
                          ``(iii) Timing of notice.--Such person shall 
                        provide such notice to a consumer not later 
                        than 90 days before the date on which the 
                        person furnishes negative information relating 
                        to such consumer.
                  ``(B) Specific negative information notice to a 
                consumer.--
                          ``(i) In general.--Any person described in 
                        subparagraph (A) that has furnished negative 
                        information relating to activity on any 
                        accounts of a consumer held by such person or 
                        transactions associated with credit extended to 
                        a consumer by such person to a consumer 
                        reporting agency described in subsection (p) or 
                        (x) of section 603 shall send a written notice 
                        to each such consumer.
                          ``(ii) Content.--Such notice shall--
                                  ``(I) be clear and conspicuous;
                                  ``(II) inform the consumer that the 
                                person has furnished negative 
                                information relating to such accounts 
                                or transactions to a consumer reporting 
                                agency described in subsection (p) or 
                                (x) of section 603;
                                  ``(III) identify any consumer 
                                reporting agency to which the negative 
                                information was furnished, including 
                                the name of the agency, mailing 
                                address, Internet website address, and 
                                toll-free telephone number; and
                                  ``(IV) include the statements 
                                described in subclauses (IV), (V), and 
                                (VI) of subparagraph (A)(ii).
                          ``(iii) Time of notice.--Such person shall 
                        provide such notice to a consumer not later 
                        than 5 business days after the date on which 
                        the person furnished negative information 
                        relating to such consumer.
                  ``(C) Notice effective for subsequent submissions.--
                After providing the notice described in subparagraph 
                (B), the person may submit additional negative 
                information to a consumer reporting agency described in 
                subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 without providing 
                additional notice to the consumer, unless another 
                person acquires the right to repayment connected to the 
                additional negative information. The acquiring person 
                shall be subject to the requirements of this paragraph 
                and shall be required to send consumers the written 
                notices described in this paragraph, if applicable.
                  ``(D) Non-traditional data furnishers.--Any person 
                that furnishes negative information to a consumer 
                reporting agency described in subsection (p) or (x) of 
                section 603 relating to any accounts of, or 
                transactions associated with, a consumer by such person 
                involving non-traditional data shall be subject to the 
                requirements described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and 
                (C).
                  ``(E) Model notices.--
                          ``(i) Duty of bureau.--Not later than 6 
                        months after date of the enactment of this 
                        paragraph, the Bureau shall issue model forms 
                        for the notices described in subparagraphs (A) 
                        and (B) that a person may use to comply with 
                        the requirements of this paragraph.
                          ``(ii) Use of model notice not required.--No 
                        provision of this paragraph may be construed to 
                        require a person to use the model notices 
                        prescribed by the Bureau.
                          ``(iii) Compliance using model notices.--A 
                        person shall be deemed to be in compliance with 
                        the requirements of subparagraph (A)(ii) or 
                        (B)(ii) (as applicable) if the person uses the 
                        model notice prescribed by the Bureau.
                  ``(F) Issuance of general negative warning notice 
                without submitting negative information.--No provision 
                of this paragraph may be construed to require a person 
                described in subparagraph (A) or (D) to furnish 
                negative information about a consumer to a consumer 
                reporting agency described in subsection (p) or (x) of 
                section 603.
                  ``(G) Safe harbor.--A person shall not be liable for 
                failure to perform the duties required by this 
                paragraph if the person reasonably believes that the 
                person is prohibited, by law, from contacting the 
                consumer.
                  ``(H) Effective date.--The requirements of 
                subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) shall not take 
                effect until the date that is 6 months after the date 
                of the issuance of model forms for notices under 
                subparagraph (E).
                  ``(I) Definitions.--In this paragraph, the following 
                definitions shall apply:
                          ``(i) Negative information.--The term 
                        `negative information' means information 
                        concerning a consumer's delinquencies, late 
                        payments, insolvency, or any form of default.
                          ``(ii) Non-traditional data.--The term `non-
                        traditional data' relates to telecommunications 
                        payments, utility payments, rent payments, 
                        remittances, wire transfers, and such other 
                        items as determined by the Bureau.''.
  (c) Duties of Furnishers After Receiving Notice of Dispute From a 
Consumer.--Section 623(a)(8)(E) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(8)(E)) is amended to read as follows:
                  ``(E) Duties of furnishers after receiving notice of 
                dispute from a consumer.--After receiving a notice of 
                dispute from a consumer pursuant to subparagraph (D), 
                the person that provided the information in dispute to 
                a consumer reporting agency shall--
                          ``(i) promptly provide to each consumer 
                        reporting agency to which the person furnished 
                        the disputed information the notice of dispute;
                          ``(ii) review all information, including any 
                        substantiating documents, provided by the 
                        consumer about the disputed information and 
                        conduct an investigation, separate from any 
                        reinvestigation by a consumer reporting agency 
                        or a reseller conducted with respect to the 
                        disputed information;
                          ``(iii) before the expiration of the period 
                        under section 611(a)(1) within which a consumer 
                        reporting agency would be required to complete 
                        its action if the consumer had elected to 
                        dispute the information under that section, 
                        complete an investigation of the disputed 
                        information pursuant to the standards described 
                        in subparagraph (G);
                          ``(iv) notify the consumer, in writing, of 
                        the receipt of the dispute that includes--
                                  ``(I) a statement about any 
                                information additional to the 
                                information that the person is required 
                                to maintain under subsection (f) that 
                                would support the person's ability to 
                                carry out an investigation to resolve 
                                the consumer's dispute; and
                                  ``(II) a statement that the consumer 
                                reporting agency to which the disputed 
                                information was provided will include a 
                                notation described in section 605(e) in 
                                the consumer's file until the 
                                investigation has been completed, and 
                                information about how a consumer may 
                                request that such notation is removed 
                                by the agency;
                          ``(v) if the investigation determines the 
                        disputed information is inaccurate, incomplete, 
                        or unverifiable, promptly notify each consumer 
                        reporting agency to which the person furnished 
                        such information in accordance with paragraph 
                        (2); and
                          ``(vi) notify the consumer of the results of 
                        the investigation, in writing, in accordance 
                        with subparagraph (H).''.
  (d) Eliminating Furnishers' Authority To Dismiss Disputes as 
Frivolous or Irrelevant.--Section 623(a)(8) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681s-2(a)(8)) is amended by striking subparagraph (F) and 
redesignating subparagraph (G) as subparagraph (F).
  (e) Additional Duties.--Section 623(a)(8) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681s-2(a)(8)) is further amended by adding at the end the following 
new subparagraphs:
                  ``(G) Reasonable standards for furnishers for 
                conducting investigations and resolving disputes 
                submitted by consumers.--In any investigation conducted 
                by a person who furnishes information to a consumer 
                reporting agency of an item of information being 
                disputed by a consumer, the person, at a minimum--
                          ``(i) shall maintain sufficient resources and 
                        trained staff, commensurate with the volume and 
                        complexity of disputes received or reasonably 
                        anticipated to be received, to conduct 
                        investigations;
                          ``(ii) shall verify that the person has a 
                        record of the particular information being 
                        disputed, consistent with the requirements of 
                        subsection (f);
                          ``(iii) shall verify that the personally 
                        identifiable information of the consumer 
                        submitting the dispute matches the personally 
                        identifiable information contained on such 
                        records;
                          ``(iv) shall conduct a reasonable review to 
                        determine whether the disputed information is 
                        accurate, complete, and can be verified that 
                        considers all the information, including any 
                        substantiating documents, provided by the 
                        consumer about the disputed information;
                          ``(v) shall ensure that the investigation is 
                        an independent analysis that is separate from 
                        any reinvestigation by a consumer reporting 
                        agency or a reseller conducted with respect to 
                        the disputed information; and
                          ``(vi) may not impose any limitations or 
                        otherwise impede the ability of a consumer to 
                        submit information, including any 
                        substantiating documents, about the disputed 
                        information.
                  ``(H) Contents of the notice to the consumer about 
                the results of the investigation by the furnisher.--The 
                notice of the results of the investigation described in 
                subparagraph (E) shall include--
                          ``(i) a statement informing the consumer as 
                        to whether the disputed information was 
                        determined to be inaccurate, incomplete, or 
                        unverifiable;
                          ``(ii) a statement of the specific reasons 
                        supporting the results of the investigation;
                          ``(iii) a description of the procedure used 
                        by the dispute resolution staff of the person 
                        who furnishes information to a consumer 
                        reporting agency to determine the accuracy or 
                        completeness of the information, including the 
                        business name, mailing address, telephone 
                        number, and Internet website address (if 
                        available) of any person who was contacted by 
                        the staff in connection with the determination;
                          ``(iv) a copy of all information relating to 
                        the consumer that was used in carrying out the 
                        investigation and was the basis for any 
                        determination about the accuracy or 
                        completeness of the disputed information;
                          ``(v) a statement that consumer will receive, 
                        free of charge, a copy of their consumer report 
                        and credit score or educational credit score 
                        (if applicable), from any consumer reporting 
                        agency to which the disputed information had 
                        been provided, regardless of whether the 
                        consumer obtained or will obtain a free 
                        consumer report and credit score or educational 
                        credit score (if applicable) in the 12-month 
                        period preceding receipt of the notice 
                        described in this subparagraph pursuant to 
                        section 612(a)(1);
                          ``(vi) if the disputed information was found 
                        to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, 
                        a statement that the consumer report of the 
                        consumer shall be revised to reflect the change 
                        to the consumer's file as a result of the 
                        investigation;
                          ``(vii) a statement that the consumer has the 
                        right to appeal the results of the 
                        investigation under paragraph (10), free of 
                        charge, within 120 days after the date of the 
                        notice of the results of the investigation was 
                        provided to the consumer and the process for 
                        submitting an appeal;
                          ``(viii) a statement that the consumer may 
                        add a narrative statement, free of charge, to 
                        the consumer's file held by the consumer 
                        reporting agency to which the information has 
                        been furnished disputing the accuracy or 
                        completeness of the information, regardless of 
                        the results of the investigation by the person, 
                        and the process for contacting any agency that 
                        received the consumer's information from the 
                        person to submit a narrative statement;
                          ``(ix) a statement informing the consumer 
                        that a notation described in section 605(e) 
                        will be added to the consumer's file during the 
                        period in which the consumer appeals the 
                        results of an investigation and that such 
                        notation can be removed at the request of the 
                        consumer; and
                          ``(x) a statement that the consumer has the 
                        right to request a copy of their consumer 
                        report and credit score or educational credit 
                        score (if applicable), free of charge, within 
                        the 12-month period following the date of the 
                        conclusion of the investigation from any 
                        consumer reporting agency in which the disputed 
                        information had been provided, regardless of 
                        whether the consumer obtained or will obtain a 
                        free annual consumer report and credit score or 
                        educational credit score (if applicable) under 
                        this subparagraph or section 612(a)(1).''.
  (f) Conforming Amendment.--Section 615(a)(4)(B) is amended--
          (1) by striking ``, under section 611, with a consumer 
        reporting agency''; and
          (2) by striking ``furnished by the agency'' and inserting 
        ``to a consumer reporting agency under section 611 or to a 
        person who furnished information to an agency under section 
        623''.

SEC. 105. RIGHT TO APPEAL DISPUTES RELATING TO REINVESTIGATIONS AND 
                    INVESTIGATIONS.

  (a) Appeals of Reinvestigations Conducted by a Consumer Reporting 
Agency.--Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) 
is amended--
          (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``or if the consumer is 
        unsatisfied with the results of an appeal conducted under 
        subsection (h),'' after ``resolve the dispute,''; and
          (2) by inserting after subsection (h) (as added by section 
        102) the following new subsection:
  ``(i) Consumer Right To Appeal Results of a Consumer Reporting Agency 
Reinvestigation.--
          ``(1) In general.--Within 120 days after the date of receipt 
        of the results of a reinvestigation conducted under subsection 
        (a), a consumer (or authorized third party) may, free of 
        charge, appeal the results of such reinvestigation by 
        submitting a notice of appeal to the consumer reporting agency.
          ``(2) Notice of appeal.--
                  ``(A) Requirements.--A notice of appeal described in 
                paragraph (1) may be submitted in writing, or through a 
                toll-free telephone number or other electronic means 
                established by the consumer reporting agency (including 
                on the Internet website described in subsection (g)), 
                and--
                          ``(i) shall identify the information 
                        contained in the consumer's file that is the 
                        subject of the appeal;
                          ``(ii) shall describe the specific reasons 
                        for submitting the notice of appeal; and
                          ``(iii) may provide any information the 
                        consumer believes is relevant to substantiate 
                        the validity of the dispute.
                  ``(B) Consumer reporting agency notice to consumer.--
                Upon receipt of such notice of appeal, the consumer 
                reporting agency shall promptly provide to the consumer 
                a statement confirming the receipt of the consumer's 
                notice of appeal that shall include--
                          ``(i) an approximate date on which the 
                        consumer's appeal review will be completed;
                          ``(ii) the process and procedures by which 
                        such review will be conducted; and
                          ``(iii) an employee reference number or other 
                        employee identifier for each of the specific 
                        individuals designated by the consumer 
                        reporting agency who, upon the request of the 
                        consumer, may discuss the substance and status 
                        of the appeal.
          ``(3) Consumer reporting agency requirements upon receipt of 
        notice of appeal.--
                  ``(A) In general.--Not later than 20 days after 
                receiving a notice of appeal, the consumer reporting 
                agency shall review the appeal. If the consumer 
                reporting agency determines the information is 
                inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, the 
                consumer reporting agency shall delete or modify the 
                item of information being disputed by the consumer from 
                the file of the consumer before the end of the 20-day 
                period beginning on the date on which the consumer 
                reporting agency receives a notice of an appeal from 
                the consumer.
                  ``(B) Notice of appeal to furnisher; information 
                regarding dispute provided by the consumer.--
                          ``(i) In general.--Before the end of the 
                        period of 3 business days beginning on the date 
                        on which a consumer reporting agency receives a 
                        notice of appeal, the consumer reporting agency 
                        shall provide notice of the appeal, including 
                        all information relating to the specific appeal 
                        that the consumer reporting agency has received 
                        from the consumer, to any person who provided 
                        any information in dispute.
                          ``(ii) Provision of additional information 
                        regarding the dispute.--If the consumer 
                        reporting agency receives additional 
                        information from the consumer after the agency 
                        provides the notice required under clause (i) 
                        and before the end of the 20-day period 
                        described in subparagraph (A), the consumer 
                        reporting agency shall, not later than 3 
                        business days after receiving such information, 
                        provide such information to any person who 
                        provided the information in dispute and shall 
                        have an additional 10 business days to complete 
                        the appeal review.
                  ``(C) Minimum standards for appeals employees.--
                          ``(i) Designation.--Upon receipt of a notice 
                        of appeal under paragraph (1), a consumer 
                        reporting agency shall designate one or more 
                        specific employees who--
                                  ``(I) shall be assigned an employee 
                                reference number or other employee 
                                identifier that can be used by the 
                                consumer to discuss the appeal with the 
                                specific individuals handling the 
                                appeal;
                                  ``(II) shall have direct authority to 
                                resolve the dispute that is the subject 
                                of the notice of appeal from the review 
                                stage to its completion;
                                  ``(III) shall meet minimum training 
                                and ongoing certification requirements 
                                at regular intervals, as established by 
                                the Bureau;
                                  ``(IV) shall be located within the 
                                United States;
                                  ``(V) may not have been involved in 
                                the reinvestigation conducted or 
                                terminated pursuant to subsection (a); 
                                and
                                  ``(VI) may not be subject to any 
                                requirements linking incentives, 
                                including promotion, to the number of 
                                appeals processed within a certain time 
                                period.
                          ``(ii) Requirements.--Such employees shall 
                        conduct a robust review of the appeal and make 
                        a determination regarding the accuracy and 
                        completeness of the disputed information by--
                                  ``(I) conducting an independent 
                                analysis, separate from any 
                                investigation by a reseller or person 
                                who provided the disputed information, 
                                and separate from any prior 
                                reinvestigation conducted by the 
                                consumer reporting agency of the 
                                disputed information;
                                  ``(II) verifying that the personally 
                                identifiable information of the 
                                consumer submitting the dispute matches 
                                the personally identifiable information 
                                contained on the consumer's file;
                                  ``(III) analyzing the notice of 
                                appeal and all information, including 
                                any substantiating documents, provided 
                                by the consumer with the notice of 
                                appeal;
                                  ``(IV) evaluating the validity of any 
                                information submitted by any person 
                                that was used by the consumer reporting 
                                agency in the reinvestigation of the 
                                initial dispute;
                                  ``(V) verifying that the consumer 
                                reporting agency has a record of the 
                                information being disputed; and
                                  ``(VI) applying any additional 
                                factors or investigative processes, as 
                                specified by the Bureau.
                  ``(D) Notice of appeal results.--Not later than 5 
                days after the end of the 20-day period described under 
                subparagraph (A) (or the 10-day extension period, as 
                applicable) the consumer reporting agency shall provide 
                the consumer with written notice of the results of the 
                appeal by postal mail or, if requested by the consumer, 
                by other means. The contents of such notice shall 
                include--
                          ``(i) a statement that the appeal is 
                        completed and the date on which it was 
                        completed, the results of the appeal, and the 
                        specific reasons supporting the results of the 
                        appeal;
                          ``(ii) a copy of all information relating to 
                        the consumer that was used as a basis for 
                        deciding the results of the appeal;
                          ``(iii) a consumer report that is based upon 
                        the consumer's file as that file may have been 
                        revised as a result of the appeal;
                          ``(iv) a description of the procedure used to 
                        determine the accuracy and completeness of the 
                        information, including the business name, 
                        telephone number, mailing address, and Internet 
                        website address (if applicable) of any person 
                        who provided information that was contacted in 
                        connection with such information, if reasonably 
                        available;
                          ``(v) information describing that the 
                        consumer may submit a statement, without 
                        charge, disputing the accuracy or completeness 
                        of information in the consumer's file that was 
                        the subject of an appeal under this subsection 
                        by submitting a statement directly to each 
                        consumer reporting agency that received the 
                        information;
                          ``(vi) a description of the consumer's rights 
                        pursuant to subsection (d) (relating to 
                        furnishing notifications to certain users of 
                        consumer reports); and
                          ``(vii) any other information, as determined 
                        by the Bureau.
                  ``(E) No excuse for failure to conduct appeal.--A 
                consumer reporting agency may not refuse to conduct a 
                review of an appeal under this subsection because the 
                agency determines that the notice of appeal was 
                submitted by an authorized third party, unless the 
                agency has clear and convincing evidence that the third 
                party is not authorized to submit the notice of appeal 
                on the consumer's behalf. If the consumer reporting 
                agency refuses to conduct a review of the appeal for 
                these reasons, it shall provide a clear and conspicuous 
                written notice to the consumer explaining the reasons 
                for the refusal and describing any information the 
                consumer is required to provide for the agency to 
                conduct a review of the appeal.''.
  (b) Appeals of Investigations Conducted by Furnishers of 
Information.--Section 623(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
          ``(10) Duty of furnishers of information upon notice of 
        appeal of investigation.--
                  ``(A) In general.--Within 120 days of the date of 
                receipt of the results of an investigation conducted 
                under paragraph (8)(E), a consumer may, free of charge, 
                appeal such results by submitting a notice of appeal to 
                the person who provided the information in the dispute 
                to a consumer reporting agency (hereafter in this 
                paragraph referred to as the `furnisher').
                  ``(B) Notice of appeal.--A notice of appeal described 
                in subparagraph (A) may be submitted in writing, 
                through a toll-free telephone number, or by other 
                electronic means established by the furnisher, and--
                          ``(i) shall identify the information 
                        contained in the consumer's file that is the 
                        subject of the appeal;
                          ``(ii) shall describe the specific reasons 
                        for submitting the notice of appeal; and
                          ``(iii) may include any information, 
                        including substantiating documents, the 
                        consumer believes is relevant to the appeal.
                  ``(C) Furnisher actions.--Upon receipt of such notice 
                of appeal, the furnisher shall--
                          ``(i) before the end of the period of 3 
                        business days beginning on the date on which 
                        the furnisher receives the notice of appeal, 
                        notify each consumer reporting agency to which 
                        the person furnished such information a 
                        statement identifying the items of information 
                        that a consumer is appealing; and
                          ``(ii) notify the consumer confirming the 
                        receipt of the consumer's notice of appeal, 
                        including an approximate date when the 
                        consumer's appeal will be completed, the 
                        process and procedures by which a review of the 
                        appeal will be conducted, and the specific 
                        individual designated by the consumer reporting 
                        agency who, upon the request of the consumer, 
                        may discuss the substance and status of the 
                        appeal.
                  ``(D) Furnisher requirements upon receipt of notice 
                of appeal.--Not later than 20 days after receiving a 
                notice of appeal, the furnisher shall determine whether 
                the item of information being disputed by the consumer 
                is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, and 
                shall notify the consumer reporting agency of the 
                determination. If the furnisher cannot verify the 
                accuracy or completeness of the disputed information, 
                the furnisher shall, before the end of the 20-day 
                period beginning on the date on which the furnisher 
                receives notice of an appeal from the consumer, submit 
                instructions to the consumer reporting agency that the 
                item of information being disputed by the consumer 
                should be deleted from the file of the consumer.
                  ``(E) Minimum standards for appeals employees.--Upon 
                receipt of a notice of appeal under subparagraph (A), a 
                furnisher shall designate one or more specific 
                employees who--
                          ``(i) shall be assigned an employee reference 
                        number or other employee identifier that can be 
                        used by the consumer to discuss the appeal with 
                        the specific individuals handling the appeal;
                          ``(ii) shall have direct authority to resolve 
                        the dispute that is the subject of the notice 
                        of appeal on behalf of the furnisher from the 
                        review stage to its completion;
                          ``(iii) shall meet minimum training and 
                        ongoing certification requirements at regular 
                        intervals, as established by the Bureau;
                          ``(iv) may not have been involved in an 
                        investigation conducted pursuant to paragraph 
                        (8); and
                          ``(v) may not be subject to any requirements 
                        linking incentives, including promotion, to the 
                        number of appeals processed within a certain 
                        time period.
                  ``(F) Requirements for appeals process.--Such 
                employees shall conduct a robust review of the appeal 
                and make a determination regarding the accuracy and 
                completeness of the disputed information by--
                          ``(i) conducting an independent analysis, 
                        separate from any reinvestigation by a reseller 
                        or consumer reporting agency, of the disputed 
                        information;
                          ``(ii) verifying that the personally 
                        identifiable information related to the dispute 
                        is accurate and complete;
                          ``(iii) analyzing the notice of appeal and 
                        all information, including substantiating 
                        documents, provided by the consumer with the 
                        notice of appeal;
                          ``(iv) evaluating the validity of any 
                        information submitted by any person that was 
                        used by the furnisher in the initial 
                        investigation into the dispute;
                          ``(v) verifying that the information being 
                        disputed relates to the consumer in whose file 
                        the information is located;
                          ``(vi) verifying that the furnisher has a 
                        record of the information being disputed; and
                          ``(vii) applying any additional factors or 
                        investigative processes, as specified by the 
                        Bureau.
                  ``(G) Extension of review period.--If a consumer 
                submits additional information related to the appeal 
                after the period of 3 business days described in 
                subparagraph (C)(i) and before the end of the 20-day 
                period described in subparagraph (D), the furnisher 
                shall have an additional 10 business days to complete 
                the review of the appeal.
                  ``(H) Notice of appeal results.--Not later than 5 
                days after the end of the 20-day period described in 
                subparagraph (D) (or the 10 business day extension 
                described under subparagraph (G), as applicable) the 
                furnisher shall provide the consumer with written 
                notice of the results of the appeal by mail or, if 
                requested by the consumer, by other means. The contents 
                of such notice shall include--
                          ``(i) a statement that the appeal is 
                        completed and the date on which it was 
                        completed, the results of the appeal, and the 
                        specific reasons supporting the results of the 
                        appeal;
                          ``(ii) a copy of all information relating to 
                        the consumer that was used as a basis for 
                        deciding the results of the appeal;
                          ``(iii) if the appeal results in any change 
                        to the consumer report, a notification that the 
                        consumer shall receive a copy, free of charge, 
                        of a revised consumer report (based upon the 
                        consumer's file as that file was changed as a 
                        result of the appeal) and a credit score or 
                        educational credit score (if applicable) from 
                        each consumer reporting agency that had been 
                        furnished incorrect information;
                          ``(iv) a description of the procedure used to 
                        determine the accuracy and completeness of the 
                        information, including the business name, 
                        telephone number, mailing address, and Internet 
                        website address (if applicable), of any person 
                        who provided information that was contacted in 
                        connection with such information, if reasonably 
                        available;
                          ``(v) information describing that the 
                        consumer may submit a statement, without 
                        charge, disputing the accuracy or completeness 
                        of information in the consumer's file that was 
                        the subject of an appeal under this paragraph 
                        by submitting a statement directly to each 
                        consumer reporting agency that received the 
                        information; and
                          ``(vi) a notification that the consumer may 
                        request the furnisher to submit to each 
                        consumer reporting agency the consumer's 
                        request to furnish notifications pursuant to 
                        section 611(d) (relating to furnishing 
                        notifications to certain users of consumer 
                        reports).''.
  (c) Technical Amendment.--Section 623(a)(8)(A) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(8)(A)) is amended by striking 
``reinvestigate'' and inserting ``investigate''.
  (d) Conforming Amendments.--Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended--
          (1) in subsection (c)--
                  (A) by striking ``Commission'' and inserting 
                ``Bureau'' each place that term appears;
                  (B) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Rights 
                To Obtain and Dispute Information in Consumer Reports 
                and To Obtain Credit Scores'' and inserting ``Key 
                Consumer Reporting Rights''; and
                  (C) in paragraph (1)--
                          (i) in the heading, by striking 
                        ``Commission'' and inserting ``Bureau'';
                          (ii) in subparagraph (B)--
                                  (I) in clause (ii), by striking ``a 
                                consumer report without charge under 
                                section 612'' and inserting ``consumer 
                                reports and credit scores or 
                                educational credit scores (as 
                                applicable) without charge under 
                                subsections (f), (g), (i), or (j) or 
                                section 612'';
                                  (II) in clause (iii), by inserting 
                                ``or section 623'' after ``section 
                                611'';
                                  (III) by striking clauses (iv) and 
                                (vi);
                                  (IV) by inserting after clause (iii) 
                                the following new clause:
                          ``(iv) the right of a consumer to appeal a 
                        determination of a reinvestigation conducted by 
                        a consumer reporting agency under section 
                        611(h) or an investigation conducted by a 
                        furnisher of information under section 
                        623(a)(10);''; and
                                  (V) by adding at the end the 
                                following new clause:
                          ``(vi) the method and circumstances under 
                        which consumers can obtain a 1-year fraud 
                        alert, 7-year fraud alert, active duty alert, 
                        or security freeze as described in section 605A 
                        through a consumer reporting agency described 
                        under section 603(p).'';
                          (iii) in subparagraph (C) (as amended by 
                        subparagraph (A)) by inserting ``and the 
                        Commission'' after ``Bureau''; and
                          (iv) by adding at the end the following new 
                        subparagraph:
                  ``(D) Publication of summary rights.--A consumer 
                reporting agency described under subsection (p) or (x) 
                of section 603 shall display in a clear and conspicuous 
                manner, including on the Internet website of the 
                consumer reporting agency, the summary of rights 
                prepared by the Bureau under this paragraph.''; and
          (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ``Bureau and the'' before 
        ``Commission''.

SEC. 106. REVISED CONSUMER REPORTS.

  Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i), as 
amended by section 105(a)(2), is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
  ``(j) Requirement To Send Revised Consumer Report to Consumer.--Upon 
receiving a notice described in section 623(a)(8)(E)(iv), each consumer 
reporting agency shall send to the consumer a revised consumer report 
and credit score or education credit score (if applicable) based upon 
the consumer's file as that file was changed as a result of the 
investigation.''.

SEC. 107. INDICATION OF DISPUTE BY CONSUMERS AND USE OF DISPUTED 
                    INFORMATION.

  Section 605(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(f)) 
is amended to read as follows:
  ``(f) Indication of Dispute.--
          ``(1) In general.--A consumer reporting agency shall include 
        in any consumer report based on the consumer's file a notation 
        identifying any item of information that is currently in 
        dispute by the consumer if--
                  ``(A) a consumer disputes the completeness or 
                accuracy of any item of information contained in a 
                consumer's file pursuant to section 611(a)(1);
                  ``(B) a consumer files with a consumer reporting 
                agency an appeal of a reinvestigation pursuant to 
                section 611(i); or
                  ``(C) the consumer reporting agency is notified by a 
                person that furnished any items of information that are 
                currently in dispute by the consumer that--
                          ``(i) a consumer disputes the completeness or 
                        accuracy of any information furnished by a 
                        person to any consumer reporting agency 
                        pursuant to paragraph (3) or (8) of section 
                        623(a); or
                          ``(ii) a consumer submits a notice of appeal 
                        under section 623(a)(10).
          ``(2) Opt out.--A consumer may submit a request to a consumer 
        reporting agency or a person who furnished the information in 
        dispute, as applicable, to have the notation described in 
        paragraph (1) omitted from the consumer report. Upon receipt of 
        such a request--
                  ``(A) by a consumer reporting agency, such agency 
                shall remove the notation within 1 business day; and
                  ``(B) by a person who furnished the information in 
                dispute, such person shall submit such request to each 
                consumer reporting agency to which the person furnished 
                such information within 1 business day and such agency 
                shall remove the notation within 1 business day of 
                receipt of such request.''.

SEC. 108. ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS REPORT DUTIES FOR CONSUMER 
                    REPORTING AGENCIES AND FURNISHERS.

  Section 607(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681e) is 
amended to read as follows:
  ``(b) Accuracy and Completeness of Report.--
          ``(1) In general.--In preparing a consumer report, a consumer 
        reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures to ensure 
        maximum possible accuracy and completeness of the information 
        concerning the individual to whom the consumer report relates.
          ``(2) Bureau rule to assure maximum possible accuracy and 
        completeness with credit reporting practices.--
                  ``(A) Rule.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
                of enactment of this subsection, the Bureau shall issue 
                a final rule establishing the procedures described in 
                paragraph (1).
                  ``(B) Requirements.--In formulating the rule required 
                under subparagraph (A), the Bureau shall--
                          ``(i) develop standards for matching the 
                        personally identifiable information included in 
                        the consumer's file with the personally 
                        identifiable information furnished by the 
                        person who provided the information to the 
                        consumer reporting agency (hereafter in this 
                        subsection referred to as the `furnisher'), 
                        including the full name of a consumer, the date 
                        of birth of a consumer, the full social 
                        security number of a consumer, and any other 
                        information that the Bureau determines would 
                        aid in assuring maximum possible accuracy and 
                        completeness of such consumer reports;
                          ``(ii) establish processes for a consumer 
                        reporting agency to monitor the integrity of 
                        the data provided by furnishers and the 
                        compliance of furnishers with the requirements 
                        of this title;
                          ``(iii) establish processes for a consumer 
                        reporting agency to regularly reconcile data 
                        relating to accounts in collection, including 
                        those that have not been paid in full, by 
                        specifying the circumstances under which the 
                        consumer reporting agency shall remove or 
                        suppress negative or adverse information from a 
                        consumer's file that has not been updated by a 
                        furnisher who is also a debt collector (as 
                        defined in section 803 of the Fair Debt 
                        Collection Practices Act) within the time 
                        period established by the Bureau;
                          ``(iv) establish procedures to require each 
                        consumer reporting agency to review and monitor 
                        the quality of information received from any 
                        source, including information from public 
                        records, by regularly and on an ongoing basis 
                        comparing the information received to the 
                        information available from the original source 
                        and ensuring that the information received is 
                        the most current information;
                          ``(v) develop standards and procedures for 
                        consumer reporting agencies to identify 
                        furnishers that repeatedly fail to provide 
                        accurate and complete information, to take 
                        corrective action against such furnishers, and 
                        to reject information submitted by such 
                        furnishers;
                          ``(vi) develop standards and procedures for 
                        consumer reporting agencies to adopt regarding 
                        collection of public record data, including 
                        standards and procedures to consider the 
                        ultimate data source, how the public record 
                        information is filed and its availability and 
                        accessibility, and whether information relating 
                        to the satisfaction of judgments or other 
                        updates to the public record are available on a 
                        reasonably timely basis from a particular 
                        source; and
                          ``(vii) establish any other factors, 
                        procedures, or processes determined by the 
                        Bureau to be necessary to assist consumer 
                        reporting agencies in achieving maximum 
                        possible accuracy and completeness of the 
                        information in consumer reports.
          ``(3) Corrective action for furnishers that repeatedly 
        furnish inaccurate or incomplete information.--Upon identifying 
        a furnisher that repeatedly fails to furnish accurate, 
        complete, or verifiable information to consumer reporting 
        agencies, the Bureau shall--
                  ``(A) ensure the prompt removal of any adverse 
                information relating to a consumer's accounts submitted 
                by such furnisher; and
                  ``(B) take corrective action, which may include--
                          ``(i) mandatory revised training and training 
                        materials for the staff of the furnisher 
                        regarding the furnishing of accurate and 
                        complete information;
                          ``(ii) sharing industry best practices and 
                        procedures regarding accuracy and completeness; 
                        or
                          ``(iii) temporarily prohibiting a furnisher 
                        from providing information to a consumer 
                        reporting agency.''.

SEC. 109. INCLUSION OF PUBLIC RECORD DATA SOURCES IN CONSUMER REPORTS.

  Section 605(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(d)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
          ``(3) Public record data source.--Any consumer reporting 
        agency that furnishes a consumer report that contains public 
        record data shall also include in such report the source from 
        which that data was obtained, including the particular court, 
        if any, and the date that the data was initially reported or 
        publicized.''.

SEC. 110. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF FOR VICTIMS.

  (a) In General.--The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et 
seq.) is amended--
          (1) in section 616--
                  (A) in subsection (a), by amending the subsection 
                heading to read as follows: ``Damages'';
                  (B) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 
                subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and
                  (C) by inserting after subsection (b) the following 
                new subsection:
  ``(c) Injunctive Relief.--In addition to any other remedy set forth 
in this section, a court may award injunctive relief to require 
compliance with the requirements imposed under this title with respect 
to any consumer. In the event of any successful action for injunctive 
relief under this subsection, the court may award to the prevailing 
party costs and reasonable attorney fees (as determined by the court) 
incurred during the action by such party.''; and
          (2) in section 617--
                  (A) in subsection (a), by amending the subsection 
                heading to read as follows: ``Damages'';
                  (B) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 
                (c); and
                  (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 
                new subsection:
  ``(b) Injunctive Relief.--In addition to any other remedy set forth 
in this section, a court may award injunctive relief to require 
compliance with the requirements imposed under this title with respect 
to any consumer. In the event of any successful action for injunctive 
relief under this subsection, the court may award to the prevailing 
party costs and reasonable attorney fees (as determined by the court) 
incurred during the action by such party.''.
  (b) Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission.--Section 621(a)(2)(A) of 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(a)(2)(A)) is amended--
          (1) by amending the subparagraph heading to read as follows: 
        ``Negligent, willful, or knowing violations''; and
          (2) by inserting ``negligent, willful, or'' before 
        ``knowing''.

   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.

  The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended--
          (1) by adding at the end the following new section:

``Sec. 630. Promotional periods

  ``(a) Termination Notice.--With respect to any product or service 
related to a consumer report or a credit score that is provided to a 
consumer under promotional terms, the seller or provider of such 
product or service shall provide clear and conspicuous notice to the 
consumer within a reasonable period of time before the promotional 
period ends.
  ``(b) Opt-In.--With respect to any such product or service, the 
seller or provider may not continue to sell or provide such product or 
service to the consumer after the end of the promotional period unless 
the consumer specifically agrees at the end of the promotional period 
to continue receiving the product or service.''; and
          (2) in the table of contents for such Act, by inserting after 
        the item relating to section 629 the following new item:

``630. Promotional periods.''.

SEC. 202. PROHIBITION ON MISLEADING AND DECEPTIVE MARKETING RELATED TO 
                    THE PROVISION OF CONSUMER REPORTING AND CREDIT 
                    SCORING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.

  Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is 
amended--
          (1) in subsection (a)--
                  (A) in paragraph (1)--
                          (i) by striking ``request, except'' and all 
                        that follows through ``consumer to whom'' and 
                        inserting ``request, unless the consumer to 
                        whom'';
                          (ii) by striking ``disclosure; and'' and 
                        inserting ``disclosure.''; and
                          (iii) by striking subparagraph (B); and
                  (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ``or educational 
                credit score (if applicable) under subsection (f) or 
                section 612'' before the period at the end; and
          (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
  ``(h) Disclosures on Products and Services.--The Bureau, in 
consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, shall issue regulations 
within 18 months of the date of the enactment of this subsection 
requiring each consumer reporting agency and reseller to clearly and 
conspicuously disclose all material terms and conditions, including any 
fee and pricing information associated with any products or services 
offered, advertised, marketed, or sold to consumers by the agency or 
reseller. Such disclosures shall be made in all forms of communication 
to consumers and displayed prominently on the agency or reseller's 
website and all other locations where products or services are offered, 
advertised, marketed, or sold to consumers.''.

SEC. 203. PROHIBITON ON EXCESSIVE DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER SALES.

  The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by 
section 201, is further amended--
          (1) by adding at the end the following new section:

``Sec. 631. Fair and reasonable fees for products and services

  ``The Bureau may, with respect to any product or service offered by a 
consumer reporting agency to a consumer, set a fair and reasonable 
maximum fee that may be charged for such product or service, except 
where such maximum fee is otherwise provided under this title.''; and
          (2) in the table of contents for such Act, as amended by 
        section 201, by adding at the end the following new item:

``631. Fair and reasonable fees for products and services.''.

SEC. 204. FAIR ACCESS TO CONSUMER REPORTING AND CREDIT SCORING 
                    DISCLOSURES FOR NONNATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS AND THE 
                    VISUALLY AND HEARING IMPAIRED.

  The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by 
section 203, is further amended--
          (1) by adding at the end the following new section:

``Sec. 632. Fair access to information for nonnative English speakers 
                    and the visually and hearing impaired

  ``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Bureau shall issue a rule to require 
consumer reporting agencies and persons who furnish information to 
consumer reporting agencies under this title, to the maximum extent 
reasonably practicable--
          ``(1) to provide any information, disclosures, or other 
        communication with consumers--
                  ``(A) in each of the 10 most commonly spoken 
                languages, other than English, in the United States, as 
                determined by the Bureau of the Census on an ongoing 
                basis; and
                  ``(B) in formats accessible to individuals with 
                hearing or vision impairments; and
          ``(2) to ensure that--
                  ``(A) customer service representatives, including 
                employees assigned to handle disputes or appeals under 
                sections 611 and 623, who are available to assist 
                consumers are highly familiar with the requirements of 
                this title;
                  ``(B) such representatives are available during 
                regular business hours and outside of regular business 
                hours, including evenings and weekends; and
                  ``(C) at least one among such representatives is 
                fluent in each of the 10 most commonly spoken 
                languages, other than English, in the United States, as 
                determined by the Bureau of the Census on an ongoing 
                basis.
  ``(b) Bureau Consultation.--The Bureau shall consult with advocates 
for civil rights, consumer groups, community groups, and organizations 
that serve traditionally underserved communities and populations in 
issuing the rule described in subsection (a).''; and
          (2) in the table of contents for such Act, as amended by 
        section 203, by adding at the end the following new item:

``632. Fair access to information for nonnative English speakers and 
the visually and hearing impaired.''.

SEC. 205. COMPARISON SHOPPING FOR LOANS WITHOUT HARM TO CREDIT 
                    STANDING.

  Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
  ``(i) Encouraging Consumers To Comparison Shop for Loans by Treating 
Grouped Enquiries of the Same Type Within a Reasonable Period as a 
Single Enquiry.--
          ``(1) In general.--With respect to multiple enquiries of the 
        same type made to a consumer reporting agency for a consumer 
        report or credit score with respect to a consumer, any credit 
        scoring model shall treat such enquiries as a single enquiry if 
        the enquiries are made within a 120-day period.
          ``(2) Definition of enquiries of the same type.--With respect 
        to multiple enquiries made to a consumer reporting agency for a 
        consumer report or credit score with respect to a consumer, 
        such enquiries are `of the same type' if the consumer reporting 
        agency has reason to believe that the enquiries are all made 
        for the purpose of determining the consumer's creditworthiness 
        for an extension of credit described in one of the following:
                  ``(A) Any loan primarily for personal, family, or 
                household use that is secured by a mortgage, deed of 
                trust, or other equivalent consensual security interest 
                on a dwelling (as defined in section 103(w) of the 
                Truth in Lending Act), including a loan in which the 
                proceeds will be used for--
                          ``(i) a manufactured home (as defined in 
                        section 603 of the Housing and Community 
                        Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5402));
                          ``(ii) any installment sales contract, land 
                        contract, or contract for deed on a residential 
                        property; or
                          ``(iii) a reverse mortgage transaction (as 
                        defined in section 103 of the Truth in Lending 
                        Act).
                  ``(B) A motor vehicle loan or lease (as described in 
                section 609(j)).
                  ``(C) A private education loan.
                  ``(D) Any other consumer financial product or 
                service, as determined by the Bureau.''.

SEC. 206. NATIONWIDE CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES REGISTRY.

  The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), as amended by 
section 204, is further amended--
          (1) by adding at the end the following new section:

``Sec. 633. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies registry

  ``(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this section, the Bureau shall establish and maintain a publicly 
accessible registry of consumer reporting agencies described in 
subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 (and any other agencies the Bureau 
determines provide similar services to such consumer reporting 
agencies) that includes current contact information of each such 
agency, including the Internet website address of the Internet website 
described under section 611(h), and information on how consumers can 
obtain their consumer report, credit scores, or educational credit 
scores (as applicable) by toll-free telephone, postal mail, or 
electronic means.
  ``(b) Registry Requirements.--The registry described in subsection 
(a) shall--
          ``(1) identify the largest agencies and the markets and 
        demographics covered by such agencies; and
          ``(2) disclose, with respect to each agency, whether the 
        agency is subject to the supervisory authority of the Bureau 
        under this title.
  ``(c) Information Updates.--Each agency described under subsection 
(a) shall submit to the Bureau contact information for the registry, 
including any updates to such information. The Bureau shall--
          ``(1) independently verify information submitted by each 
        agency; and
          ``(2) update the registry not less frequently than 
        annually.''; and
          (2) in the table of contents for such Act, as amended by 
        section 204, by adding at the end the following new item:

``633. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies registry.''.

                          Purpose and Summary

    On July 9, 2019, Representative Alma Adams introduced H.R. 
3642, the ``Improving Credit Reporting for All Consumers Act,'' 
which addresses burdens consumers experience when removing 
errors from their consumer reports, including by providing a 
new right to appeal the results of initial reviews about the 
accuracy or completeness of disputed items on the report. The 
bill requires the credit reporting agencies (CRAs) to conduct 
additional training of their personnel to better handle and 
address consumer concerns throughout the dispute resolution 
process. The bill also requires all furnishers who regularly 
report negative information to CRAs to notify customers about 
this practice and alert customers when they first send 
derogatory information. The bill directs CRAs to provide 
consumers with meaningful and clear information about credit 
scoring products and credit monitoring services. The bill also 
promotes consumers' right to shop around for certain large-
dollar loans without harming their credit standing by treating 
multiple inquiries for a mortgage, auto, or private education 
loan as a single inquiry.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Our nation's credit reporting system is broken yet has an 
impact on almost every American. Credit scores and credit 
reports are increasingly relied upon by creditors, employers, 
insurers, and even law enforcement. Yet it has been more than 
15 years since Congress enacted comprehensive reform of the 
credit reporting system,\1\ and there have been numerous 
shortcomings with the current system identified during that 
time that need to be addressed. For example, the Federal Trade 
Commission (FTC) study found in 2012 that one out of every five 
consumers have a verified error on their consumer reports and 5 
percent had errors serious enough to result in them being 
denied credit or paying more for mortgages, auto loans, 
insurance policies, and other financial obligations.\2\ An 
analysis of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) 
consumer complaint database revealed that in 2018, credit 
reports were the most complained about financial product, and 
the three major credit bureaus--Equifax, Experian and 
TransUnion--were the most-complained about financial 
companies.\3\ It is critical that Congress act swiftly to 
address these critical flaws and modernize the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act to ensure the credit reporting system works 
better for all Americans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act; 
P.L. 108-159), among other things, allows consumers to request and 
obtain a free credit report once a year from each of the three 
nationwide credit reporting agencies.
    \2\https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/
section-319-fair-and-accurate-credit-transactions-act-2003-fifth-
interim-federal-trade-commission/130211factareport.pdf.
    \3\https://uspirg.org/news/usp/youre-not-alone-cfpb-complaints-
rise.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Research and government findings\4\ show that consumers 
continue to be burdened by inaccurate information on their 
consumer reports and are frequently confused by, and frustrated 
with, the flawed process to dispute credit reporting errors. 
Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian--the three big nationwide 
CRAs in the United States--maintain files for over 200 million 
consumers and prepare consumer reports that are commonly 
referred to as credit reports. CRAs often have not abided by 
their statutory obligation under the Federal Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (FCRA) to conduct reasonable investigations of 
consumers' disputes. A 2015 FTC survey\5\ confirmed that even 
though over half of the consumers who tried to fix errors on 
reports still believed that their reports contained inaccurate 
information after the CRAs' investigations had been completed, 
a significant number of consumers gave up trying to correct 
these mistakes. In a ``Supervisory Highlights Credit reporting 
Special Edition,''\6\ released in March 2017, the CFPB found 
repeated compliance management deficiencies at nationwide CRAs 
and by furnishers of credit information that necessitated 
improvements in their data accuracy and dispute resolution 
practices. Credit reporting problems are consistently one of 
the top three types of consumer complaints submitted to the 
CFPB, and many of these complaints involve consumers' 
frustration about the burdensome and time-consuming process of 
trying to fix reporting mistakes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Supervisory Highlights 
Credit reporting Special Edition (2017), available at https://
s3.amazonaws.com/files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/
201703_cfpb_Supervisory-Highlights-Consumer-Reporting-Special-
Edition.pdf.
    \5\Beth A. Freeborn and Julie Miller, Report to Congress under 
Section 319 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions act of 2003 
(2015), available at https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/
reports/section-319-fair-accurate-credit-transactions-act-2003-sixth-
interim-final-report-federal-trade/150121factareport.pdf.
    \6\Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Supervisory Highlights 
Credit reporting Special Edition (2017), available at https://
files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/201703_cfpb_Supervisory-
Highlights-Consumer-Reporting-Special-Edition.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In addition, CRAs frequently market credit reporting 
products and services as ``free'' when they really are paid-
subscription services that automatically convert after a trial 
period. Vulnerable consumers who have concerns about the 
security of their personal and financial information, deserve 
clear and transparent information about products and services 
available to them and the costs associated with such tools. 
Moreover, the CFPB found that consumers may choose not to 
review their reports for errors because of their mistaken fear 
that doing so may lower their credit scores.\7\ While many 
credit scoring models treat multiple inquiries as a single 
inquiry when they occur within a certain time period, the time 
span varies from 14 to 45 days.\8\ This could be insufficient 
for consumers buying a home or making another major purchase.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Voices on Credit 
Reports and Scores (2015), available at https://
files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201502_cfpb_report_consumer-voices-on-
credit-reports-and-scores.pdf.
    \8\Fair Isaac Corporation, Credit Checks & Inquiries available at 
https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/credit-reports/credit-checks-
and-inquiries.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This legislation is supported by more than 80 consumer, 
civil rights, labor, and community organizations.\9\ The 
National Association of Realtors also support this 
legislation.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\Supporting organizations include Americans for Financial Reform, 
A2Z Real Estate Consultants, African American Health Alliance, Alaska 
Public Interest Research Group, Allied Progress, Arkansas Community 
Organizations, BREAD Organization, CAFE Montgomery MD, Center for 
Digital Democracy, Cleveland Jobs with Justice, Community Action Human 
Resources Agency (CAHRA), Congregation of Our Lady of the Good 
Shepherd, US Provinces, Connecticut, Fair Housing Center, Consumer 
Action, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Federation of 
California, Consumer Reports, CWA Local 1081, Delaware Community 
Reinvestment Action Council, Inc., Demos, Denver Area Labor Federation, 
East Bay Community Law Center, FAITH IN TEXAS, Famicos Foundation, 
FLARA, Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection, Greater Longview 
United Way, Groundcover News, Habitat for Humanity of Camp Co, TX, 
Hawaiian Community Assets, Housing Action Illinois, Housing and Family 
Services of Greater New York, Inc., Mary House, Inc., Maryland Consumer 
Rights Coalition, Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, Inc., Mobilization 
for Justice Inc., Montana Organizing Project, Multi-Cultural Real 
Estate Alliance For Urban Change, National Advocacy Center of the 
Sisters of the Good Shepherd, National Association of Consumer 
Advocates, National Association of Social Workers, National Association 
of Social Workers West Virginia Chapter, National Center for Law and 
Economic Justice, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-
income clients), National Fair Housing Alliance, National Housing Law 
Project, National Housing Resource Center, National Rural Social Work 
Caucus, New Economics for Women, New Jersey Citizen Action, New Jersey 
Tenants Organization, New York Legal Assistance Group, North Carolina 
Council of Churches, Partners In Community Building, Inc., PathWays PA, 
Pennsylvania Council of Churches, People Demanding Action, Progressive 
Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Project IRENE, Prosperity Now, Public 
Citizen, Public Justice Center, Public Law Center, Public Utility Law 
Project of New York, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, SC 
Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Sisters of Mercy South Central 
Community, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Paul UMC, Tennessee 
Citizen Action, The Center for Survivor Agency and Justice, The 
Disaster Law Project, The Greenlining Institute, The Leadership 
Conference on Civil and Human Rights, THE ONE LESS FOUNDATION, Tzedek 
DC, U.S. PIRG, Urban Asset Builders, Inc., Virginia Citizens Consumer 
Council, Virginia Poverty Law Center, West Virginia Center on Budget 
and Policy, Wildfire, Woodstock Institute, and WV Citizen Action Group. 
See http://ourfinancialsecurity.org/2019/07/news-release-afr-statement-
financial-services-committee-markup-credit-reporting/.
    \10\National Association of Realtors letter, available at https://
narfocus.com/billdatabase/clientfiles/172/2/3417.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This legislation is substantially similar to Titles I and 
VII of the discussion draft by Chairwoman Maxine Waters 
entitled, ``the Comprehensive Consumer Credit Reporting Reform 
Act of 2019'' that was considered at a full committee hearing 
on February 26, 2019 and was introduced in previous 
congresses.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\Financial Services Committee Hearing: Who's Keeping Score? 
Holding Credit Bureaus Accountable and Repairing a Broken System 
(2019). Hearing information available at https://
financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=402343. 
Also see H.R. 5282 (114th Congress), the Comprehensive Consumer Credit 
Reporting Reform Act of 2016, introduced by Rep. Waters on May 19, 
2016, and H.R.3755 (115th Congress), the Comprehensive Consumer Credit 
Reporting Reform Act of 2017, introduced by Rep. Waters on September 
13, 2017, available with additional materials at https://
financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400788.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Title

    This section provides that H.R. 3642 may be cited as the 
``Improving Credit Reporting for All Consumers Act.''

Section 2. Congressional findings

    This section highlights the importance of consumer credit 
reports and their impact across various sectors (lending, 
employment, etc.). This section also highlights consumer 
frustration with the lack of accuracy in reports and effective 
means to address errors in reports. This section also provides 
background on deceptive marketing practices, including 
instances where consumers are paying for products that they 
could receive free of charge, but are not provided with an 
accurate outlook of their options.

Section 3. Effective date

    This section provides that the changes made by this act 
will go into effect two years after its enactment.

Section 4. General bureau rulemaking

    This section directs the Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau to issue final rules implementing this Act within two 
years of the enactment of H.R. 3642.

              TITLE I--IMPROVEMENTS TO THE DISPUTE PROCESS

Section 101. Dispute procedures and disclosures relating to 
        reinvestigations

    This section amends section 611 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act by creating a process for consumers to more 
easily provide information to contest information on their 
credit reports and directs credit reporting agencies to 
investigate and reinvestigate under reasonable time frames (30 
days with possible extensions).

Section 102. Consumer awareness of dispute rights

    This section amends section 611 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act by requiring credit reportingcredit reporting 
agencies to create a website available to consumers that 
contains disclosures and other information that explains how to 
dispute an item on a credit report, and how consumers can 
address the problem. This section also directs this website to 
contain features so that consumers with vision and other 
impairments may still access the site.

Section 103. Maintenance of records by furnishers

    This section amends section 623 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act.
    The amendments made by this section require furnishers to 
retain records and any payment history of consumers for the 
same time period that negative information remains on reports. 
The amendments also address the issue of transfer of ownership 
in case another person acquires the right to repayment 
connected to the information provided, by requiring that the 
acquiring person be subjected to the same requirements and the 
same extent, as the person who initially provided such 
information to the credit reporting agency.

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

    This section amends section 623(a) and section 615(a) of 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act by establishing a duty by 
furnishers to inform consumers through a general negative 
information warning notice, 90 days prior to furnishing any 
negative information to a credit reporting agency relating to 
such consumer. The amendments made by this section also 
eliminate a furnishers authority to dismiss consumer disputes 
as frivolous or irrelevant.

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

    This section amends section 611, and section 623(a), and 
section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
    The amendments made by this section give consumers the 
right to appeal the results of a credit reporting agency's 
reinvestigation, through a notice of appeal within 120 days 
after the date of receipt of the results of such investigation, 
free of charge. The amendments made by this section also 
require credit reporting agencies to, within described 
reasonable time frames, provide consumers a statement 
confirming the receipt of the consumers notice of appeal and 
results of the appeal. Credit reporting agencies may not refuse 
to conduct a review of an appeal.

Section 106. Revised consumer reports

    This section amends section 611 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act by requiring credit reporting agencies to send a 
revised consumer report and credit score based on the consumers 
file if the file was changed due to an investigation to such 
consumer impacted by the investigation.

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

    This section amends section 605(f) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act by requiring a credit reporting agency to include 
a notation of any item of information that is being disputed in 
the consumer report. The amendments made by this section also 
allow a consumer to submit a request to opt out and request the 
credit reporting agency to omit such notations from the 
consumer report.

Section 108. Accuracy and completeness report duties for credit 
        reporting agencies and furnishers

    This section amends section 607(b) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act.
    The amendments made by this section encourage the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau to issue a final rule establishing 
standard processes and procedures of credit reporting agencies 
to manage the dispute process. The amendments also urge the 
Bureau to establish a process of corrective action for 
furnishers who repeatedly furnish inaccurate or incomplete 
information, by ensuring that any adverse information related 
to a consumers account is promptly removed, while also granting 
authority to temporarily prohibit such furnisher from providing 
information to a credit reporting agency.

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

    This section amends section 607(d) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act by requiring any credit reporting agency that 
furnishes a consumer report containing public record data to 
also include the source, court (if applicable), and date that 
the data was initially reported or publicized.

Section 110. Injunctive relief for victims

    This section amends section 616, section 617, and section 
621(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act by encouraging courts 
to award injunctive relief related to the costs and reasonable 
attorney fees incurred during the action to the prevailing 
party by such party.

    TITLE II--PROHIBITION ON MISLEADING AND UNFAIR CREDIT REPORTING 
                               PRACTICES

Sec. 201. Prohibition on automatic renewals for promotional credit 
        reporting and credit scoring products and services

    This section adds a new section 630 to the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act by prohibiting the seller or provider from 
continuing to sell or provide such product or service to a 
consumer after the end of the promotional period in which the 
product or service was sold, unless the consumer specifically 
agrees to continue receiving the product or service at the end 
of the promotional period.

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

    This section amends section 609 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act by encouraging the Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission to 
issue regulations within 18 months of the enactment of this 
section, requiring credit reporting agencies and resellers to 
clearly disclose all material terms and conditions including 
fees and pricing information to consumers on all locations 
where products or services are offered, sold, marketed or 
advertised.

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

    This section adds section 631 to the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act.
    The new section 631 ends excessive direct-to-consumer sales 
by giving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau authority to 
set fair and reasonable fees on credit reporting and credit 
scoring products and services sold by credit reporting agencies 
to consumers.

Sec. 204. Fair access to credit reporting and credit scoring 
        disclosures for nonnative English speakers and the visually and 
        hearing impaired

    This section adds section 632 to the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act.
    The new section 632 directs the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau to issue a rule within 180 days after the 
enactment of this section requiring credit reporting agencies 
to provide any information, disclosures, or other 
communications with consumers in each of the 10 most commonly 
spoken languages, as well as in formats accessible to 
individuals with hearing or visual impairments. This section 
also requires credit reporting agencies to have customer 
representatives and employees that can handle disputes or 
appeals and able to assist consumers under the requirements of 
this title.

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

    This section amends section 605 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act by granting consumers the ability to conduct 
multiple inquiries regarding their credit score to a credit 
reporting agency without harming their credit score, and for 
that agency to treat all inquiries as ``inquiries of the same 
type'', if the inquiries are made to determine a consumer's 
creditworthiness for an extension of credit.

Sec. 206. Nationwide credit reporting agencies registry

    This section adds section 633 to the Fair Credit Reporting 
Act.
    The new section 633 directs the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau to establish and maintain a publicly 
accessible registry of credit reporting agencies, and any other 
agencies the Bureau determines provide similar products and 
services to such credit reporting agencies.

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of section 103(i) of H. Res. 6 for the 
116th Congress--
    (1) The Committee on Financial Services held a hearing, 
entitled ``Who's Keeping Score? Holding Credit Bureaus 
Accountable and Repairing a Broken System'' to consider the 
``Comprehensive Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 2019'' 
(Titles I and VII of the discussion draft is substantially 
similar to H.R. 3642) on February 26, 2019. The two-panel 
hearing consisted of first the three CEOs of the three largest 
Credit Reporting Agencies: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. 
Witnesses on the second panel included representatives from the 
National Fair Housing Alliance, the National Consumer Law 
Center, UnidosUS, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), 
and a Paul Hastings partner and attorney. The hearing allowed 
Members of the Financial Services Committee to hear from 
witnesses about the continuing challenges modernizing the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act to better protect consumers and their 
data, as well as other legislation to help overcome those 
challenges.
    (2) The Committee on Financial Services' taskforce on 
Financial Technology held a hearing, entitled ``Examining the 
Use of Alternative Data in Underwriting and Credit Scoring to 
Expand Access to Credit'' on July 25, 2019 to discuss emerging 
technologies and how they impact access to credit, and their 
impact across communities. The panel consisted of 
representatives from the National Consumer Law Center, Tulane 
University Law School, The Government Accountability Office 
(GAO), Upstart, and Upturn.
    (3) In addition, during the 115th Congress, the Financial 
Services Committee held a two-part hearing on the Equifax data 
breach and related credit reporting and consumer data 
protection issues. The first part of the hearing entitled 
``Examining the Equifax Data Breach'' took place on October 5, 
2017 and featured the former Chairman and CEO to Equifax. The 
Committee also held a Minority Day hearing, which was a 
continuation of the hearing entitled, ``Examining the Equifax 
Data Breach'' and took place on October 25, 2017. Witnesses 
included representatives from the Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau, the National Consumer Law Center, Georgetown University 
Law Center, and the Office of the New York State Attorney 
General.

                        Committee Consideration

    The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on 
July 16, 2019, and ordered H.R. 3642 to be reported favorably 
to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute by 
a vote of 32 yeas and 26 nays, a quorum being present.

                  Committee Votes and Roll Call Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
following roll call votes occurred during the Committee's 
consideration of H.R. 3642:

              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

  Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in the descriptive portions of this report.

             Statement of Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause (3)(c) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the goals of H.R. 3642 are to improve 
the consumer credit report dispute process and to end deceptive 
credit monitoring products practices.

                 New Budget Authority and CBO Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for 
H.R. 3642 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, December 20, 2019.
Hon. Maxine Waters,
Chairwoman, Committee on Financial Services,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Chairwoman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3642, the 
Improving Credit Reporting for All Consumers Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is David Hughes.
            Sincerely,
                                                 Phillip L. Swagel.
    Enclosure.

              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    Bill Summary: H.R. 3642 would amend the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act to require consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) to 
adhere to new processes to resolve disputes and protect 
consumers. Title 1 would change how consumers dispute aspects 
of their credit file held by a CRA and would require CRAs and 
entities that furnish information to CRAs to hire and maintain 
sufficiently trained staff to handle such disputes. The bill 
would authorize consumers to appeal, free of charge, the 
results of a dispute reinvestigation by a CRA or a dispute 
investigation by an entity that furnishes information for their 
credit file. H.R. 3642 would require consumer information held 
by a CRA to be accurate, complete, and verifiable; consumers 
would be able to dispute the validity of their file on each of 
those grounds. Any entities that repeatedly provide inaccurate, 
incomplete, or unverifiable information to CRAs would be 
subject to corrective action by the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau (CFPB).
    Under title 2, customer service representatives working for 
a CRA would be required to exhibit a minimum competence with 
consumer reporting laws and regulations and to remain available 
both during and outside of regular business hours. In addition, 
the CFPB would be required to establish and maintain a publicly 
available registry of CRAs and to update that registry on an 
annual basis. Finally, H.R. 3642 would expand the authority of 
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prosecute negligent or 
willful violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
    Estimated Federal cost: The estimated budgetary effect of 
H.R. 3642 is shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation 
fall within budget function 370 (commerce and housing credit).

                                                   TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF H.R. 3642
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     2020    2021    2022    2023    2024    2025    2026    2027    2028    2029   2020-2024  2020-2029
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              INCREASES IN DIRECT SPENDING
 
Estimated Budget Authority........................       3       2       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *         5          5
Estimated Outlays.................................       3       2       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *         5          5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* = between zero and $500,000.
Enacting H.R. 3642 would have an insignificant effect on revenues and on spending subject to appropriation.

    Basis of estimate: CBO assumes the bill will be enacted 
early in calendar year 2020.
    Direct spending and revenues: Using information from the 
CFPB, CBO estimates that the CFPB would need 23 employees at an 
annual rate of $200,000 per employee for about one year to 
issue rules to implement the bill. In addition, CBO estimates 
that the bureau would need the equivalent of about two 
employees to establish and update the CRA registry. On that 
basis, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3642 would increase 
direct spending by the agency by $5 million over the 2020-2029 
period. (The CFPB has permanent authority, not subject to 
annual appropriation, to spend amounts transferred from the 
Federal Reserve.)
    CBO anticipates that expanding the FTC's ability to bring 
additional enforcement actions would increase collections of 
civil monetary penalties, which are recorded in the federal 
budget as revenues. CBO expects the increased revenues would 
total less than $500,000 over the 2020-2029 period.
    Spending subject to appropriation: Using information from 
the FTC, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would 
increase the FTC's enforcement costs by less than $500,000 over 
the 2020-2024 period. Any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go 
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement 
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or 
revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those 
pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table 2.

 TABLE 2.--CBO'S ESTIMATE OF THE STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS OF H.R. 3642, IMPROVING CREDIT REPORTING FOR ALL CONSUMERS ACT, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY
                                               THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES ON JULY 11, 2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
                                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               2020   2021   2022   2023   2024   2025   2026   2027   2028   2029  2020-2024  2020-2029
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               NET INCREASE IN THE DEFICIT
 
Pay-As-You-Go Effect........................................      3      2      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0         5          5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Increase in long-term deficits: None.
    Mandates: The bill contains intergovernmental and private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
(UMRA), but CBO cannot determine whether the aggregate cost of 
those mandates would exceed the thresholds established in UMRA 
($82 million and $164 million in 2019, respectively, adjusted 
annually for inflation).
    In amending the process for consumers to dispute 
information in their credit file and for CRAs to investigate 
those disputes, H.R. 3642 would impose new requirements on 
CRAs, which CBO estimates would impose small compliance costs 
on them. The bill would require CRAs to:
           Ensure personnel handling reinvestigations 
        of disputed information are located in the United 
        States;
           Publish on their websites an overview of a 
        consumer's right to obtain and dispute credit 
        information;
           Place notations in consumer reports for 
        disputed information and citing public data sources if 
        used in a report;
           Establish electronic means for consumers to 
        submit and track an appeal request; and
           Treat multiple inquiries by a consumer 
        during a 120-day period for a mortgage, auto, or 
        student loan as a single inquiry.
    The bill also would prohibit CRAs from charging consumers 
to delete disputed information resulting from an investigation 
of their consumer report.
    Mandate that applies to private entities only: H.R. 3642 
would direct the CFPB to issue several rules that would impose 
additional requirements on private entities. However, because 
the CFPB has not yet established those rules, CBO cannot 
determine the costs to comply. Those new rules would specify:
           Procedures CRAs must follow to ensure the 
        accuracy of information contained in consumer reports;
           Notices CRAs must provide to consumers 
        regarding reinvestigations of disputed information in a 
        consumer report;
           A maximum fee for services and products that 
        a CRA may charge to consumers;
           Information to be disclosed on the website 
        of businesses that resell data from CRAs; and
           Translations and formats that CRAs and 
        furnishers must use to provide information to non-
        English speakers and the hearing and visually impaired.
    Mandate that applies both to public and to private 
entities: H.R. 3642 would place new requirements on traditional 
and nontraditional providers of consumer information. 
Specifically, those providers would be required to:
           Notify consumers on the results of 
        investigations,
           Ensure personnel involved in 
        reinvestigations are located within the United States,
           Maintain consumer information, including 
        payment histories, submitted to CRAs until the 
        information is no longer used in a consumer report, and
           Verify CRAs have correct information in a 
        disputed consumer report.
    The bill would include utility providers, which can be 
public entities, in the definition of nontraditional providers 
of information. Thus, the bill imposes both intergovernmental 
and private-sector mandates. Under current law, those providers 
submit information to CRAs voluntarily; CBO cannot determine 
the number of providers that would continue to provide 
information to CRAs in light of the new notification and 
verification requirements in the bill. Therefore, CBO cannot 
determine the cost of the mandates.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: David Hughes; 
Mandates: Rachel Austin.
    Estimate reviewed by: Kim Cawley, Chief, Natural Resources 
Cost Estimates Unit; Susan Willie, Chief, Mandates Unit; H. 
Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis; Theresa Gullo, Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison of the 
costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 3642. 
However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

                       Unfunded Mandate Statement

    Pursuant to Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, Pub. L. 104-4), the Committee 
adopts as its own the estimate of federal mandates regarding 
H.R. 3642, as amended, prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office.

                           Advisory Committee

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

              Application of Law to the Legislative Branch

    H.R. 3642 does not apply to terms and conditions of 
employment or to access to public services or accommodations 
within the legislative branch.

                           Earmark Statement

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as described in clauses 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule 
XXI.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee states that no 
provision of H.R. 3642 establishes or reauthorizes a program of 
the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another 
federal program, a program that was included in any report from 
the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

          Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, H.R. 3642, as reported, are shown as follows:

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                       FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT


                  TITLE VI--CONSUMER CREDIT REPORTING

Sec.
601. Short title.
     * * * * * * *
630. Promotional periods.
631. Fair and reasonable fees for products and services.
632. Fair access to information for nonnative English speakers and the 
          visually and hearing impaired.
633. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies registry.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 601. Short title

  This title may be cited as the ``Fair Credit Reporting Act''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer 
                    reports

  (a) Information Excluded From Consumer Reports.--Except as 
authorized under subsection (b), no consumer reporting agency 
may make any consumer report containing any of the following 
items of information:
  (1) Cases under title 11 of the United States Code or under 
the Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order 
for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may be, 
antedate the report by more than 10 years.
  (2) Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that, 
from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven 
years or until the governing statute of limitations has 
expired, whichever is the longer period.
  (3) Paid tax liens which, from date of payment, antedate the 
report by more than seven years.
  (4) Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and 
loss which antedate the report by more than seven years.
  (5) Any other adverse item of information, other than records 
of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more 
than seven years.
          (6) The name, address, and telephone number of any 
        medical information furnisher that has notified the 
        agency of its status, unless--
                  (A) such name, address, and telephone number 
                are restricted or reported using codes that do 
                not identify, or provide information sufficient 
                to infer, the specific provider or the nature 
                of such services, products, or devices to a 
                person other than the consumer; or
                  (B) the report is being provided to an 
                insurance company for a purpose relating to 
                engaging in the business of insurance other 
                than property and casualty insurance.
          (7) With respect to a consumer reporting agency 
        described in section 603(p), any information related to 
        a veteran's medical debt if the date on which the 
        hospital care, medical services, or extended care 
        services was rendered relating to the debt antedates 
        the report by less than 1 year if the consumer 
        reporting agency has actual knowledge that the 
        information is related to a veteran's medical debt and 
        the consumer reporting agency is in compliance with its 
        obligation under section 302(c)(5) of the Economic 
        Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.
          (8) With respect to a consumer reporting agency 
        described in section 603(p), any information related to 
        a fully paid or settled veteran's medical debt that had 
        been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in 
        collection if the consumer reporting agency has actual 
        knowledge that the information is related to a 
        veteran's medical debt and the consumer reporting 
        agency is in compliance with its obligation under 
        section 302(c)(5) of the Economic Growth, Regulatory 
        Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.
  (b) The provisions of paragraphs (1) through (5) of 
subsection (a) are not applicable in the case of any consumer 
credit report to be used in connection with--
          (1) a credit transaction involving, or which may 
        reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount 
        of $150,000 or more;
          (2) the underwriting of life insurance involving, or 
        which may reasonably be expected to involve, a face 
        amount of $150,000 or more; or
          (3) the employment of any individual at an annual 
        salary which equals, or which may reasonably be 
        expected to equal $75,000, or more.
  (c) Running of Reporting Period.--
          (1) In general.--The 7-year period referred to in 
        paragraphs (4) and (6) of subsection (a) shall begin, 
        with respect to any delinquent account that is placed 
        for collection (internally or by referral to a third 
        party, whichever is earlier), charged to profit and 
        loss, or subjected to any similar action, upon the 
        expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date 
        of the commencement of the delinquency which 
        immediately preceded the collection activity, charge to 
        profit and loss, or similar action.
          (2) Effective date.--Paragraph (1) shall apply only 
        to items of information added to the file of a consumer 
        on or after the date that is 455 days after the date of 
        enactment of the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act 
        of 1996.
  (d) Information Required To Be Disclosed.--
          (1) Title 11 information.--Any consumer reporting 
        agency that furnishes a consumer report that contains 
        information regarding any case involving the consumer 
        that arises under title 11, United States Code, shall 
        include in the report an identification of the chapter 
        of such title 11 under which such case arises if 
        provided by the source of the information. If any case 
        arising or filed under title 11, United States Code, is 
        withdrawn by the consumer before a final judgment, the 
        consumer reporting agency shall include in the report 
        that such case or filing was withdrawn upon receipt of 
        documentation certifying such withdrawal.
          (2) Key factor in credit score information.--Any 
        consumer reporting agency that furnishes a consumer 
        report that contains any credit score or any other risk 
        score or predictor on any consumer shall include in the 
        report a clear and conspicuous statement that a key 
        factor (as defined in section 609(f)(2)(B)) that 
        adversely affected such score or predictor was the 
        number of enquiries, if such a predictor was in fact a 
        key factor that adversely affected such score. This 
        paragraph shall not apply to a check services company, 
        acting as such, which issues authorizations for the 
        purpose of approving or processing negotiable 
        instruments, electronic fund transfers, or similar 
        methods of payments, but only to the extent that such 
        company is engaged in such activities.
          (3) Public record data source.--Any consumer 
        reporting agency that furnishes a consumer report that 
        contains public record data shall also include in such 
        report the source from which that data was obtained, 
        including the particular court, if any, and the date 
        that the data was initially reported or publicized.
  (e) Indication of Closure of Account by Consumer.--If a 
consumer reporting agency is notified pursuant to section 
623(a)(4) that a credit account of a consumer was voluntarily 
closed by the consumer, the agency shall indicate that fact in 
any consumer report that includes information related to the 
account.
  [(f) Indication of Dispute by Consumer.--If a consumer 
reporting agency is notified pursuant to section 623(a)(3) that 
information regarding a consumer who was furnished to the 
agency is disputed by the consumer, the agency shall indicate 
that fact in each consumer report that includes the disputed 
information.]
  (f) Indication of Dispute.--
          (1) In general.--A consumer reporting agency shall 
        include in any consumer report based on the consumer's 
        file a notation identifying any item of information 
        that is currently in dispute by the consumer if--
                  (A) a consumer disputes the completeness or 
                accuracy of any item of information contained 
                in a consumer's file pursuant to section 
                611(a)(1);
                  (B) a consumer files with a consumer 
                reporting agency an appeal of a reinvestigation 
                pursuant to section 611(i); or
                  (C) the consumer reporting agency is notified 
                by a person that furnished any items of 
                information that are currently in dispute by 
                the consumer that--
                          (i) a consumer disputes the 
                        completeness or accuracy of any 
                        information furnished by a person to 
                        any consumer reporting agency pursuant 
                        to paragraph (3) or (8) of section 
                        623(a); or
                          (ii) a consumer submits a notice of 
                        appeal under section 623(a)(10).
          (2) Opt out.--A consumer may submit a request to a 
        consumer reporting agency or a person who furnished the 
        information in dispute, as applicable, to have the 
        notation described in paragraph (1) omitted from the 
        consumer report. Upon receipt of such a request--
                  (A) by a consumer reporting agency, such 
                agency shall remove the notation within 1 
                business day; and
                  (B) by a person who furnished the information 
                in dispute, such person shall submit such 
                request to each consumer reporting agency to 
                which the person furnished such information 
                within 1 business day and such agency shall 
                remove the notation within 1 business day of 
                receipt of such request.
  (g) Truncation of Credit Card and Debit Card Numbers.--
          (1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection, no person that accepts credit cards or 
        debit cards for the transaction of business shall print 
        more than the last 5 digits of the card number or the 
        expiration date upon any receipt provided to the 
        cardholder at the point of the sale or transaction.
          (2) Limitation.--This subsection shall apply only to 
        receipts that are electronically printed, and shall not 
        apply to transactions in which the sole means of 
        recording a credit card or debit card account number is 
        by handwriting or by an imprint or copy of the card.
          (3) Effective date.--This subsection shall become 
        effective--
                  (A) 3 years after the date of enactment of 
                this subsection, with respect to any cash 
                register or other machine or device that 
                electronically prints receipts for credit card 
                or debit card transactions that is in use 
                before January 1, 2005; and
                  (B) 1 year after the date of enactment of 
                this subsection, with respect to any cash 
                register or other machine or device that 
                electronically prints receipts for credit card 
                or debit card transactions that is first put 
                into use on or after January 1, 2005.
  (h) Notice of Discrepancy in Address.--
          (1) In general.--If a person has requested a consumer 
        report relating to a consumer from a consumer reporting 
        agency described in section 603(p), the request 
        includes an address for the consumer that substantially 
        differs from the addresses in the file of the consumer, 
        and the agency provides a consumer report in response 
        to the request, the consumer reporting agency shall 
        notify the requester of the existence of the 
        discrepancy.
          (2) Regulations.--
                  (A) Regulations required.--The Bureau shall,, 
                in consultation with the Federal banking 
                agencies, the National Credit Union 
                Administration, and the Federal Trade 
                Commission,, prescribe regulations providing 
                guidance regarding reasonable policies and 
                procedures that a user of a consumer report 
                should employ when such user has received a 
                notice of discrepancy under paragraph (1).
                  (B) Policies and procedures to be included.--
                The regulations prescribed under subparagraph 
                (A) shall describe reasonable policies and 
                procedures for use by a user of a consumer 
                report--
                          (i) to form a reasonable belief that 
                        the user knows the identity of the 
                        person to whom the consumer report 
                        pertains; and
                          (ii) if the user establishes a 
                        continuing relationship with the 
                        consumer, and the user regularly and in 
                        the ordinary course of business 
                        furnishes information to the consumer 
                        reporting agency from which the notice 
                        of discrepancy pertaining to the 
                        consumer was obtained, to reconcile the 
                        address of the consumer with the 
                        consumer reporting agency by furnishing 
                        such address to such consumer reporting 
                        agency as part of information regularly 
                        furnished by the user for the period in 
                        which the relationship is established.
  (i) Encouraging Consumers To Comparison Shop for Loans by 
Treating Grouped Enquiries of the Same Type Within a Reasonable 
Period as a Single Enquiry.--
          (1) In general.--With respect to multiple enquiries 
        of the same type made to a consumer reporting agency 
        for a consumer report or credit score with respect to a 
        consumer, any credit scoring model shall treat such 
        enquiries as a single enquiry if the enquiries are made 
        within a 120-day period.
          (2) Definition of enquiries of the same type.--With 
        respect to multiple enquiries made to a consumer 
        reporting agency for a consumer report or credit score 
        with respect to a consumer, such enquiries are ``of the 
        same type'' if the consumer reporting agency has reason 
        to believe that the enquiries are all made for the 
        purpose of determining the consumer's creditworthiness 
        for an extension of credit described in one of the 
        following:
                  (A) Any loan primarily for personal, family, 
                or household use that is secured by a mortgage, 
                deed of trust, or other equivalent consensual 
                security interest on a dwelling (as defined in 
                section 103(w) of the Truth in Lending Act), 
                including a loan in which the proceeds will be 
                used for--
                          (i) a manufactured home (as defined 
                        in section 603 of the Housing and 
                        Community Development Act of 1974 (42 
                        U.S.C. 5402));
                          (ii) any installment sales contract, 
                        land contract, or contract for deed on 
                        a residential property; or
                          (iii) a reverse mortgage transaction 
                        (as defined in section 103 of the Truth 
                        in Lending Act).
                  (B) A motor vehicle loan or lease (as 
                described in section 609(j)).
                  (C) A private education loan.
                  (D) Any other consumer financial product or 
                service, as determined by the Bureau.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 605B. Block of information resulting from identity theft

  (a) Block.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, a 
consumer reporting agency shall block the reporting of any 
information in the file of a consumer that the consumer 
identifies as information that resulted from an alleged 
identity theft, not later than 4 business days after the date 
of receipt by such agency of--
          (1) appropriate proof of the identity of the 
        consumer;
          (2) a copy of an identity theft report;
          (3) the identification of such information by the 
        consumer; and
          (4) a statement by the consumer that the information 
        is not information relating to any transaction by the 
        consumer.
  (b) Notification.--A consumer reporting agency shall promptly 
notify the furnisher of information identified by the consumer 
under subsection (a)--
          (1) that the information may be a result of identity 
        theft;
          (2) that an identity theft report has been filed;
          (3) that a block has been requested under this 
        section; and
          (4) of the effective dates of the block.
  (c) Authority To Decline or Rescind.--
          (1) In general.--A consumer reporting agency may 
        decline to block, or may rescind any block, of 
        information relating to a consumer under this section, 
        if the consumer reporting agency reasonably determines 
        that--
                  (A) the information was blocked in error or a 
                block was requested by the consumer in error;
                  (B) the information was blocked, or a block 
                was requested by the consumer, on the basis of 
                a material misrepresentation of fact by the 
                consumer relevant to the request to block; or
                  (C) the consumer obtained possession of 
                goods, services, or money as a result of the 
                blocked transaction or transactions.
          (2) Notification to consumer.--If a block of 
        information is declined or rescinded under this 
        subsection, the affected consumer shall be notified 
        promptly, in the same manner as consumers are notified 
        of the reinsertion of information under [section 
        611(a)(5)(B)] section 611(a)(5)
          (3) Significance of block.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, if a consumer reporting agency rescinds a 
        block, the presence of information in the file of a 
        consumer prior to the blocking of such information is 
        not evidence of whether the consumer knew or should 
        have known that the consumer obtained possession of any 
        goods, services, or money as a result of the block.
  (d) Exception for Resellers.--
          (1) No reseller file.--This section shall not apply 
        to a consumer reporting agency, if the consumer 
        reporting agency--
                  (A) is a reseller;
                  (B) is not, at the time of the request of the 
                consumer under subsection (a), otherwise 
                furnishing or reselling a consumer report 
                concerning the information identified by the 
                consumer; and
                  (C) informs the consumer, by any means, that 
                the consumer may report the identity theft to 
                the Bureau to obtain consumer information 
                regarding identity theft.
          (2) Reseller with file.--The sole obligation of the 
        consumer reporting agency under this section, with 
        regard to any request of a consumer under this section, 
        shall be to block the consumer report maintained by the 
        consumer reporting agency from any subsequent use, if--
                  (A) the consumer, in accordance with the 
                provisions of subsection (a), identifies, to a 
                consumer reporting agency, information in the 
                file of the consumer that resulted from 
                identity theft; and
                  (B) the consumer reporting agency is a 
                reseller of the identified information.
          (3) Notice.--In carrying out its obligation under 
        paragraph (2), the reseller shall promptly provide a 
        notice to the consumer of the decision to block the 
        file. Such notice shall contain the name, address, and 
        telephone number of each consumer reporting agency from 
        which the consumer information was obtained for resale.
  (e) Exception for Verification Companies.--The provisions of 
this section do not apply to a check services company, acting 
as such, which issues authorizations for the purpose of 
approving or processing negotiable instruments, electronic fund 
transfers, or similar methods of payments, except that, 
beginning 4 business days after receipt of information 
described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a), a 
check services company shall not report to a national consumer 
reporting agency described in section 603(p), any information 
identified in the subject identity theft report as resulting 
from identity theft.
  (f) Access to Blocked Information by Law Enforcement 
Agencies.--No provision of this section shall be construed as 
requiring a consumer reporting agency to prevent a Federal, 
State, or local law enforcement agency from accessing blocked 
information in a consumer file to which the agency could 
otherwise obtain access under this title.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 607. Compliance procedures

  (a) Every consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable 
procedures designed to avoid violations of section 605 and to 
limit the furnishing of consumer reports to the purposes listed 
under section 604. These procedures shall require that 
prospective users of the information identify themselves, 
certify the purposes for which the information is sought, and 
certify that the information will be used for no other purpose. 
Every consumer reporting agency shall make a reasonable effort 
to verify the identity of a new prospective user and the uses 
certified by such prospective user prior to furnishing such 
user a consumer report. No consumer reporting agency may 
furnish a consumer report to any person if it has reasonable 
grounds for believing that the consumer report will not be used 
for a purpose listed in section 604.
  [(b) Whenever a consumer reporting agency prepares a consumer 
report it shall follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum 
possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual 
about whom the report relates.]
  (b) Accuracy and Completeness of Report.--
          (1) In general.--In preparing a consumer report, a 
        consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable 
        procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy and 
        completeness of the information concerning the 
        individual to whom the consumer report relates.
          (2) Bureau rule to assure maximum possible accuracy 
        and completeness with credit reporting practices.--
                  (A) Rule.--Not later than 18 months after the 
                date of enactment of this subsection, the 
                Bureau shall issue a final rule establishing 
                the procedures described in paragraph (1).
                  (B) Requirements.--In formulating the rule 
                required under subparagraph (A), the Bureau 
                shall--
                          (i) develop standards for matching 
                        the personally identifiable information 
                        included in the consumer's file with 
                        the personally identifiable information 
                        furnished by the person who provided 
                        the information to the consumer 
                        reporting agency (hereafter in this 
                        subsection referred to as the 
                        ``furnisher''), including the full name 
                        of a consumer, the date of birth of a 
                        consumer, the full social security 
                        number of a consumer, and any other 
                        information that the Bureau determines 
                        would aid in assuring maximum possible 
                        accuracy and completeness of such 
                        consumer reports;
                          (ii) establish processes for a 
                        consumer reporting agency to monitor 
                        the integrity of the data provided by 
                        furnishers and the compliance of 
                        furnishers with the requirements of 
                        this title;
                          (iii) establish processes for a 
                        consumer reporting agency to regularly 
                        reconcile data relating to accounts in 
                        collection, including those that have 
                        not been paid in full, by specifying 
                        the circumstances under which the 
                        consumer reporting agency shall remove 
                        or suppress negative or adverse 
                        information from a consumer's file that 
                        has not been updated by a furnisher who 
                        is also a debt collector (as defined in 
                        section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection 
                        Practices Act) within the time period 
                        established by the Bureau;
                          (iv) establish procedures to require 
                        each consumer reporting agency to 
                        review and monitor the quality of 
                        information received from any source, 
                        including information from public 
                        records, by regularly and on an ongoing 
                        basis comparing the information 
                        received to the information available 
                        from the original source and ensuring 
                        that the information received is the 
                        most current information;
                          (v) develop standards and procedures 
                        for consumer reporting agencies to 
                        identify furnishers that repeatedly 
                        fail to provide accurate and complete 
                        information, to take corrective action 
                        against such furnishers, and to reject 
                        information submitted by such 
                        furnishers;
                          (vi) develop standards and procedures 
                        for consumer reporting agencies to 
                        adopt regarding collection of public 
                        record data, including standards and 
                        procedures to consider the ultimate 
                        data source, how the public record 
                        information is filed and its 
                        availability and accessibility, and 
                        whether information relating to the 
                        satisfaction of judgments or other 
                        updates to the public record are 
                        available on a reasonably timely basis 
                        from a particular source; and
                          (vii) establish any other factors, 
                        procedures, or processes determined by 
                        the Bureau to be necessary to assist 
                        consumer reporting agencies in 
                        achieving maximum possible accuracy and 
                        completeness of the information in 
                        consumer reports.
          (3) Corrective action for furnishers that repeatedly 
        furnish inaccurate or incomplete information.--Upon 
        identifying a furnisher that repeatedly fails to 
        furnish accurate, complete, or verifiable information 
        to consumer reporting agencies, the Bureau shall--
                  (A) ensure the prompt removal of any adverse 
                information relating to a consumer's accounts 
                submitted by such furnisher; and
                  (B) take corrective action, which may 
                include--
                          (i) mandatory revised training and 
                        training materials for the staff of the 
                        furnisher regarding the furnishing of 
                        accurate and complete information;
                          (ii) sharing industry best practices 
                        and procedures regarding accuracy and 
                        completeness; or
                          (iii) temporarily prohibiting a 
                        furnisher from providing information to 
                        a consumer reporting agency.
  (c) Disclosure of Consumer Reports by Users Allowed.--A 
consumer reporting agency may not prohibit a user of a consumer 
report furnished by the agency on a consumer from disclosing 
the contents of the report to the consumer, if adverse action 
against the consumer has been taken by the user based in whole 
or in part on the report.
  (d) Notice to Users and Furnishers of Information.--
          (1) Notice requirement.--A consumer reporting agency 
        shall provide to any person--
                  (A) who regularly and in the ordinary course 
                of business furnishes information to the agency 
                with respect to any consumer; or
                  (B) to whom a consumer report is provided by 
                the agency;
        a notice of such person's responsibilities under this 
        title.
          (2) Content of notice.--The Bureau shall prescribe 
        the content of notices under paragraph (1), and a 
        consumer reporting agency shall be in compliance with 
        this subsection if it provides a notice under paragraph 
        (1) that is substantially similar to the Bureau 
        prescription under this paragraph.
  (e) Procurement of Consumer Report for Resale.--
          (1) Disclosure.--A person may not procure a consumer 
        report for purposes of reselling the report (or any 
        information in the report) unless the person discloses 
        to the consumer reporting agency that originally 
        furnishes the report--
                  (A) the identity of the end-user of the 
                report (or information); and
                  (B) each permissible purpose under section 
                604 for which the report is furnished to the 
                end-user of the report (or information).
          (2) Responsibilities of procurers for resale.--A 
        person who procures a consumer report for purposes of 
        reselling the report (or any information in the report) 
        shall--
                  (A) establish and comply with reasonable 
                procedures designed to ensure that the report 
                (or information) is resold by the person only 
                for a purpose for which the report may be 
                furnished under section 604, including by 
                requiring that each person to which the report 
                (or information) is resold and that resells or 
                provides the report (or information) to any 
                other person--
                          (i) identifies each end user of the 
                        resold report (or information);
                          (ii) certifies each purpose for which 
                        the report (or information) will be 
                        used; and
                          (iii) certifies that the report (or 
                        information) will be used for no other 
                        purpose; and
                  (B) before reselling the report, make 
                reasonable efforts to verify the 
                identifications and certifications made under 
                subparagraph (A).
          (3) Resale of consumer report to a federal agency or 
        department.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1) or (2), a 
        person who procures a consumer report for purposes of 
        reselling the report (or any information in the report) 
        shall not disclose the identity of the end-user of the 
        report under paragraph (1) or (2) if--
                  (A) the end user is an agency or department 
                of the United States Government which procures 
                the report from the person for purposes of 
                determining the eligibility of the consumer 
                concerned to receive access or continued access 
                to classified information (as defined in 
                section 604(b)(4)(E)(i)); and
                  (B) the agency or department certifies in 
                writing to the person reselling the report that 
                nondisclosure is necessary to protect 
                classified information or the safety of persons 
                employed by or contracting with, or undergoing 
                investigation for work or contracting with the 
                agency or department.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 609. Disclosures to consumers

  (a) Every consumer reporting agency shall, upon request, and 
subject to section 610(a)(1), clearly and accurately disclose 
to the consumer:
          (1) All information in the consumer's file at the 
        time of the [request, except that--]
                  [(A) if the consumer to whom] request, unless 
                the consumer to whom the file relates requests 
                that the first 5 digits of the social security 
                number (or similar identification number) of 
                the consumer not be included in the disclosure 
                and the consumer reporting agency has received 
                appropriate proof of the identity of the 
                requester, the consumer reporting agency shall 
                so truncate such number in such [disclosure; 
                and] disclosure.
                  [(B) nothing in this paragraph shall be 
                construed to require a consumer reporting 
                agency to disclose to a consumer any 
                information concerning credit scores or any 
                other risk scores or predictors relating to the 
                consumer.]
          (2) The sources of the information; except that the 
        sources of information acquired solely for use in 
        preparing an investigative consumer report and actually 
        used for no other purpose need not be disclosed: 
        Provided, That in the event an action is brought under 
        this title, such sources shall be available to the 
        plaintiff under appropriate discovery procedures in the 
        court in which the action is brought.
          (3)(A) Identification of each person (including each 
        end-user identified under section 607(e)(1)) that 
        procured a consumer report--
                  (i) for employment purposes, during the 2-
                year period preceding the date on which the 
                request is made; or
                  (ii) for any other purpose, during the 1-year 
                period preceding the date on which the request 
                is made.
          (B) An identification of a person under subparagraph 
        (A) shall include--
                  (i) the name of the person or, if applicable, 
                the trade name (written in full) under which 
                such person conducts business; and
                  (ii) upon request of the consumer, the 
                address and telephone number of the person.
          (C) Subparagraph (A) does not apply if--
                  (i) the end user is an agency or department 
                of the United States Government that procures 
                the report from the person for purposes of 
                determining the eligibility of the consumer to 
                whom the report relates to receive access or 
                continued access to classified information (as 
                defined in section 604(b)(4)(E)(i)); and
                  (ii) the head of the agency or department 
                makes a written finding as prescribed under 
                section 604(b)(4)(A).
          (4) The dates, original payees, and amounts of any 
        checks upon which is based any adverse characterization 
        of the consumer, included in the file at the time of 
        the disclosure.
          (5) A record of all inquiries received by the agency 
        during the 1-year period preceding the request that 
        identified the consumer in connection with a credit or 
        insurance transaction that was not initiated by the 
        consumer.
          (6) If the consumer requests the credit file and not 
        the credit score, a statement that the consumer may 
        request and obtain a credit score or educational credit 
        score (if applicable) under subsection (f) or section 
        612
  (b) The requirements of subsection (a) respecting the 
disclosure of sources of information and the recipients of 
consumer reports do not apply to information received or 
consumer reports furnished prior to the effective date of this 
title except to the extent that the matter involved is 
contained in the files of the consumer reporting agency on that 
date.
  (c) Summary of [Rights To Obtain and Dispute Information in 
Consumer Reports and To Obtain Credit Scores] Key Consumer 
Reporting Rights.--
          (1)  [Commission] Bureau summary of rights 
        required.--
                  (A) In general.--The [Commission] Bureau 
                shall prepare a model summary of the rights of 
                consumers under this title.
                  (B) Content of summary.--The summary of 
                rights prepared under subparagraph (A) shall 
                include a description of--
                          (i) the right of a consumer to obtain 
                        a copy of a consumer report under 
                        subsection (a) from each consumer 
                        reporting agency;
                          (ii) the frequency and circumstances 
                        under which a consumer is entitled to 
                        receive [a consumer report without 
                        charge under section 612] consumer 
                        reports and credit scores or 
                        educational credit scores (as 
                        applicable) without charge under 
                        subsections (f), (g), (i), or (j) or 
                        section 612;
                          (iii) the right of a consumer to 
                        dispute information in the file of the 
                        consumer under section 611 or section 
                        623;
                          [(iv) the right of a consumer to 
                        obtain a credit score from a consumer 
                        reporting agency, and a description of 
                        how to obtain a credit score;]
                          (iv) the right of a consumer to 
                        appeal a determination of a 
                        reinvestigation conducted by a consumer 
                        reporting agency under section 611(h) 
                        or an investigation conducted by a 
                        furnisher of information under section 
                        623(a)(10);
                          (v) the method by which a consumer 
                        can contact, and obtain a consumer 
                        report from, a consumer reporting 
                        agency without charge, as provided in 
                        the regulations of the Bureau 
                        prescribed under section 211(c) of the 
                        Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions 
                        Act of 2003; and
                          [(vi) the method by which a consumer 
                        can contact, and obtain a consumer 
                        report from, a consumer reporting 
                        agency described in section 603(w), as 
                        provided in the regulations of the 
                        Bureau prescribed under section 
                        612(a)(1)(C).]
                          (vi) the method and circumstances 
                        under which consumers can obtain a 1-
                        year fraud alert, 7-year fraud alert, 
                        active duty alert, or security freeze 
                        as described in section 605A through a 
                        consumer reporting agency described 
                        under section 603(p).
                  (C) Availability of summary of rights.--The 
                [Commission] Bureau and the Commission shall--
                          (i) actively publicize the 
                        availability of the summary of rights 
                        prepared under this paragraph;
                          (ii) conspicuously post on its 
                        Internet website the availability of 
                        such summary of rights; and
                          (iii) promptly make such summary of 
                        rights available to consumers, on 
                        request.
                  (D) Publication of summary rights.--A 
                consumer reporting agency described under 
                subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 shall 
                display in a clear and conspicuous manner, 
                including on the Internet website of the 
                consumer reporting agency, the summary of 
                rights prepared by the Bureau under this 
                paragraph.
          (2) Summary of rights required to be included with 
        agency disclosures.--A consumer reporting agency shall 
        provide to a consumer, with each written disclosure by 
        the agency to the consumer under this section--
                  (A) the summary of rights prepared by the 
                Bureau under paragraph (1);
                  (B) in the case of a consumer reporting 
                agency described in section 603(p), a toll-free 
                telephone number established by the agency, at 
                which personnel are accessible to consumers 
                during normal business hours;
                  (C) a list of all Federal agencies 
                responsible for enforcing any provision of this 
                title, 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;
                  (D) a statement that the consumer may have 
                additional rights under State law, and that the 
                consumer may wish to contact a State or local 
                consumer protection agency or a State attorney 
                general (or the equivalent thereof) to learn of 
                those rights; and
                  (E) a statement that a consumer reporting 
                agency is not required to remove accurate 
                derogatory information from the file of a 
                consumer, unless the information is outdated 
                under section 605 or cannot be verified.
  (d) Summary of Rights of Identity Theft Victims.--
          (1) In general.--The Bureau and the Commission, in 
        consultation with the Federal banking agencies and the 
        National Credit Union Administration, shall prepare a 
        model summary of the rights of consumers under this 
        title with respect to the procedures for remedying the 
        effects of fraud or identity theft involving credit, an 
        electronic fund transfer, or an account or transaction 
        at or with a financial institution or other creditor.
          (2) Summary of rights and contact information.--
        Beginning 60 days after the date on which the model 
        summary of rights is prescribed in final form by the 
        Bureau pursuant to paragraph (1), if any consumer 
        contacts a consumer reporting agency and expresses a 
        belief that the consumer is a victim of fraud or 
        identity theft involving credit, an electronic fund 
        transfer, or an account or transaction at or with a 
        financial institution or other creditor, the consumer 
        reporting agency shall, in addition to any other action 
        that the agency may take, provide the consumer with a 
        summary of rights that contains all of the information 
        required by the Bureau under paragraph (1), and 
        information on how to contact the Bureau to obtain more 
        detailed information.
  (e) Information Available to Victims.--
          (1) In general.--For the purpose of documenting 
        fraudulent transactions resulting from identity theft, 
        not later than 30 days after the date of receipt of a 
        request from a victim in accordance with paragraph (3), 
        and subject to verification of the identity of the 
        victim and the claim of identity theft in accordance 
        with paragraph (2), a business entity that has provided 
        credit to, provided for consideration products, goods, 
        or services to, accepted payment from, or otherwise 
        entered into a commercial transaction for consideration 
        with, a person who has allegedly made unauthorized use 
        of the means of identification of the victim, shall 
        provide a copy of application and business transaction 
        records in the control of the business entity, whether 
        maintained by the business entity or by another person 
        on behalf of the business entity, evidencing any 
        transaction alleged to be a result of identity theft 
        to--
                  (A) the victim;
                  (B) any Federal, State, or local government 
                law enforcement agency or officer specified by 
                the victim in such a request; or
                  (C) any law enforcement agency investigating 
                the identity theft and authorized by the victim 
                to take receipt of records provided under this 
                subsection.
          (2) Verification of identity and claim.--Before a 
        business entity provides any information under 
        paragraph (1), unless the business entity, at its 
        discretion, otherwise has a high degree of confidence 
        that it knows the identity of the victim making a 
        request under paragraph (1), the victim shall provide 
        to the business entity--
                  (A) as proof of positive identification of 
                the victim, at the election of the business 
                entity--
                          (i) the presentation of a government-
                        issued identification card;
                          (ii) personally identifying 
                        information of the same type as was 
                        provided to the business entity by the 
                        unauthorized person; or
                          (iii) personally identifying 
                        information that the business entity 
                        typically requests from new applicants 
                        or for new transactions, at the time of 
                        the victim's request for information, 
                        including any documentation described 
                        in clauses (i) and (ii); and
                  (B) as proof of a claim of identity theft, at 
                the election of the business entity--
                          (i) a copy of a police report 
                        evidencing the claim of the victim of 
                        identity theft; and
                          (ii) a properly completed--
                                  (I) copy of a standardized 
                                affidavit of identity theft 
                                developed and made available by 
                                the Bureau; or
                                  (II) an affidavit of fact 
                                that is acceptable to the 
                                business entity for that 
                                purpose.
          (3) Procedures.--The request of a victim under 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                  (A) be in writing;
                  (B) be mailed to an address specified by the 
                business entity, if any; and
                  (C) if asked by the business entity, include 
                relevant information about any transaction 
                alleged to be a result of identity theft to 
                facilitate compliance with this section 
                including--
                          (i) if known by the victim (or if 
                        readily obtainable by the victim), the 
                        date of the application or transaction; 
                        and
                          (ii) if known by the victim (or if 
                        readily obtainable by the victim), any 
                        other identifying information such as 
                        an account or transaction number.
          (4) No charge to victim.--Information required to be 
        provided under paragraph (1) shall be so provided 
        without charge.
          (5) Authority to decline to provide information.--A 
        business entity may decline to provide information 
        under paragraph (1) if, in the exercise of good faith, 
        the business entity determines that--
                  (A) this subsection does not require 
                disclosure of the information;
                  (B) after reviewing the information provided 
                pursuant to paragraph (2), the business entity 
                does not have a high degree of confidence in 
                knowing the true identity of the individual 
                requesting the information;
                  (C) the request for the information is based 
                on a misrepresentation of fact by the 
                individual requesting the information relevant 
                to the request for information; or
                  (D) the information requested is Internet 
                navigational data or similar information about 
                a person's visit to a website or online 
                service.
          (6) Limitation on liability.--Except as provided in 
        section 621, sections 616 and 617 do not apply to any 
        violation of this subsection.
          (7) Limitation on civil liability.--No business 
        entity may be held civilly liable under any provision 
        of Federal, State, or other law for disclosure, made in 
        good faith pursuant to this subsection.
          (8) No new recordkeeping obligation.--Nothing in this 
        subsection creates an obligation on the part of a 
        business entity to obtain, retain, or maintain 
        information or records that are not otherwise required 
        to be obtained, retained, or maintained in the ordinary 
        course of its business or under other applicable law.
          (9) Rule of construction.--
                  (A) In general.--No provision of subtitle A 
                of title V of Public Law 106 102, prohibiting 
                the disclosure of financial information by a 
                business entity to third parties shall be used 
                to deny disclosure of information to the victim 
                under this subsection.
                  (B) Limitation.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (A), nothing in this subsection 
                permits a business entity to disclose 
                information, including information to law 
                enforcement under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 
                paragraph (1), that the business entity is 
                otherwise prohibited from disclosing under any 
                other applicable provision of Federal or State 
                law.
          (10) Affirmative defense.--In any civil action 
        brought to enforce this subsection, it is an 
        affirmative defense (which the defendant must establish 
        by a preponderance of the evidence) for a business 
        entity to file an affidavit or answer stating that--
                  (A) the business entity has made a reasonably 
                diligent search of its available business 
                records; and
                  (B) the records requested under this 
                subsection do not exist or are not reasonably 
                available.
          (11) Definition of victim.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, the term ``victim'' means a consumer whose 
        means of identification or financial information has 
        been used or transferred (or has been alleged to have 
        been used or transferred) without the authority of that 
        consumer, with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, 
        an identity theft or a similar crime.
          (12) Effective date.--This subsection shall become 
        effective 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
        subsection.
          (13) Effectiveness study.--Not later than 18 months 
        after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
        Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a 
        report to Congress assessing the effectiveness of this 
        provision.
  (f) Disclosure of Credit Scores.--
          (1) In general.--Upon the request of a consumer for a 
        credit score, a consumer reporting agency shall supply 
        to the consumer a statement indicating that the 
        information and credit scoring model may be different 
        than the credit score that may be used by the lender, 
        and a notice which shall include--
                  (A) the current credit score of the consumer 
                or the most recent credit score of the consumer 
                that was previously calculated by the credit 
                reporting agency for a purpose related to the 
                extension of credit;
                  (B) the range of possible credit scores under 
                the model used;
                  (C) all of the key factors that adversely 
                affected the credit score of the consumer in 
                the model used, the total number of which shall 
                not exceed 4, subject to paragraph (9);
                  (D) the date on which the credit score was 
                created; and
                  (E) the name of the person or entity that 
                provided the credit score or credit file upon 
                which the credit score was created.
          (2) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection, 
        the following definitions shall apply:
                  (A) Credit score.--The term ``credit 
                score''--
                          (i) means a numerical value or a 
                        categorization derived from a 
                        statistical tool or modeling system 
                        used by a person who makes or arranges 
                        a loan to predict the likelihood of 
                        certain credit behaviors, including 
                        default (and the numerical value or the 
                        categorization derived from such 
                        analysis may also be referred to as a 
                        ``risk predictor'' or ``risk score''); 
                        and
                          (ii) does not include--
                                  (I) any mortgage score or 
                                rating of an automated 
                                underwriting system that 
                                considers one or more factors 
                                in addition to credit 
                                information, including the loan 
                                to value ratio, the amount of 
                                down payment, or the financial 
                                assets of a consumer; or
                                  (II) any other elements of 
                                the underwriting process or 
                                underwriting decision.
                  (B) Key factors.--The term ``key factors''' 
                means all relevant elements or reasons 
                adversely affecting the credit score for the 
                particular individual, listed in the order of 
                their importance based on their effect on the 
                credit score.
          (3) Timeframe and manner of disclosure.--The 
        information required by this subsection shall be 
        provided in the same timeframe and manner as the 
        information described in subsection (a).
          (4) Applicability to certain uses.--This subsection 
        shall not be construed so as to compel a consumer 
        reporting agency to develop or disclose a score if the 
        agency does not--
                  (A) distribute scores that are used in 
                connection with residential real property 
                loans; or
                  (B) develop scores that assist credit 
                providers in understanding the general credit 
                behavior of a consumer and predicting the 
                future credit behavior of the consumer.
          (5) Applicability to credit scores developed by 
        another person.--
                  (A) In general.--This subsection shall not be 
                construed to require a consumer reporting 
                agency that distributes credit scores developed 
                by another person or entity to provide a 
                further explanation of them, or to process a 
                dispute arising pursuant to section 611, except 
                that the consumer reporting agency shall 
                provide the consumer with the name and address 
                and website for contacting the person or entity 
                who developed the score or developed the 
                methodology of the score.
                  (B) Exception.--This paragraph shall not 
                apply to a consumer reporting agency that 
                develops or modifies scores that are developed 
                by another person or entity.
          (6) Maintenance of credit scores not required.--This 
        subsection shall not be construed to require a consumer 
        reporting agency to maintain credit scores in its 
        files.
          (7) Compliance in certain cases.--In complying with 
        this subsection, a consumer reporting agency shall--
                  (A) supply the consumer with a credit score 
                that is derived from a credit scoring model 
                that is widely distributed to users by that 
                consumer reporting agency in connection with 
                residential real property loans or with a 
                credit score that assists the consumer in 
                understanding the credit scoring assessment of 
                the credit behavior of the consumer and 
                predictions about the future credit behavior of 
                the consumer; and
                  (B) a statement indicating that the 
                information and credit scoring model may be 
                different than that used by the lender.
          (8) Fair and reasonable fee.--A consumer reporting 
        agency may charge a fair and reasonable fee, as 
        determined by the Bureau, for providing the information 
        required under this subsection.
          (9) Use of enquiries as a key factor.--If a key 
        factor that adversely affects the credit score of a 
        consumer consists of the number of enquiries made with 
        respect to a consumer report, that factor shall be 
        included in the disclosure pursuant to paragraph (1)(C) 
        without regard to the numerical limitation in such 
        paragraph.
  (g) Disclosure of Credit Scores by Certain Mortgage 
Lenders.--
          (1) In general.--Any person who makes or arranges 
        loans and who uses a consumer credit score, as defined 
        in subsection (f), in connection with an application 
        initiated or sought by a consumer for a closed end loan 
        or the establishment of an open end loan for a consumer 
        purpose that is secured by 1 to 4 units of residential 
        real property (hereafter in this subsection referred to 
        as the ``lender'') shall provide the following to the 
        consumer as soon as reasonably practicable:
                  (A) Information required under subsection 
                (f).--
                          (i) In general.--A copy of the 
                        information identified in subsection 
                        (f) that was obtained from a consumer 
                        reporting agency or was developed and 
                        used by the user of the information.
                          (ii) Notice under subparagraph (d).--
                        In addition to the information provided 
                        to it by a third party that provided 
                        the credit score or scores, a lender is 
                        only required to provide the notice 
                        contained in subparagraph (D).
                  (B) Disclosures in case of automated 
                underwriting system.--
                          (i) In general.--If a person that is 
                        subject to this subsection uses an 
                        automated underwriting system to 
                        underwrite a loan, that person may 
                        satisfy the obligation to provide a 
                        credit score by disclosing a credit 
                        score and associated key factors 
                        supplied by a consumer reporting 
                        agency.
                          (ii) Numerical credit score.--
                        However, if a numerical credit score is 
                        generated by an automated underwriting 
                        system used by an enterprise, and that 
                        score is disclosed to the person, the 
                        score shall be disclosed to the 
                        consumer consistent with subparagraph 
                        (C).
                          (iii) Enterprise defined.--For 
                        purposes of this subparagraph, the term 
                        ``enterprise'' has the same meaning as 
                        in paragraph (6) of section 1303 of the 
                        Federal Housing Enterprises Financial 
                        Safety and Soundness Act of 1992.
                  (C) Disclosures of credit scores not obtained 
                from a consumer reporting agency.--A person 
                that is subject to the provisions of this 
                subsection and that uses a credit score, other 
                than a credit score provided by a consumer 
                reporting agency, may satisfy the obligation to 
                provide a credit score by disclosing a credit 
                score and associated key factors supplied by a 
                consumer reporting agency.
                  (D) Notice to home loan applicants.--A copy 
                of the following notice, which shall include 
                the name, address, and telephone number of each 
                consumer reporting agency providing a credit 
                score that was used:

                  ``notice to the home loan applicant

  ``In connection with your application for a home loan, the 
lender must disclose to you the score that a consumer reporting 
agency distributed to users and the lender used in connection 
with your home loan, and the key factors affecting your credit 
scores.
   ``The credit score is a computer generated summary 
calculated at the time of the request and based on information 
that a consumer reporting agency or lender has on file. The 
scores are based on data about your credit history and payment 
patterns. Credit scores are important because they are used to 
assist the lender in determining whether you will obtain a 
loan. They may also be used to determine what interest rate you 
may be offered on the mortgage. Credit scores can change over 
time, depending on your conduct, how your credit history and 
payment patterns change, and how credit scoring technologies 
change.
   ``Because the score is based on information in your credit 
history, it is very important that you review the credit-
related information that is being furnished to make sure it is 
accurate. Credit records may vary from one company to another.
   ``If you have questions about your credit score or the 
credit information that is furnished to you, contact the 
consumer reporting agency at the address and telephone number 
provided with this notice, or contact the lender, if the lender 
developed or generated the credit score. The consumer reporting 
agency plays no part in the decision to take any action on the 
loan application and is unable to provide you with specific 
reasons for the decision on a loan application.
   ``If you have questions concerning the terms of the loan, 
contact the lender.''.
                  (E) Actions not required under this 
                subsection.--This subsection shall not require 
                any person to--
                          (i) explain the information provided 
                        pursuant to subsection (f);
                          (ii) disclose any information other 
                        than a credit score or key factors, as 
                        defined in subsection (f);
                          (iii) disclose any credit score or 
                        related information obtained by the 
                        user after a loan has closed;
                          (iv) provide more than 1 disclosure 
                        per loan transaction; or
                          (v) provide the disclosure required 
                        by this subsection when another person 
                        has made the disclosure to the consumer 
                        for that loan transaction.
                  (F) No obligation for content.--
                          (i) In general.--The obligation of 
                        any person pursuant to this subsection 
                        shall be limited solely to providing a 
                        copy of the information that was 
                        received from the consumer reporting 
                        agency.
                          (ii) Limit on liability.--No person 
                        has liability under this subsection for 
                        the content of that information or for 
                        the omission of any information within 
                        the report provided by the consumer 
                        reporting agency.
                  (G) Person defined as excluding enterprise.--
                As used in this subsection, the term ``person'' 
                does not include an enterprise (as defined in 
                paragraph (6) of section 1303 of the Federal 
                Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and 
                Soundness Act of 1992).
          (2) Prohibition on disclosure clauses null and 
        void.--
                  (A) In general.--Any provision in a contract 
                that prohibits the disclosure of a credit score 
                by a person who makes or arranges loans or a 
                consumer reporting agency is void.
                  (B) No liability for disclosure under this 
                subsection.--A lender shall not have liability 
                under any contractual provision for disclosure 
                of a credit score pursuant to this subsection.
  (h) Disclosures on Products and Services.--The Bureau, in 
consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, shall issue 
regulations within 18 months of the date of the enactment of 
this subsection requiring each consumer reporting agency and 
reseller to clearly and conspicuously disclose all material 
terms and conditions, including any fee and pricing information 
associated with any products or services offered, advertised, 
marketed, or sold to consumers by the agency or reseller. Such 
disclosures shall be made in all forms of communication to 
consumers and displayed prominently on the agency or reseller's 
website and all other locations where products or services are 
offered, advertised, marketed, or sold to consumers.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 611. Procedure in case of disputed 
                    accuracy

  [(a) Reinvestigations of Disputed Information.--
          [(1) Reinvestigation required.--
                  [(A) In general.--Subject to subsection (f) 
                and except as provided in subsection (g), if 
                the completeness or accuracy of any item of 
                information contained in a consumer's file at a 
                consumer reporting agency is disputed by the 
                consumer and the consumer notifies the agency 
                directly, or indirectly through a reseller, of 
                such dispute, the agency shall, free of charge, 
                conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to 
                determine whether the disputed information is 
                inaccurate and record the current status of the 
                disputed information, or delete the item from 
                the file in accordance with paragraph (5), 
                before the end of the 30-day period beginning 
                on the date on which the agency receives the 
                notice of the dispute from the consumer or 
                reseller.
                  [(B) Extension of period to reinvestigate.--
                Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the 30-
                day period described in subparagraph (A) may be 
                extended for not more than 15 additional days 
                if the consumer reporting agency receives 
                information from the consumer during that 30-
                day period that is relevant to the 
                reinvestigation.
                  [(C) Limitations on extension of period to 
                reinvestigate.--Subparagraph (B) shall not 
                apply to any reinvestigation in which, during 
                the 30-day period described in subparagraph 
                (A), the information that is the subject of the 
                reinvestigation is found to be inaccurate or 
                incomplete or the consumer reporting agency 
                determines that the information cannot be 
                verified.
          [(2) Prompt notice of dispute to furnisher of 
        information.--
                  [(A) In general.--Before the expiration of 
                the 5-business-day period beginning on the date 
                on which a consumer reporting agency receives 
                notice of a dispute from any consumer or a 
                reseller in accordance with paragraph (1), the 
                agency shall provide notification of the 
                dispute to any person who provided any item of 
                information in dispute, at the address and in 
                the manner established with the person. The 
                notice shall include all relevant information 
                regarding the dispute that the agency has 
                received from the consumer or reseller.
                  [(B) Provision of other information.--The 
                consumer reporting agency shall promptly 
                provide to the person who provided the 
                information in dispute all relevant information 
                regarding the dispute that is received by the 
                agency from the consumer or the reseller after 
                the period referred to in subparagraph (A) and 
                before the end of the period referred to in 
                paragraph (1)(A).
          [(3) Determination that dispute is frivolous or 
        irrelevant.--
                  [(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph 
                (1), a consumer reporting agency may terminate 
                a reinvestigation of information disputed by a 
                consumer under that paragraph if the agency 
                reasonably determines that the dispute by the 
                consumer is frivolous or irrelevant, including 
                by reason of a failure by a consumer to provide 
                sufficient information to investigate the 
                disputed information.
                  [(B) Notice of determination.--Upon making 
                any determination in accordance with 
                subparagraph (A) that a dispute is frivolous or 
                irrelevant, a consumer reporting agency shall 
                notify the consumer of such determination not 
                later than 5 business days after making such 
                determination, by mail or, if authorized by the 
                consumer for that purpose, by any other means 
                available to the agency.
                  [(C) Contents of notice.--A notice under 
                subparagraph (B) shall include--
                          [(i) the reasons for the 
                        determination under subparagraph (A); 
                        and
                          [(ii) identification of any 
                        information required to investigate the 
                        disputed information, which may consist 
                        of a standardized form describing the 
                        general nature of such information.
          [(4) Consideration of consumer information.--In 
        conducting any reinvestigation under paragraph (1) with 
        respect to disputed information in the file of any 
        consumer, the consumer reporting agency shall review 
        and consider all relevant information submitted by the 
        consumer in the period described in paragraph (1)(A) 
        with respect to such disputed information.
          [(5) Treatment of inaccurate or unverifiable 
        information.--
                  [(A) In general.--If, after any 
                reinvestigation under paragraph (1) of any 
                information disputed by a consumer, an item of 
                the information is found to be inaccurate or 
                incomplete or cannot be verified, the consumer 
                reporting agency shall--
                          [(i) promptly delete that item of 
                        information from the file of the 
                        consumer, or modify that item of 
                        information, as appropriate, based on 
                        the results of the reinvestigation; and
                          [(ii) promptly notify the furnisher 
                        of that information that the 
                        information has been modified or 
                        deleted from the file of the consumer.
                  [(B) Requirements relating to reinsertion of 
                previously deleted material.--
                          [(i) Certification of accuracy of 
                        information.--If any information is 
                        deleted from a consumer's file pursuant 
                        to subparagraph (A), the information 
                        may not be reinserted in the file by 
                        the consumer reporting agency unless 
                        the person who furnishes the 
                        information certifies that the 
                        information is complete and accurate.
                          [(ii) Notice to consumer.--If any 
                        information that has been deleted from 
                        a consumer's file pursuant to 
                        subparagraph (A) is reinserted in the 
                        file, the consumer reporting agency 
                        shall notify the consumer of the 
                        reinsertion in writing not later than 5 
                        business days after the reinsertion or, 
                        if authorized by the consumer for that 
                        purpose, by any other means available 
                        to the agency.
                          [(iii) Additional information.--As 
                        part of, or in addition to, the notice 
                        under clause (ii), a consumer reporting 
                        agency shall provide to a consumer in 
                        writing not later than 5 business days 
                        after the date of the reinsertion--
                                  [(I) a statement that the 
                                disputed information has been 
                                reinserted;
                                  [(II) the business name and 
                                address of any furnisher of 
                                information contacted and the 
                                telephone number of such 
                                furnisher, if reasonably 
                                available, or of any furnisher 
                                of information that contacted 
                                the consumer reporting agency, 
                                in connection with the 
                                reinsertion of such 
                                information; and
                                  [(III) a notice that the 
                                consumer has the right to add a 
                                statement to the consumer's 
                                file disputing the accuracy or 
                                completeness of the disputed 
                                information.
                  [(C) Procedures to prevent reappearance.--A 
                consumer reporting agency shall maintain 
                reasonable procedures designed to prevent the 
                reappearance in a consumer's file, and in 
                consumer reports on the consumer, of 
                information that is deleted pursuant to this 
                paragraph (other than information that is 
                reinserted in accordance with subparagraph 
                (B)(i)).
                  [(D) Automated reinvestigation system.--Any 
                consumer reporting agency that compiles and 
                maintains files on consumers on a nationwide 
                basis shall implement an automated system 
                through which furnishers of information to that 
                consumer reporting agency may report the 
                results of a reinvestigation that finds 
                incomplete or inaccurate information in a 
                consumer's file to other such consumer 
                reporting agencies.
          [(6) Notice of results of reinvestigation.--
                  [(A) In general.--A consumer reporting agency 
                shall provide written notice to a consumer of 
                the results of a reinvestigation under this 
                subsection not later than 5 business days after 
                the completion of the reinvestigation, by mail 
                or, if authorized by the consumer for that 
                purpose, by other means available to the 
                agency.
                  [(B) Contents.--As part of, or in addition 
                to, the notice under subparagraph (A), a 
                consumer reporting agency shall provide to a 
                consumer in writing before the expiration of 
                the 5-day period referred to in subparagraph 
                (A)--
                          [(i) a statement that the 
                        reinvestigation is completed;
                          [(ii) a consumer report that is based 
                        upon the consumer's file as that file 
                        is revised as a result of the 
                        reinvestigation;
                          [(iii) a notice that, if requested by 
                        the consumer, a description of the 
                        procedure used to determine the 
                        accuracy and completeness of the 
                        information shall be provided to the 
                        consumer by the agency, including the 
                        business name and address of any 
                        furnisher of information contacted in 
                        connection with such information and 
                        the telephone number of such furnisher, 
                        if reasonably available;
                          [(iv) a notice that the consumer has 
                        the right to add a statement to the 
                        consumer's file disputing the accuracy 
                        or completeness of the information; and
                          [(v) a notice that the consumer has 
                        the right to request under subsection 
                        (d) that the consumer reporting agency 
                        furnish notifications under that 
                        subsection.
          [(7) Description of reinvestigation procedure.--A 
        consumer reporting agency shall provide to a consumer a 
        description referred to in paragraph (6)(B)(iii) by not 
        later than 15 days after receiving a request from the 
        consumer for that description.
          [(8) Expedited dispute resolution.--If a dispute 
        regarding an item of information in a consumer's file 
        at a consumer reporting agency is resolved in 
        accordance with paragraph (5)(A) by the deletion of the 
        disputed information by not later than 3 business days 
        after the date on which the agency receives notice of 
        the dispute from the consumer in accordance with 
        paragraph (1)(A), then the agency shall not be required 
        to comply with paragraphs (2), (6), and (7) with 
        respect to that dispute if the agency--
                  [(A) provides prompt notice of the deletion 
                to the consumer by telephone;
                  [(B) includes in that notice, or in a written 
                notice that accompanies a confirmation and 
                consumer report provided in accordance with 
                subparagraph (C), a statement of the consumer's 
                right to request under subsection (d) that the 
                agency furnish notifications under that 
                subsection; and
                  [(C) provides written confirmation of the 
                deletion and a copy of a consumer report on the 
                consumer that is based on the consumer's file 
                after the deletion, not later than 5 business 
                days after making the deletion.]
  (a) Reinvestigations of Disputed Information by a Consumer 
Reporting Agency.--
          (1) Reinvestigations required.--
                  (A) In general.--Subject to subsection (f), 
                if the completeness or accuracy of any item of 
                information contained in a consumer's file at a 
                consumer reporting agency is disputed by the 
                consumer and the consumer notifies the agency 
                (either directly or indirectly through a 
                reseller or an authorized third party) of such 
                dispute, the agency shall, free of charge--
                          (i) conduct a reasonable 
                        reinvestigation using the process 
                        described in paragraph (3) to determine 
                        whether the disputed information is 
                        inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be 
                        verified;
                          (ii) notify the consumer that a 
                        notation described in section 605(e) 
                        will be added to the consumer's file 
                        until the reinvestigation has been 
                        completed and that such notation can be 
                        removed at the request of the consumer; 
                        and
                          (iii) before the end of the 30-day 
                        period beginning on the date on which 
                        the consumer reporting agency receives 
                        the notice of the dispute from the 
                        consumer or the reseller--
                                  (I) record the current status 
                                of the disputed information; or
                                  (II) delete or modify the 
                                item in accordance with 
                                paragraph (3)(D).
                  (B) Extension of period to reinvestigate.--
                Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the 30-
                day period described in subparagraph (A) may be 
                extended for period not to exceed 15 days if 
                the consumer reporting agency receives 
                additional information from the consumer or the 
                reseller regarding the dispute after the date 
                on which the consumer reporting agency notified 
                any person who provided any item of information 
                in dispute under paragraph (2)(A).
                  (C) Limitations on extension of period to 
                reinvestigate.--Subparagraph (B) shall not 
                apply to any reinvestigation in which, during 
                the 30-day period described in subparagraph 
                (A), the disputed information is found to be 
                inaccurate or incomplete, or the consumer 
                reporting agency determines that the disputed 
                information cannot be verified.
          (2) Prompt notice of dispute to furnisher of 
        information; provision of information regarding dispute 
        provided by the consumer or reseller.--
                  (A) In general.--Before the end of the period 
                of 5 business days beginning on the date on 
                which a consumer reporting agency receives 
                notice of a dispute from any consumer or 
                reseller under paragraph (1)(A), the consumer 
                reporting agency shall provide notification of 
                the dispute to any person who provided any item 
                of information in dispute, at the address and 
                in the manner established with such person. The 
                notice shall include all information, including 
                substantiating documents, regarding the dispute 
                that was submitted to the consumer reporting 
                agency.
                  (B) Provision of additional information 
                regarding dispute after notification to the 
                furnisher of information.--If a consumer 
                reporting agency receives additional 
                information regarding the dispute from the 
                consumer or reseller after the agency provides 
                the notification described under subparagraph 
                (A) and before the end of the 30-day period 
                described in paragraph (1)(A), the consumer 
                reporting agency shall, not later than 3 
                business days after receiving such information, 
                provide such information to the person who 
                provided the information in dispute.
          (3) Reasonable standards for consumer reporting 
        agencies for conducting reinvestigations and resolving 
        disputes submitted by consumers.--
                  (A) In general.--In conducting a 
                reinvestigation of disputed information, a 
                consumer reporting agency shall, at a minimum--
                          (i) maintain sufficient resources and 
                        trained staff, commensurate with the 
                        volume and complexity of disputes 
                        received or reasonably anticipated to 
                        be received, to determine whether the 
                        disputed information is accurate, 
                        complete, or can be verified by the 
                        person who provided the information;
                          (ii) ensure that all staff involved 
                        at any level of the reinvestigation 
                        process, including any individual with 
                        ultimate authority over determining 
                        whether the disputed information is 
                        inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be 
                        verified, are located within the United 
                        States;
                          (iii) verify that the personally 
                        identifiable information of the 
                        consumer submitting the dispute matches 
                        the personally identifiable information 
                        contained in the consumer's file, and 
                        that such information is accurate and 
                        complete;
                          (iv) verify that the consumer 
                        reporting agency has a record of the 
                        information being disputed; and
                          (v) conduct a reasonable review that 
                        considers all information, including 
                        substantiating documents, provided by 
                        the consumer or reseller.
                  (B) Consumer reporting.--The consumer 
                reporting agency shall not impose any 
                limitation or otherwise impede the ability of a 
                consumer to submit information about the 
                disputed item.
                  (C) Independent analysis.--The 
                reinvestigation conducted under subparagraph 
                (A) shall be an independent analysis, separate 
                from any investigation by a reseller or a 
                person who provided the disputed information.
                  (D) Deletion or modification of information 
                contained in a consumer file.--If the disputed 
                information is found to be inaccurate, 
                incomplete, or cannot be verified, the dispute 
                resolution staff of the consumer reporting 
                agency shall have the direct authority to 
                delete or modify such information in the 
                consumer's file, as appropriate, during the 30-
                day period described in paragraph (1)(A), shall 
                promptly notify the consumer of the results of 
                the reinvestigation as described in paragraph 
                (4), and shall promptly notify any person who 
                provided such information to the consumer 
                reporting agency of the modification or 
                deletion made to the consumer's file.
          (4) Notice to consumer of results of 
        reinvestigation.--
                  (A) In general.--Not later than 5 business 
                days after the conclusion of a reinvestigation 
                conducted under this subsection, the consumer 
                reporting agency shall provide written notice 
                to the consumer of the results of the 
                reinvestigation by postal mail or, if 
                authorized by the consumer for that purpose, by 
                other means available to the agency.
                  (B) Contents of notice to consumer of results 
                of reinvestigation.--The notice described in 
                subparagraph (A) shall include--
                          (i) a statement that the 
                        reinvestigation of the disputed 
                        information has been completed;
                          (ii) a statement informing the 
                        consumer as to whether the disputed 
                        information was determined to be 
                        inaccurate, incomplete, or 
                        unverifiable, including a statement of 
                        the specific reasons supporting the 
                        determination;
                          (iii) if information in the 
                        consumer's file has been deleted or 
                        modified as a result of the 
                        reinvestigation--
                                  (I) a copy of the consumer 
                                report and credit score or 
                                educational score (if 
                                applicable) that is based upon 
                                the consumer's revised file;
                                  (II) a statement identifying 
                                the specific information from 
                                the consumer's file that was 
                                deleted or modified because 
                                such information was determined 
                                to be inaccurate, incomplete, 
                                or unverifiable by the consumer 
                                reporting agency;
                                  (III) a statement that the 
                                consumer has the right, free of 
                                charge, to obtain an additional 
                                consumer report and credit 
                                score or educational credit 
                                score (if applicable) within 
                                the 12-month period following 
                                the date of the conclusion of 
                                the reinvestigation, regardless 
                                of whether the consumer 
                                obtained or will obtain a free 
                                annual consumer report and 
                                credit score or educational 
                                score (if applicable) under 
                                section 612; and
                                  (IV) a statement that the 
                                consumer has the right, free of 
                                charge, to request under 
                                subsection (d) that the 
                                consumer reporting agency 
                                furnish notifications of the 
                                consumer's revised report;
                          (iv) a description of the procedure 
                        used by the dispute resolution staff of 
                        the consumer reporting agency to 
                        determine the accuracy or completeness 
                        of the information, including the 
                        business name, mailing address, 
                        telephone number, and Internet website 
                        address (if available) of any person 
                        who provided information who was 
                        contacted by the staff in connection 
                        with the determination;
                          (v) a statement that the consumer has 
                        the right, free of charge, to add a 
                        narrative statement to the consumer's 
                        file disputing the accuracy or 
                        completeness of the information, 
                        regardless of the results of the 
                        reinvestigation by the agency, and the 
                        process for submitting such a narrative 
                        pursuant to subsection (b);
                          (vi) a copy of all information 
                        relating to the consumer that was used 
                        by the consumer reporting agency in 
                        carrying out the reinvestigation and 
                        relied upon as the basis for the 
                        determination about the accuracy and 
                        completeness of the disputed 
                        information;
                          (vii) a statement that a consumer 
                        may, free of charge, challenge the 
                        results of the reinvestigation by 
                        appeal within 120 days after the date 
                        the notice of the results of the 
                        reinvestigation was provided to the 
                        consumer and the process for submitting 
                        an appeal;
                          (viii) a statement informing the 
                        consumer that a notation described in 
                        section 605(e) will be added to the 
                        file of the consumer during the period 
                        in which the consumer appeals the 
                        results of a reinvestigation and that 
                        such notation can be removed at the 
                        request of the consumer; and
                          (ix) any other information, as 
                        determined by the Bureau.
          (5) Requirements relating to reinsertion of 
        previously deleted or modified material.--
                  (A) Certification of new determination that 
                item is accurate or complete.--A consumer 
                reporting agency may not reinsert into a 
                consumer's file any information that was 
                previously deleted or modified pursuant to 
                paragraph (3)(D), unless the person who 
                provided the information--
                          (i) requests that the consumer 
                        reporting agency reinsert such 
                        information;
                          (ii) submits a written certification 
                        that the information is accurate and 
                        complete; and
                          (iii) provides a statement describing 
                        the specific reasons why the 
                        information should be inserted.
                  (B) Notice to consumer before reinsertion can 
                occur.--Upon receipt of a request for 
                reinsertion of disputed information under 
                subparagraph (A), the consumer reporting agency 
                shall, not later than 5 business days before 
                the consumer reporting agency reinserts the 
                information into the consumer's file, notify 
                the consumer in writing of such request for 
                reinsertion. Such notice shall include--
                          (i) the business name, mailing 
                        address, telephone number, and Internet 
                        website address (if available) of any 
                        person who provided information to or 
                        contacted the consumer reporting agency 
                        in connection with the reinsertion;
                          (ii) a copy of the information 
                        relating to the consumer, the 
                        certification that the information is 
                        accurate or complete, and the statement 
                        of the reasons supporting reinsertion 
                        provided by the person who provided the 
                        information to the consumer reporting 
                        agency under subparagraph (A);
                          (iii) a statement that the consumer 
                        may obtain, free of charge and within 
                        the 12-month period following the date 
                        the notice under this subparagraph was 
                        issued, a consumer report and credit 
                        score or educational score (if 
                        applicable) from the consumer reporting 
                        agency that includes the reinserted 
                        information, regardless of whether the 
                        consumer obtained or will obtain a free 
                        annual consumer report and credit score 
                        or educational credit score (if 
                        applicable) under section 612;
                          (iv) a statement that the consumer 
                        may appeal the determination that the 
                        previously deleted or modified 
                        information is accurate or complete and 
                        a description of the procedure for the 
                        consumer to make such an appeal 
                        pursuant to subsection (h); and
                          (v) a statement that the consumer has 
                        the right to add a narrative statement, 
                        free of charge, to the consumer's file 
                        disputing the accuracy or completeness 
                        of the disputed information and a 
                        description of the process to add such 
                        a narrative statement pursuant to 
                        subsection (b).
          (6) Expedited dispute resolution.--If a consumer 
        reporting agency determines that the information 
        provided by the consumer is sufficient to substantiate 
        that the item of information is inaccurate, incomplete, 
        or cannot be verified by the person who furnished such 
        information, and the consumer reporting agency deletes 
        or modifies such information within 3 business days of 
        receiving notice of the dispute, the consumer reporting 
        agency shall be exempt from the requirements of 
        paragraph (4), if the consumer reporting agency 
        provides to the consumer--
                  (A) prompt notice confirming the deletion or 
                modification of the information from the 
                consumer's file in writing or by other means, 
                if agreed to by the consumer when the 
                information is disputed;
                  (B) a statement of the consumer's right to 
                request that the consumer reporting agency 
                furnish notifications of a revised consumer 
                report pursuant to subsection (d);
                  (C) not later than 5 business days after 
                deleting or modifying the information, a copy 
                of the consumer report and credit score or 
                educational score (if applicable) that is based 
                upon the consumer's revised file; and
                  (D) a statement that the consumer may obtain, 
                free of charge and within the 12-month period 
                following the date the notice under this 
                paragraph was sent to the consumer, a consumer 
                report and credit score or educational score 
                (if applicable) from the consumer reporting 
                agency, regardless of whether the consumer 
                obtained or will obtain their free annual 
                consumer report and credit score or educational 
                score (if applicable) under section 612.
          (7) No excuse for failure to conduct 
        reinvestigation.--A consumer reporting agency may not 
        refuse to conduct a reinvestigation under this 
        subsection because the agency determines that the 
        dispute was submitted by an authorized third party, 
        unless the agency has clear and convincing evidence 
        that the third party is not authorized to submit the 
        dispute on the consumer's behalf. If the consumer 
        reporting agency refuses to reinvestigate a dispute for 
        these reasons, it shall provide a clear and conspicuous 
        notice to the consumer explaining the reasons for the 
        refusal and describing the specific information the 
        consumer is required to provide for the agency to 
        conduct the reinvestigation.
  (b) If the reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute, or 
if the consumer is unsatisfied with the results of an appeal 
conducted under subsection (h), the consumer may file a brief 
statement setting forth the nature of the dispute. The consumer 
reporting agency may limit such statements to not more than one 
hundred words if it provides the consumer with assistance in 
writing a clear summary of the dispute.
  (c) Whenever a statement of a dispute is filed, [unless there 
is reasonable grounds to believe that it is frivolous or 
irrevelant,] the consumer reporting agency shall, in any 
subsequent consumer report containing the information in 
question, clearly note that it is disputed by the consumer and 
provide either the consumer's statement or a clear and accurate 
codification or summary thereof.
  (d) Following any deletion of information which is found to 
be inaccurate or whose accuracy can no longer be verified or 
any notation as to disputed information, the consumer reporting 
agency shall, at the request of the consumer and without 
charge, furnish notification that the item has been deleted or 
the statement, codification or summary pursuant to subsection 
(b) or (c) to any person specifically designated by the 
consumer who has within two years prior thereto received a 
consumer report for employment purposes, or within six months 
prior thereto received a consumer report for any other purpose, 
which contained the deleted or disputed information.
  (e) Treatment of Complaints and Report to Congress.--
          (1) In general.--[The Commission] The Bureau shall--
                  (A) compile all complaints that it receives 
                that a file of a consumer that is maintained by 
                a consumer reporting agency described in 
                section 603(p) or 603(x) contains incomplete or 
                inaccurate information, with respect to which, 
                the consumer appears to have disputed the 
                completeness or accuracy with the consumer 
                reporting agency or otherwise utilized the 
                procedures provided by subsection (a); and
                  (B) transmit each such complaint to each 
                consumer reporting agency involved.
          (2) Exclusion.--Complaints received or obtained by 
        the Bureau pursuant to its investigative authority 
        under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 
        shall not be subject to paragraph (1).
          (3) Agency responsibilities.--Each consumer reporting 
        agency described in section 603(p) or 603(x) that 
        receives a complaint transmitted by the Bureau pursuant 
        to paragraph (1) shall--
                  (A) review each such complaint to determine 
                whether all legal obligations imposed on the 
                consumer reporting agency under this title 
                (including any obligation imposed by an 
                applicable court or administrative order) have 
                been met with respect to the subject matter of 
                the complaint;
                  (B) provide reports on a regular basis to the 
                Bureau regarding the determinations of and 
                actions taken by the consumer reporting agency, 
                if any, in connection with its review of such 
                complaints; and
                  (C) maintain, for a reasonable time period, 
                records regarding the disposition of each such 
                complaint that is sufficient to demonstrate 
                compliance with this subsection.
          (4) Rulemaking authority.--The Bureau may prescribe 
        regulations, as appropriate to implement this 
        subsection.
          (5) Annual report.--The Bureau shall submit to the 
        Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the 
        House of Representatives an annual report regarding 
        information gathered by the Bureau under this 
        subsection.
  (f) Reinvestigation Requirement Applicable to Resellers.--
          (1) Exemption from general reinvestigation 
        requirement.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
        reseller shall be exempt from the requirements of this 
        section.
          (2) Action required upon receiving notice of a 
        dispute.--If a reseller receives a notice from a 
        consumer of a dispute concerning the completeness or 
        accuracy of any item of information contained in a 
        consumer report on such consumer produced by the 
        reseller, the reseller shall, within 5 business days of 
        receiving the notice, and free of charge--
                  (A) determine whether the item of information 
                is incomplete or inaccurate as a result of an 
                act or omission of the reseller; and
                  (B) if--
                          (i) the reseller determines that the 
                        item of information is incomplete or 
                        inaccurate as a result of an act or 
                        omission of the reseller, not later 
                        than 20 days after receiving the 
                        notice, correct the information in the 
                        consumer report or delete it; or
                          (ii) if the reseller determines that 
                        the item of information is not 
                        incomplete or inaccurate as a result of 
                        an act or omission of the reseller, 
                        convey the notice of the dispute, 
                        together with all relevant information 
                        provided by the consumer, to each 
                        consumer reporting agency that provided 
                        the reseller with the information that 
                        is the subject of the dispute, using an 
                        address or a notification mechanism 
                        specified by the consumer reporting 
                        agency for such notices.
          (3) Responsibility of consumer reporting agency to 
        notify consumer through reseller.--Upon the completion 
        of a reinvestigation under this section of a dispute 
        concerning the completeness or accuracy of any 
        information in the file of a consumer by a consumer 
        reporting agency that received notice of the dispute 
        from a reseller under paragraph (2)--
                  (A) the notice by the consumer reporting 
                agency under [paragraph (6), (7), or (8) of 
                subsection (a)] paragraph (4) or (5) of 
                subsection (a) shall be provided to the 
                reseller in lieu of the consumer; and
                  (B) the reseller shall immediately reconvey 
                such notice to the consumer, including any 
                notice of a deletion by telephone [in the 
                manner required under paragraph (8)(A)].
          (4) Reseller reinvestigations.--No provision of this 
        subsection shall be construed as prohibiting a reseller 
        from conducting a reinvestigation of a consumer dispute 
        directly.
  (g) Dispute Process for Veteran's Medical Debt.--
          (1) In general.--With respect to a veteran's medical 
        debt, the veteran may submit a notice described in 
        paragraph (2), proof of liability of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs for payment of that debt, or 
        documentation that the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        is in the process of making payment for authorized 
        hospital care, medical services, or extended care 
        services rendered to a consumer reporting agency or a 
        reseller to dispute the inclusion of that debt on a 
        consumer report of the veteran.
          (2) Notification to veteran.--The Department of 
        Veterans Affairs shall submit to a veteran a notice 
        that the Department of Veterans Affairs has assumed 
        liability for part or all of a veteran's medical debt.
          (3) Deletion of information from file.--If a consumer 
        reporting agency receives notice, proof of liability, 
        or documentation under paragraph (1), the consumer 
        reporting agency shall delete all information relating 
        to the veteran's medical debt from the file of the 
        veteran and notify the furnisher and the veteran of 
        that deletion.
  (h) Increased Consumer Awareness of Dispute Rights.--
          (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of this subsection, each consumer 
        reporting agency described under subsection (p) or (x) 
        of section 603 shall--
                  (A) establish an Internet website accessible 
                to consumers; and
                  (B) post on the home page of such website a 
                hyperlink to a separate webpage established and 
                maintained solely for the purpose of providing 
                information to a consumer about how to dispute 
                an item of information in the consumer report 
                of the consumer.
          (2) Dispute webpage requirements.--For a consumer 
        reporting agency described under subsection (p) or (x) 
        of section 603, the separate dispute webpage described 
        in paragraph (1)(B)--
                  (A) may not include any type or form of 
                marketing, advertising, information, or 
                material associated with any products or 
                services offered or sold to consumers;
                  (B) shall clearly and conspicuously disclose 
                a concise statement regarding how to file a 
                dispute through the agency, free of charge, in 
                the manner and format prescribed by the Bureau;
                  (C) shall describe the types of documents 
                that will be used by the agency in resolving 
                the dispute, including the business name and 
                mailing address to which a consumer may send 
                such documents;
                  (D) shall include a clear and concise 
                explanation of and the process for using 
                electronic or other means to submit such 
                documents, free of charge, and without any 
                character or data limitation imposed by the 
                agency;
                  (E) shall include a statement that the 
                consumer may submit information, free of 
                charge, that the consumer believes will assist 
                the consumer reporting agency in determining 
                the results of the reinvestigation of the 
                dispute;
                  (F) shall clearly and conspicuously disclose 
                a statement describing the procedure likely to 
                be used by the consumer reporting agency in 
                carrying out a reinvestigation to determine the 
                accuracy or completeness of the disputed item 
                of information, including the time period in 
                which the consumer will be notified of the 
                results of the reinvestigation, and a statement 
                that the agency may extend the reinvestigation 
                period by an additional 15 days if the consumer 
                submits additional information after a certain 
                date; and
                  (G) shall provide translations of all 
                information on the webpage in each of the 10 
                most commonly spoken languages, other than 
                English, in the United States, as determined by 
                the Bureau of the Census on an ongoing basis, 
                and in formats accessible to individuals with 
                hearing or vision impairments.
  (i) Consumer Right To Appeal Results of a Consumer Reporting 
Agency Reinvestigation.--
          (1) In general.--Within 120 days after the date of 
        receipt of the results of a reinvestigation conducted 
        under subsection (a), a consumer (or authorized third 
        party) may, free of charge, appeal the results of such 
        reinvestigation by submitting a notice of appeal to the 
        consumer reporting agency.
          (2) Notice of appeal.--
                  (A) Requirements.--A notice of appeal 
                described in paragraph (1) may be submitted in 
                writing, or through a toll-free telephone 
                number or other electronic means established by 
                the consumer reporting agency (including on the 
                Internet website described in subsection (g)), 
                and--
                          (i) shall identify the information 
                        contained in the consumer's file that 
                        is the subject of the appeal;
                          (ii) shall describe the specific 
                        reasons for submitting the notice of 
                        appeal; and
                          (iii) may provide any information the 
                        consumer believes is relevant to 
                        substantiate the validity of the 
                        dispute.
                  (B) Consumer reporting agency notice to 
                consumer.--Upon receipt of such notice of 
                appeal, the consumer reporting agency shall 
                promptly provide to the consumer a statement 
                confirming the receipt of the consumer's notice 
                of appeal that shall include--
                          (i) an approximate date on which the 
                        consumer's appeal review will be 
                        completed;
                          (ii) the process and procedures by 
                        which such review will be conducted; 
                        and
                          (iii) an employee reference number or 
                        other employee identifier for each of 
                        the specific individuals designated by 
                        the consumer reporting agency who, upon 
                        the request of the consumer, may 
                        discuss the substance and status of the 
                        appeal.
          (3) Consumer reporting agency requirements upon 
        receipt of notice of appeal.--
                  (A) In general.--Not later than 20 days after 
                receiving a notice of appeal, the consumer 
                reporting agency shall review the appeal. If 
                the consumer reporting agency determines the 
                information is inaccurate, incomplete, or 
                cannot be verified, the consumer reporting 
                agency shall delete or modify the item of 
                information being disputed by the consumer from 
                the file of the consumer before the end of the 
                20-day period beginning on the date on which 
                the consumer reporting agency receives a notice 
                of an appeal from the consumer.
                  (B) Notice of appeal to furnisher; 
                information regarding dispute provided by the 
                consumer.--
                          (i) In general.--Before the end of 
                        the period of 3 business days beginning 
                        on the date on which a consumer 
                        reporting agency receives a notice of 
                        appeal, the consumer reporting agency 
                        shall provide notice of the appeal, 
                        including all information relating to 
                        the specific appeal that the consumer 
                        reporting agency has received from the 
                        consumer, to any person who provided 
                        any information in dispute.
                          (ii) Provision of additional 
                        information regarding the dispute.--If 
                        the consumer reporting agency receives 
                        additional information from the 
                        consumer after the agency provides the 
                        notice required under clause (i) and 
                        before the end of the 20-day period 
                        described in subparagraph (A), the 
                        consumer reporting agency shall, not 
                        later than 3 business days after 
                        receiving such information, provide 
                        such information to any person who 
                        provided the information in dispute and 
                        shall have an additional 10 business 
                        days to complete the appeal review.
                  (C) Minimum standards for appeals 
                employees.--
                          (i) Designation.--Upon receipt of a 
                        notice of appeal under paragraph (1), a 
                        consumer reporting agency shall 
                        designate one or more specific 
                        employees who--
                                  (I) shall be assigned an 
                                employee reference number or 
                                other employee identifier that 
                                can be used by the consumer to 
                                discuss the appeal with the 
                                specific individuals handling 
                                the appeal;
                                  (II) shall have direct 
                                authority to resolve the 
                                dispute that is the subject of 
                                the notice of appeal from the 
                                review stage to its completion;
                                  (III) shall meet minimum 
                                training and ongoing 
                                certification requirements at 
                                regular intervals, as 
                                established by the Bureau;
                                  (IV) shall be located within 
                                the United States;
                                  (V) may not have been 
                                involved in the reinvestigation 
                                conducted or terminated 
                                pursuant to subsection (a); and
                                  (VI) may not be subject to 
                                any requirements linking 
                                incentives, including 
                                promotion, to the number of 
                                appeals processed within a 
                                certain time period.
                          (ii) Requirements.--Such employees 
                        shall conduct a robust review of the 
                        appeal and make a determination 
                        regarding the accuracy and completeness 
                        of the disputed information by--
                                  (I) conducting an independent 
                                analysis, separate from any 
                                investigation by a reseller or 
                                person who provided the 
                                disputed information, and 
                                separate from any prior 
                                reinvestigation conducted by 
                                the consumer reporting agency 
                                of the disputed information;
                                  (II) verifying that the 
                                personally identifiable 
                                information of the consumer 
                                submitting the dispute matches 
                                the personally identifiable 
                                information contained on the 
                                consumer's file;
                                  (III) analyzing the notice of 
                                appeal and all information, 
                                including any substantiating 
                                documents, provided by the 
                                consumer with the notice of 
                                appeal;
                                  (IV) evaluating the validity 
                                of any information submitted by 
                                any person that was used by the 
                                consumer reporting agency in 
                                the reinvestigation of the 
                                initial dispute;
                                  (V) verifying that the 
                                consumer reporting agency has a 
                                record of the information being 
                                disputed; and
                                  (VI) applying any additional 
                                factors or investigative 
                                processes, as specified by the 
                                Bureau.
                  (D) Notice of appeal results.--Not later than 
                5 days after the end of the 20-day period 
                described under subparagraph (A) (or the 10-day 
                extension period, as applicable) the consumer 
                reporting agency shall provide the consumer 
                with written notice of the results of the 
                appeal by postal mail or, if requested by the 
                consumer, by other means. The contents of such 
                notice shall include--
                          (i) a statement that the appeal is 
                        completed and the date on which it was 
                        completed, the results of the appeal, 
                        and the specific reasons supporting the 
                        results of the appeal;
                          (ii) a copy of all information 
                        relating to the consumer that was used 
                        as a basis for deciding the results of 
                        the appeal;
                          (iii) a consumer report that is based 
                        upon the consumer's file as that file 
                        may have been revised as a result of 
                        the appeal;
                          (iv) a description of the procedure 
                        used to determine the accuracy and 
                        completeness of the information, 
                        including the business name, telephone 
                        number, mailing address, and Internet 
                        website address (if applicable) of any 
                        person who provided information that 
                        was contacted in connection with such 
                        information, if reasonably available;
                          (v) information describing that the 
                        consumer may submit a statement, 
                        without charge, disputing the accuracy 
                        or completeness of information in the 
                        consumer's file that was the subject of 
                        an appeal under this subsection by 
                        submitting a statement directly to each 
                        consumer reporting agency that received 
                        the information;
                          (vi) a description of the consumer's 
                        rights pursuant to subsection (d) 
                        (relating to furnishing notifications 
                        to certain users of consumer reports); 
                        and
                          (vii) any other information, as 
                        determined by the Bureau.
                  (E) No excuse for failure to conduct 
                appeal.--A consumer reporting agency may not 
                refuse to conduct a review of an appeal under 
                this subsection because the agency determines 
                that the notice of appeal was submitted by an 
                authorized third party, unless the agency has 
                clear and convincing evidence that the third 
                party is not authorized to submit the notice of 
                appeal on the consumer's behalf. If the 
                consumer reporting agency refuses to conduct a 
                review of the appeal for these reasons, it 
                shall provide a clear and conspicuous written 
                notice to the consumer explaining the reasons 
                for the refusal and describing any information 
                the consumer is required to provide for the 
                agency to conduct a review of the appeal.
  (j) Requirement To Send Revised Consumer Report to 
Consumer.--Upon receiving a notice described in section 
623(a)(8)(E)(iv), each consumer reporting agency shall send to 
the consumer a revised consumer report and credit score or 
education credit score (if applicable) based upon the 
consumer's file as that file was changed as a result of the 
investigation.

SEC. 612. CHARGES FOR CERTAIN DISCLOSURES.

  (a) Free Annual Disclosure.--
          (1) Nationwide consumer reporting agencies.--
                  (A) In general.--All consumer reporting 
                agencies described in subsections (p) and [(w)] 
                (x) of section 603 shall make all disclosures 
                pursuant to section 609 once during any 12-
                month period upon request of the consumer and 
                without charge to the consumer.
                  (B) Centralized source.--Subparagraph (A) 
                shall apply with respect to a consumer 
                reporting agency described in section 603(p) 
                only if the request from the consumer is made 
                using the centralized source established for 
                such purpose in accordance with section 211(c) 
                of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions 
                Act of 2003.
                  (C) Nationwide specialty consumer reporting 
                agency.--
                          (i) In general.--The Commission shall 
                        prescribe regulations applicable to 
                        each consumer reporting agency 
                        described in [section 603(w)] section 
                        603(x) to require the establishment of 
                        a streamlined process for consumers to 
                        request consumer reports under 
                        subparagraph (A), which shall include, 
                        at a minimum, the establishment by each 
                        such agency of a toll-free telephone 
                        number for such requests.
                          (ii) Considerations.--In prescribing 
                        regulations under clause (i), the 
                        Bureau shall consider--
                                  (I) the significant demands 
                                that may be placed on consumer 
                                reporting agencies in providing 
                                such consumer reports;
                                  (II) appropriate means to 
                                ensure that consumer reporting 
                                agencies can satisfactorily 
                                meet those demands, including 
                                the efficacy of a system of 
                                staggering the availability to 
                                consumers of such consumer 
                                reports; and
                                  (III) the ease by which 
                                consumers should be able to 
                                contact consumer reporting 
                                agencies with respect to access 
                                to such consumer reports.
                          (iii) Date of issuance.--The 
                        Commission shall issue the regulations 
                        required by this subparagraph in final 
                        form not later than 6 months after the 
                        date of enactment of the Fair and 
                        Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 
                        2003.
                          (iv) Consideration of ability to 
                        comply.--The regulations of the Bureau 
                        under this subparagraph shall establish 
                        an effective date by which each 
                        nationwide specialty consumer reporting 
                        agency (as defined in [section 603(w)] 
                        section 603(x)) shall be required to 
                        comply with subsection (a), which 
                        effective date--
                                  (I) shall be established 
                                after consideration of the 
                                ability of each nationwide 
                                specialty consumer reporting 
                                agency to comply with 
                                subsection (a); and
                                  (II) shall be not later than 
                                6 months after the date on 
                                which such regulations are 
                                issued in final form (or such 
                                additional period not to exceed 
                                3 months, as the Bureau 
                                determines appropriate).
          (2) Timing.--A consumer reporting agency shall 
        provide a consumer report under paragraph (1) not later 
        than 15 days after the date on which the request is 
        received under paragraph (1).
          (3) Reinvestigations.--Notwithstanding the time 
        periods specified in section 611(a)(1), a 
        reinvestigation under that section by a consumer 
        reporting agency upon a request of a consumer that is 
        made after receiving a consumer report under this 
        subsection shall be completed not later than 45 days 
        after the date on which the request is received.
          (4) Exception for first 12 months of operation.--This 
        subsection shall not apply to a consumer reporting 
        agency that has not been furnishing consumer reports to 
        third parties on a continuing basis during the 12-month 
        period preceding a request under paragraph (1), with 
        respect to consumers residing nationwide.
  (b) Free Disclosure After Adverse Notice to Consumer.--Each 
consumer reporting agency that maintains a file on a consumer 
shall make all disclosures pursuant to section 609 without 
charge to the consumer if, not later than 60 days after receipt 
by such consumer of a notification pursuant to section 615, or 
of a notification from a debt collection agency affiliated with 
that consumer reporting agency stating that the consumer's 
credit rating may be or has been adversely affected, the 
consumer makes a request under section 609.
  (c) Free Disclosure Under Certain Other Circumstances.--Upon 
the request of the consumer, a consumer reporting agency shall 
make all disclosures pursuant to section 609 once during any 
12-month period without charge to that consumer if the consumer 
certifies in writing that the consumer--
          (1) is unemployed and intends to apply for employment 
        in the 60-day period beginning on the date on which the 
        certification is made;
          (2) is a recipient of public welfare assistance; or
          (3) has reason to believe that the file on the 
        consumer at the agency contains inaccurate information 
        due to fraud.
  (d) Free Disclosures in Connection With Fraud Alerts.--Upon 
the request of a consumer, a consumer reporting agency 
described in section 603(p) shall make all disclosures pursuant 
to section 609 without charge to the consumer, as provided in 
subsections (a)(2) and (b)(2) of section 605A, as applicable.
  (e) Other Charges Prohibited.--A consumer reporting agency 
shall not impose any charge on a consumer for providing any 
notification required by this title or making any disclosure 
required by this title, except as authorized by subsection (f).
  (f) Reasonable Charges Allowed for Certain Disclosures.--
          (1) In general.--In the case of a request from a 
        consumer other than a request that is covered by any of 
        subsections (a) through (d), a consumer reporting 
        agency may impose a reasonable charge on a consumer--
                  (A) for making a disclosure to the consumer 
                pursuant to section 609, which charge--
                          (i) shall not exceed $8; and
                          (ii) shall be indicated to the 
                        consumer before making the disclosure; 
                        and
                  (B) for furnishing, pursuant to section 
                611(d), following a reinvestigation under 
                section 611(a), a statement, codification, or 
                summary to a person designated by the consumer 
                under that section after the 30-day period 
                beginning on the date of notification of the 
                consumer under paragraph (6) or (8) of section 
                611(a) with respect to the reinvestigation, 
                which charge--
                          (i) shall not exceed the charge that 
                        the agency would impose on each 
                        designated recipient for a consumer 
                        report; and
                          (ii) shall be indicated to the 
                        consumer before furnishing such 
                        information.
          (2) Modification of amount.--The Bureau shall 
        increase the amount referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(i) 
        on January 1 of each year, based proportionally on 
        changes in the Consumer Price Index, with fractional 
        changes rounded to the nearest fifty cents.
  (g) Prevention of Deceptive Marketing of Credit Reports.--
          (1) In general.--Subject to rulemaking pursuant to 
        section 205(b) of the Credit CARD Act of 2009, any 
        advertisement for a free credit report in any medium 
        shall prominently disclose in such advertisement that 
        free credit reports are available under Federal law at: 
        ``AnnualCreditReport.com'' (or such other source as may 
        be authorized under Federal law).
          (2) Television and radio advertisement.--In the case 
        of an advertisement broadcast by television, the 
        disclosures required under paragraph (1) shall be 
        included in the audio and visual part of such 
        advertisement. In the case of an advertisement 
        broadcast by televison or radio, the disclosure 
        required under paragraph (1) shall consist only of the 
        following: ``This is not the free credit report 
        provided for by Federal law''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 615. Requirements on users of consumer reports

  (a) Duties of Users Taking Adverse Actions on the Basis of 
Information Contained in Consumer Reports.--If any person takes 
any adverse action with respect to any consumer that is based 
in whole or in part on any information contained in a consumer 
report, the person shall--
          (1) provide oral, written, or electronic notice of 
        the adverse action to the consumer;
          (2) provide to the consumer written or electronic 
        disclosure--
                  (A) of a numerical credit score as defined in 
                section 609(f)(2)(A) used by such person in 
                taking any adverse action based in whole or in 
                part on any information in a consumer report; 
                and
                  (B) of the information set forth in 
                subparagraphs (B) through (E) of section 
                609(f)(1);
          (3) provide to the consumer orally, in writing, or 
        electronically--
                  (A) the name, address, and telephone number 
                of the consumer reporting agency (including a 
                toll-free telephone number established by the 
                agency if the agency compiles and maintains 
                files on consumers on a nationwide basis) that 
                furnished the report to the person; and
                  (B) a statement that the consumer reporting 
                agency did not make the decision to take the 
                adverse action and is unable to provide the 
                consumer the specific reasons why the adverse 
                action was taken; and
          (4) provide to the consumer an oral, written, or 
        electronic notice of the consumer's right--
                  (A) to obtain, under section 612, a free copy 
                of a consumer report on the consumer from the 
                consumer reporting agency referred to in 
                paragraph (3), which notice shall include an 
                indication of the 60-day period under that 
                section for obtaining such a copy; and
                  (B) to dispute[, under section 611, with a 
                consumer reporting agency] the accuracy or 
                completeness of any information in a consumer 
                report [furnished by the agency] to a consumer 
                reporting agency under section 611 or to a 
                person who furnished information to an agency 
                under section 623
  (b) Adverse Action Based on Information Obtained From Third 
Parties Other Than Consumer Reporting Agencies.--
          (1) In general.--Whenever credit for personal, 
        family, or household purposes involving a consumer is 
        denied or the charge for such credit is increased 
        either wholly or partly because of information obtained 
        from a person other than a consumer reporting agency 
        bearing upon the consumer's credit worthiness, credit 
        standing, credit capacity, character, general 
        reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of 
        living, the user of such information shall, within a 
        reasonable period of time, upon the consumer's written 
        request for the reasons for such adverse action 
        received within sixty days after learning of such 
        adverse action, disclose the nature of the information 
        to the consumer. The user of such information shall 
        clearly and accurately disclose to the consumer his 
        right to make such written request at the time such 
        adverse action is communicated to the consumer.
          (2) Duties of person taking certain actions based on 
        information provided by affiliate.--
                  (A) Duties, generally.--If a person takes an 
                action described in subparagraph (B) with 
                respect to a consumer, based in whole or in 
                part on information described in subparagraph 
                (C), the person shall--
                          (i) notify the consumer of the 
                        action, including a statement that the 
                        consumer may obtain the information in 
                        accordance with clause (ii); and
                          (ii) upon a written request from the 
                        consumer received within 60 days after 
                        transmittal of the notice required by 
                        clause (i), disclose to the consumer 
                        the nature of the information upon 
                        which the action is based by not later 
                        than 30 days after receipt of the 
                        request.
                  (B) Action described.--An action referred to 
                in subparagraph (A) is an adverse action 
                described in section 603(k)(1)(A), taken in 
                connection with a transaction initiated by the 
                consumer, or any adverse action described in 
                clause (i) or (ii) of section 603(k)(1)(B).
                  (C) Information described.--Information 
                referred to in subparagraph (A)--
                          (i) except as provided in clause 
                        (ii), is information that--
                                  (I) is furnished to the 
                                person taking the action by a 
                                person related by common 
                                ownership or affiliated by 
                                common corporate control to the 
                                person taking the action; and
                                  (II) bears on the credit 
                                worthiness, credit standing, 
                                credit capacity, character, 
                                general reputation, personal 
                                characteristics, or mode of 
                                living of the consumer; and
                          (ii) does not include--
                                  (I) information solely as to 
                                transactions or experiences 
                                between the consumer and the 
                                person furnishing the 
                                information; or
                                  (II) information in a 
                                consumer report.
  (c) No person shall be held liable for any violation of this 
section if he shows by a preponderance of the evidence that at 
the time of the alleged violation he maintained reasonable 
procedures to assure compliance with the provisions of this 
section.
  (d) Duties of Users Making Written Credit or Insurance 
Solicitations on the Basis of Information Contained in Consumer 
Files.--
          (1) In general.--Any person who uses a consumer 
        report on any consumer in connection with any credit or 
        insurance transaction that is not initiated by the 
        consumer, that is provided to that person under section 
        604(c)(1)(B), shall provide with each written 
        solicitation made to the consumer regarding the 
        transaction a clear and conspicuous statement that--
                  (A) information contained in the consumer's 
                consumer report was used in connection with the 
                transaction;
                  (B) the consumer received the offer of credit 
                or insurance because the consumer satisfied the 
                criteria for credit worthiness or insurability 
                under which the consumer was selected for the 
                offer;
                  (C) if applicable, the credit or insurance 
                may not be extended if, after the consumer 
                responds to the offer, the consumer does not 
                meet the criteria used to select the consumer 
                for the offer or any applicable criteria 
                bearing on credit worthiness or insurability or 
                does not furnish any required collateral;
                  (D) the consumer has a right to prohibit 
                information contained in the consumer's file 
                with any consumer reporting agency from being 
                used in connection with any credit or insurance 
                transaction that is not initiated by the 
                consumer; and
                  (E) the consumer may exercise the right 
                referred to in subparagraph (D) by notifying a 
                notification system established under section 
                604(e).
          (2) Disclosure of address and telephone number; 
        format.--A statement under paragraph (1) shall--
                  (A) include the address and toll-free 
                telephone number of the appropriate 
                notification system established under section 
                604(e); and
                  (B) be presented in such format and in such 
                type size and manner as to be simple and easy 
                to understand, as established by the Bureau, by 
                rule, in consultation with the Federal Trade 
                Commission, the Federal banking agencies, and 
                the National Credit Union Administration.
          (3) Maintaining criteria on file.--A person who makes 
        an offer of credit or insurance to a consumer under a 
        credit or insurance transaction described in paragraph 
        (1) shall maintain on file the criteria used to select 
        the consumer to receive the offer, all criteria bearing 
        on credit worthiness or insurability, as applicable, 
        that are the basis for determining whether or not to 
        extend credit or insurance pursuant to the offer, and 
        any requirement for the furnishing of collateral as a 
        condition of the extension of credit or insurance, 
        until the expiration of the 3-year period beginning on 
        the date on which the offer is made to the consumer.
          (4) Authority of federal agencies regarding unfair or 
        deceptive acts or practices not affected.--This section 
        is not intended to affect the authority of any Federal 
        or State agency to enforce a prohibition against unfair 
        or deceptive acts or practices, including the making of 
        false or misleading statements in connection with a 
        credit or insurance transaction that is not initiated 
        by the consumer.
  (e) Red Flag Guidelines and Regulations Required.--
          (1) Guidelines.--The Federal banking agencies, the 
        National Credit Union Administration, the Federal Trade 
        Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 
        and the Securities and Exchange Commission shall 
        jointly, with respect to the entities that are subject 
        to their respective enforcement authority under section 
        621--
                  (A) establish and maintain guidelines for use 
                by each financial institution and each creditor 
                regarding identity theft with respect to 
                account holders at, or customers of, such 
                entities, and update such guidelines as often 
                as necessary;
                  (B) prescribe regulations requiring each 
                financial institution and each creditor to 
                establish reasonable policies and procedures 
                for implementing the guidelines established 
                pursuant to subparagraph (A), to identify 
                possible risks to account holders or customers 
                or to the safety and soundness of the 
                institution or customers; and
                  (C) prescribe regulations applicable to card 
                issuers to ensure that, if a card issuer 
                receives notification of a change of address 
                for an existing account, and within a short 
                period of time (during at least the first 30 
                days after such notification is received) 
                receives a request for an additional or 
                replacement card for the same account, the card 
                issuer may not issue the additional or 
                replacement card, unless the card issuer, in 
                accordance with reasonable policies and 
                procedures--
                          (i) notifies the cardholder of the 
                        request at the former address of the 
                        cardholder and provides to the 
                        cardholder a means of promptly 
                        reporting incorrect address changes;
                          (ii) notifies the cardholder of the 
                        request by such other means of 
                        communication as the cardholder and the 
                        card issuer previously agreed to; or
                          (iii) uses other means of assessing 
                        the validity of the change of address, 
                        in accordance with reasonable policies 
                        and procedures established by the card 
                        issuer in accordance with the 
                        regulations prescribed under 
                        subparagraph (B).
          (2) Criteria.--
                  (A) In general.--In developing the guidelines 
                required by paragraph (1)(A), the agencies 
                described in paragraph (1) shall identify 
                patterns, practices, and specific forms of 
                activity that indicate the possible existence 
                of identity theft.
                  (B) Inactive accounts.--In developing the 
                guidelines required by paragraph (1)(A), the 
                agencies described in paragraph (1) shall 
                consider including reasonable guidelines 
                providing that when a transaction occurs with 
                respect to a credit or deposit account that has 
                been inactive for more than 2 years, the 
                creditor or financial institution shall follow 
                reasonable policies and procedures that provide 
                for notice to be given to a consumer in a 
                manner reasonably designed to reduce the 
                likelihood of identity theft with respect to 
                such account.
          (3) Consistency with verification requirements.--
        Guidelines established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 
        not be inconsistent with the policies and procedures 
        required under section 5318(l) of title 31, United 
        States Code.
          (4) Definitions.--As used in this subsection, the 
        term ``creditor''--
                  (A) means a creditor, as defined in section 
                702 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 
                U.S.C. 1691a), that regularly and in the 
                ordinary course of business--
                          (i) obtains or uses consumer reports, 
                        directly or indirectly, in connection 
                        with a credit transaction;
                          (ii) furnishes information to 
                        consumer reporting agencies, as 
                        described in section 623, in connection 
                        with a credit transaction; or
                          (iii) advances funds to or on behalf 
                        of a person, based on an obligation of 
                        the person to repay the funds or 
                        repayable from specific property 
                        pledged by or on behalf of the person;
                  (B) does not include a creditor described in 
                subparagraph (A)(iii) that advances funds on 
                behalf of a person for expenses incidental to a 
                service provided by the creditor to that 
                person; and
                  (C) includes any other type of creditor, as 
                defined in that section 702, as the agency 
                described in paragraph (1) having authority 
                over that creditor may determine appropriate by 
                rule promulgated by that agency, based on a 
                determination that such creditor offers or 
                maintains accounts that are subject to a 
                reasonably foreseeable risk of identity theft.
  (f) Prohibition on Sale or Transfer of Debt Caused by 
Identity Theft.--
          (1) In general.--No person shall sell, transfer for 
        consideration, or place for collection a debt that such 
        person has been notified under section 605B has 
        resulted from identity theft.
          (2) Applicability.--The prohibitions of this 
        subsection shall apply to all persons collecting a debt 
        described in paragraph (1) after the date of a 
        notification under paragraph (1).
          (3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed to prohibit--
                  (A) the repurchase of a debt in any case in 
                which the assignee of the debt requires such 
                repurchase because the debt has resulted from 
                identity theft;
                  (B) the securitization of a debt or the 
                pledging of a portfolio of debt as collateral 
                in connection with a borrowing; or
                  (C) the transfer of debt as a result of a 
                merger, acquisition, purchase and assumption 
                transaction, or transfer of substantially all 
                of the assets of an entity.
  (g) Debt Collector Communications Concerning Identity 
Theft.--If a person acting as a debt collector (as that term is 
defined in title VIII) on behalf of a third party that is a 
creditor or other user of a consumer report is notified that 
any information relating to a debt that the person is 
attempting to collect may be fraudulent or may be the result of 
identity theft, that person shall--
          (1) notify the third party that the information may 
        be fraudulent or may be the result of identity theft; 
        and
          (2) upon request of the consumer to whom the debt 
        purportedly relates, provide to the consumer all 
        information to which the consumer would otherwise be 
        entitled if the consumer were not a victim of identity 
        theft, but wished to dispute the debt under provisions 
        of law applicable to that person.
  (h) Duties of Users in Certain Credit Transactions.--
          (1) In general.--Subject to rules prescribed as 
        provided in paragraph (6), if any person uses a 
        consumer report in connection with an application for, 
        or a grant, extension, or other provision of, credit on 
        material terms that are materially less favorable than 
        the most favorable terms available to a substantial 
        proportion of consumers from or through that person, 
        based in whole or in part on a consumer report, the 
        person shall provide an oral, written, or electronic 
        notice to the consumer in the form and manner required 
        by regulations prescribed in accordance with this 
        subsection.
          (2) Timing.--The notice required under paragraph (1) 
        may be provided at the time of an application for, or a 
        grant, extension, or other provision of, credit or the 
        time of communication of an approval of an application 
        for, or grant, extension, or other provision of, 
        credit, except as provided in the regulations 
        prescribed under paragraph (6).
          (3) Exceptions.--No notice shall be required from a 
        person under this subsection if--
                  (A) the consumer applied for specific 
                material terms and was granted those terms, 
                unless those terms were initially specified by 
                the person after the transaction was initiated 
                by the consumer and after the person obtained a 
                consumer report; or
                  (B) the person has provided or will provide a 
                notice to the consumer under subsection (a) in 
                connection with the transaction.
          (4) Other notice not sufficient.--A person that is 
        required to provide a notice under subsection (a) 
        cannot meet that requirement by providing a notice 
        under this subsection.
          (5) Content and delivery of notice.--A notice under 
        this subsection shall, at a minimum--
                  (A) include a statement informing the 
                consumer that the terms offered to the consumer 
                are set based on information from a consumer 
                report;
                  (B) identify the consumer reporting agency 
                furnishing the report;
                  (C) include a statement informing the 
                consumer that the consumer may obtain a copy of 
                a consumer report from that consumer reporting 
                agency without charge;
                  (D) include the contact information specified 
                by that consumer reporting agency for obtaining 
                such consumer reports (including a toll-free 
                telephone number established by the agency in 
                the case of a consumer reporting agency 
                described in section 603(p)); and
                  (E) include a statement informing the 
                consumer of--
                          (i) a numerical credit score as 
                        defined in section 609(f)(2)(A), used 
                        by such person in making the credit 
                        decision described in paragraph (1) 
                        based in whole or in part on any 
                        information in a consumer report; and
                          (ii) the information set forth in 
                        subparagraphs (B) through (E) of 
                        section 609(f)(1).
          (6) Rulemaking.--
                  (A) Rules required.--The Bureau shall 
                prescribe rules to carry out this subsection.
                  (B) Content.--Rules required by subparagraph 
                (A) shall address, but are not limited to--
                          (i) the form, content, time, and 
                        manner of delivery of any notice under 
                        this subsection;
                          (ii) clarification of the meaning of 
                        terms used in this subsection, 
                        including what credit terms are 
                        material, and when credit terms are 
                        materially less favorable;
                          (iii) exceptions to the notice 
                        requirement under this subsection for 
                        classes of persons or transactions 
                        regarding which the agencies determine 
                        that notice would not significantly 
                        benefit consumers;
                          (iv) a model notice that may be used 
                        to comply with this subsection; and
                          (v) the timing of the notice required 
                        under paragraph (1), including the 
                        circumstances under which the notice 
                        must be provided after the terms 
                        offered to the consumer were set based 
                        on information from a consumer report.
          (7) Compliance.--A person shall not be liable for 
        failure to perform the duties required by this section 
        if, at the time of the failure, the person maintained 
        reasonable policies and procedures to comply with this 
        section.
          (8) Enforcement.--
                  (A) No civil actions.--Sections 616 and 617 
                shall not apply to any failure by any person to 
                comply with this section.
                  (B) Administrative enforcement.--This section 
                shall be enforced exclusively under section 621 
                by the Federal agencies and officials 
                identified in that section.

Sec. 616. Civil liability for willful noncompliance

  (a)  [In General.--] Damages._Any person who willfully fails 
to comply with any requirement imposed under this title with 
respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount 
equal to the sum of--
          (1)(A) any actual damages sustained by the consumer 
        as a result of the failure or damages of not less than 
        $100 and not more than $1,000; or
          (B) in the case of liability of a natural person for 
        obtaining a consumer report under false pretenses or 
        knowingly without a permissible purpose, actual damages 
        sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or 
        $1,000, whichever is greater;
          (2) such amount of punitive damages as the court may 
        allow; and
          (3) in the case of any successful action to enforce 
        any liability under this section, the costs of the 
        action together with reasonable attorney's fees as 
        determined by the court.
  (b) Civil Liability for Knowing Noncompliance.--Any person 
who obtains a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency 
under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible 
purpose shall be liable to the consumer reporting agency for 
actual damages sustained by the consumer reporting agency or 
$1,000, whichever is greater.
  (c) Injunctive Relief.--In addition to any other remedy set 
forth in this section, a court may award injunctive relief to 
require compliance with the requirements imposed under this 
title with respect to any consumer. In the event of any 
successful action for injunctive relief under this subsection, 
the court may award to the prevailing party costs and 
reasonable attorney fees (as determined by the court) incurred 
during the action by such party.
  [(c)] (d) Attorney's Fees.--Upon a finding by the court that 
an unsuccessful pleading, motion, or other paper filed in 
connection with an action under this section was filed in bad 
faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award to 
the prevailing party attorney's fees reasonable in relation to 
the work expended in responding to the pleading, motion, or 
other paper.
  [(d)] (e) Clarification of Willful Noncompliance.--For the 
purposes of this section, any person who printed an expiration 
date on any receipt provided to a consumer cardholder at a 
point of sale or transaction between December 4, 2004, and the 
date of the enactment of this subsection but otherwise complied 
with the requirements of section 605(g) for such receipt shall 
not be in willful noncompliance with section 605(g) by reason 
of printing such expiration date on the receipt.

Sec. 617. Civil liability for negligent noncompliance

  (a)  [In General.--] Damages._Any person who is negligent in 
failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this title 
with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an 
amount equal to the sum of--
          (1) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a 
        result of the failure; and
          (2) in the case of any successful action to enforce 
        any liability under this section, the costs of the 
        action together with reasonable attorney's fees as 
        determined by the court.
  (b) Injunctive Relief.--In addition to any other remedy set 
forth in this section, a court may award injunctive relief to 
require compliance with the requirements imposed under this 
title with respect to any consumer. In the event of any 
successful action for injunctive relief under this subsection, 
the court may award to the prevailing party costs and 
reasonable attorney fees (as determined by the court) incurred 
during the action by such party.
  [(b)] (c) Attorney's Fees.--On a finding by the court that an 
unsuccessful pleading, motion, or other paper filed in 
connection with an action under this section was filed in bad 
faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award to 
the prevailing party attorney's fees reasonable in relation to 
the work expended in responding to the pleading, motion, or 
other paper.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 621. Administrative enforcement

  (a) Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission.--
          (1) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
        be authorized to enforce compliance with the 
        requirements imposed by this title under the Federal 
        Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), with 
        respect to consumer reporting agencies and all other 
        persons subject thereto, except to the extent that 
        enforcement of the requirements imposed under this 
        title is specifically committed to some other 
        Government agency under any of subparagraphs (A) 
        through (G) of subsection (b)(1), and subject to 
        subtitle B of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 
        2010, subsection (b). For the purpose of the exercise 
        by the Federal Trade Commission of its functions and 
        powers under the Federal Trade Commission Act, a 
        violation of any requirement or prohibition imposed 
        under this title shall constitute an unfair or 
        deceptive act or practice in commerce, in violation of 
        section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
        U.S.C. 45(a)), and shall be subject to enforcement by 
        the Federal Trade Commission under section 5(b) of that 
        Act with respect to any consumer reporting agency or 
        person that is subject to enforcement by the Federal 
        Trade Commission pursuant to this subsection, 
        irrespective of whether that person is engaged in 
        commerce or meets any other jurisdictional tests under 
        the Federal Trade Commission Act. The Federal Trade 
        Commission shall have such procedural, investigative, 
        and enforcement powers, including the power to issue 
        procedural rules in enforcing compliance with the 
        requirements imposed under this title and to require 
        the filing of reports, the production of documents, and 
        the appearance of witnesses, as though the applicable 
        terms and conditions of the Federal Trade Commission 
        Act were part of this title. Any person violating any 
        of the provisions of this title shall be subject to the 
        penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities 
        provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act as though 
        the applicable terms and provisions of such Act are 
        part of this title.
          (2) Penalties.--
                  (A)  [Knowing violations.--] Negligent, 
                willful, or knowing violations._Except as 
                otherwise provided by subtitle B of the 
                Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, in 
                the event of a negligent, willful, or knowing 
                violation, which constitutes a pattern or 
                practice of violations of this title, the 
                Federal Trade Commission may commence a civil 
                action to recover a civil penalty in a district 
                court of the United States against any person 
                that violates this title. In such action, such 
                person shall be liable for a civil penalty of 
                not more than $2,500 per violation.
                  (B) Determining penalty amount.--In 
                determining the amount of a civil penalty under 
                subparagraph (A), the court shall take into 
                account the degree of culpability, any history 
                of such prior conduct, ability to pay, effect 
                on ability to continue to do business, and such 
                other matters as justice may require.
                  (C) Limitation.--Notwithstanding paragraph 
                (2), a court may not impose any civil penalty 
                on a person for a violation of section 
                623(a)(1), unless the person has been enjoined 
                from committing the violation, or ordered not 
                to commit the violation, in an action or 
                proceeding brought by or on behalf of the 
                Federal Trade Commission, and has violated the 
                injunction or order, and the court may not 
                impose any civil penalty for any violation 
                occurring before the date of the violation of 
                the injunction or order.
  (b) Enforcement by Other Agencies.--
          (1) In general.--Subject to subtitle B of the 
        Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, compliance 
        with the requirements imposed under this title with 
        respect to consumer reporting agencies, persons who use 
        consumer reports from such agencies, persons who 
        furnish information to such agencies, and users of 
        information that are subject to section 615(d) shall be 
        enforced under--
                  (A) section 8 of the Federal Deposit 
                Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1818), by the 
                appropriate Federal banking agency, as defined 
                in section 3(q) of the Federal Deposit 
                Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(q)), with respect 
                to--
                          (i) any national bank or State 
                        savings association, and any Federal 
                        branch or Federal agency of a foreign 
                        bank;
                          (ii) any member bank of the Federal 
                        Reserve System (other than a national 
                        bank), a branch or agency of a foreign 
                        bank (other than a Federal branch, 
                        Federal agency, or insured State branch 
                        of a foreign bank), a commercial 
                        lending company owned or controlled by 
                        a foreign bank, and any organization 
                        operating under section 25 or 25A of 
                        the Federal Reserve Act; and
                          (iii) any bank or Federal savings 
                        association insured by the Federal 
                        Deposit Insurance Corporation (other 
                        than a member of the Federal Reserve 
                        System) and any insured State branch of 
                        a foreign bank;
                  (B) the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 
                1751 et seq.), by the Administrator of the 
                National Credit Union Administration with 
                respect to any Federal credit union;
                  (C) subtitle IV of title 49, United States 
                Code, by the Secretary of Transportation, with 
                respect to all carriers subject to the 
                jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation 
                Board;
                  (D) the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 
                U.S.C. App. 1301 et seq.), by the Secretary of 
                Transportation, with respect to any air carrier 
                or foreign air carrier subject to that Act;
                  (E) the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 
                U.S.C. 181 et seq.) (except as provided in 
                section 406 of that Act), by the Secretary of 
                Agriculture, with respect to any activities 
                subject to that Act;
                  (F) the Commodity Exchange Act, with respect 
                to a person subject to the jurisdiction of the 
                Commodity Futures Trading Commission;
                  (G) the Federal securities laws, and any 
                other laws that are subject to the jurisdiction 
                of the Securities and Exchange Commission, with 
                respect to a person that is subject to the 
                jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange 
                Commission; and
                  (H) subtitle E of the Consumer Financial 
                Protection Act of 2010, by the Bureau, with 
                respect to any person subject to this title.
          (2) Incorporated definitions.--The terms used in 
        paragraph (1) that are not defined in this title or 
        otherwise defined in section 3(s) of the Federal 
        Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(s)) have the same 
        meanings as in section 1(b) of the International 
        Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3101).
  (c) State Action for Violations.--
          (1) Authority of states.--In addition to such other 
        remedies as are provided under State law, if the chief 
        law enforcement officer of a State, or an official or 
        agency designated by a State, has reason to believe 
        that any person has violated or is violating this 
        title, the State--
                  (A) may bring an action to enjoin such 
                violation in any appropriate United States 
                district court or in any other court of 
                competent jurisdiction;
                  (B) subject to paragraph (5), may bring an 
                action on behalf of the residents of the State 
                to recover--
                          (i) damages for which the person is 
                        liable to such residents under sections 
                        616 and 617 as a result of the 
                        violation;
                          (ii) in the case of a violation 
                        described in any of paragraphs (1) 
                        through (3) of section 623(c), damages 
                        for which the person would, but for 
                        section 623(c), be liable to such 
                        residents as a result of the violation; 
                        or
                          (iii) damages of not more than $1,000 
                        for each willful or negligent 
                        violation; and
                  (C) in the case of any successful action 
                under subparagraph (A) or (B), shall be awarded 
                the costs of the action and reasonable attorney 
                fees as determined by the court.
          (2) Rights of federal regulators.--The State shall 
        serve prior written notice of any action under 
        paragraph (1) upon the Bureau and the Federal Trade 
        Commission or the appropriate Federal regulator 
        determined under subsection (b) and provide the Bureau 
        and the Federal Trade Commission or appropriate Federal 
        regulator with a copy of its complaint, except in any 
        case in which such prior notice is not feasible, in 
        which case the State shall serve such notice 
        immediately upon instituting such action. The Bureau 
        and the Federal Trade Commission or appropriate Federal 
        regulator shall have the right--
                  (A) to intervene in the action;
                  (B) upon so intervening, to be heard on all 
                matters arising therein;
                  (C) to remove the action to the appropriate 
                United States district court; and
                  (D) to file petitions for appeal.
          (3) Investigatory powers.--For purposes of bringing 
        any action under this subsection, nothing in this 
        subsection shall prevent the chief law enforcement 
        officer, or an official or agency designated by a 
        State, from exercising the powers conferred on the 
        chief law enforcement officer or such official by the 
        laws of such State to conduct investigations or to 
        administer oaths or affirmations or to compel the 
        attendance of witnesses or the production of 
        documentary and other evidence.
          (4) Limitation on state action while federal action 
        pending.--If the Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, 
        or the appropriate Federal regulator has instituted a 
        civil action or an administrative action under section 
        8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act for a violation 
        of this title, no State may, during the pendency of 
        such action, bring an action under this section against 
        any defendant named in the complaint of the Bureau, the 
        Federal Trade Commission, or the appropriate Federal 
        regulator for any violation of this title that is 
        alleged in that complaint.
          (5) Limitations on state actions for certain 
        violations.--
                  (A) Violation of injunction required.--A 
                State may not bring an action against a person 
                under paragraph (1)(B) for a violation 
                described in any of paragraphs (1) through (3) 
                of section 623(c), unless--
                          (i) the person has been enjoined from 
                        committing the violation, in an action 
                        brought by the State under paragraph 
                        (1)(A); and
                          (ii) the person has violated the 
                        injunction.
                  (B) Limitation on damages recoverable.--In an 
                action against a person under paragraph (1)(B) 
                for a violation described in any of paragraphs 
                (1) through (3) of section 623(c), a State may 
                not recover any damages incurred before the 
                date of the violation of an injunction on which 
                the action is based.
  (d) For the purpose of the exercise by any agency referred to 
in subsection (b) of its powers under any Act referred to in 
that subsection, a violation of any requirement imposed under 
this title shall be deemed to be a violation of a requirement 
imposed under that Act. In addition to its powers under any 
provision of law specifically referred to in subsection (b), 
each of the agencies referred to in that subsection may 
exercise, for the purpose of enforcing compliance with any 
requirement imposed under this title any other authority 
conferred on it by law.
  (e) Regulatory Authority.--
          (1) In general.--The Bureau shall prescribe such 
        regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes 
        of this title, except with respect to sections 615(e) 
        and 628. The Bureau may prescribe regulations as may be 
        necessary or appropriate to administer and carry out 
        the purposes and objectives of this title, and to 
        prevent evasions thereof or to facilitate compliance 
        therewith. Except as provided in section 1029(a) of the 
        Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, the 
        regulations prescribed by the Bureau under this title 
        shall apply to any person that is subject to this 
        title, notwithstanding the enforcement authorities 
        granted to other agencies under this section.
          (2) Deference.--Notwithstanding any power granted to 
        any Federal agency under this title, the deference that 
        a court affords to a Federal agency with respect to a 
        determination made by such agency relating to the 
        meaning or interpretation of any provision of this 
        title that is subject to the jurisdiction of such 
        agency shall be applied as if that agency were the only 
        agency authorized to apply, enforce, interpret, or 
        administer the provisions of this title The regulations 
        prescribed by the Bureau under this title shall apply 
        to any person that is subject to this title, 
        notwithstanding the enforcement authorities granted to 
        other agencies under this section.
  (f) Coordination of Consumer Complaint Investigations.--
          (1) In general.--Each consumer reporting agency 
        described in section 603(p) shall develop and maintain 
        procedures for the referral to each other such agency 
        of any consumer complaint received by the agency 
        alleging identity theft, or requesting a fraud alert 
        under section 605A or a block under section 605B.
          (2) Model form and procedure for reporting identity 
        theft.--The Commission, in consultation with the 
        Federal Trade Commission, the Federal banking agencies, 
        and the National Credit Union Administration, shall 
        develop a model form and model procedures to be used by 
        consumers who are victims of identity theft for 
        contacting and informing creditors and consumer 
        reporting agencies of the fraud.
          (3) Annual summary reports.--Each consumer reporting 
        agency described in section 603(p) shall submit an 
        annual summary report to the Bureau on consumer 
        complaints received by the agency on identity theft or 
        fraud alerts.
  (g) Bureau Regulation of Coding of Trade Names.--If the 
Bureau determines that a person described in paragraph (9) of 
section 623(a) has not met the requirements of such paragraph, 
the Bureau shall take action to ensure the person's compliance 
with such paragraph, which may include issuing model guidance 
or prescribing reasonable policies and procedures, as necessary 
to ensure that such person complies with such paragraph.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 623. RESPONSIBILITIES OF FURNISHERS OF INFORMATION TO CONSUMER 
                    REPORTING AGENCIES.

  (a) Duty of Furnishers of Information To Provide Accurate And 
Complete Information.--
          (1) Prohibition.--
                  (A) Reporting information with actual 
                knowledge of errors.--A person shall not 
                furnish any information relating to a consumer 
                to any consumer reporting agency if the person 
                knows or has reasonable cause to believe that 
                the information is inaccurate or incomplete
                  (B) Reporting information after notice and 
                confirmation of errors.--A person shall not 
                furnish information relating to a consumer to 
                any consumer reporting agency if--
                          (i) the person has been notified by 
                        the consumer, at the address specified 
                        by the person for such notices, that 
                        specific information is inaccurate or 
                        incomplete; and
                          (ii) the information is, in fact, 
                        inaccurate or incomplete
                  (C) No address requirement.--A person who 
                clearly and conspicuously specifies to the 
                consumer an address for notices referred to in 
                subparagraph (B) shall not be subject to 
                subparagraph (A); however, nothing in 
                subparagraph (B) shall require a person to 
                specify such an address.
                  (D) Definition.--For purposes of subparagraph 
                (A), the term ``reasonable cause to believe 
                that the information is inaccurate or 
                incomplete'' means having specific knowledge, 
                other than solely allegations by the consumer, 
                that would cause a reasonable person to have 
                substantial doubts about the accuracy or 
                completeness of the information.
                  (E) Rehabilitation of private education 
                loans.--
                          (i) In general.--Notwithstanding any 
                        other provision of this section, a 
                        consumer may request a financial 
                        institution to remove from a consumer 
                        report a reported default regarding a 
                        private education loan, and such 
                        information shall not be considered 
                        inaccurate or incomplete, if--
                                  (I) the financial institution 
                                chooses to offer a loan 
                                rehabilitation program which 
                                includes, without limitation, a 
                                requirement of the consumer to 
                                make consecutive on-time 
                                monthly payments in a number 
                                that demonstrates, in the 
                                assessment of the financial 
                                institution offering the loan 
                                rehabilitation program, a 
                                renewed ability and willingness 
                                to repay the loan; and
                                  (II) the requirements of the 
                                loan rehabilitation program 
                                described in subclause (I) are 
                                successfully met.
                          (ii) Banking agencies.--
                                  (I) In general.--If a 
                                financial institution is 
                                supervised by a Federal banking 
                                agency, the financial 
                                institution shall seek written 
                                approval concerning the terms 
                                and conditions of the loan 
                                rehabilitation program 
                                described in clause (i) from 
                                the appropriate Federal banking 
                                agency.
                                  (II) Feedback.--An 
                                appropriate Federal banking 
                                agency shall provide feedback 
                                to a financial institution 
                                within 120 days of a request 
                                for approval under subclause 
                                (I).
                          (iii) Limitation.--
                                  (I) In general.--A consumer 
                                may obtain the benefits 
                                available under this subsection 
                                with respect to rehabilitating 
                                a loan only 1 time per loan.
                                  (II) Rule of construction.--
                                Nothing in this subparagraph 
                                may be construed to require a 
                                financial institution to offer 
                                a loan rehabilitation program 
                                or to remove any reported 
                                default from a consumer report 
                                as a consideration of a loan 
                                rehabilitation program, except 
                                as described in clause (i).
                          (iv) Definitions.--For purposes of 
                        this subparagraph--
                                  (I) the term ``appropriate 
                                Federal banking agency'' has 
                                the meaning given the term in 
                                section 3 of the Federal 
                                Deposit Insurance Act (12 
                                U.S.C. 1813); and
                                  (II) the term ``private 
                                education loan'' has the 
                                meaning given the term in 
                                section 140(a) of the Truth in 
                                Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 
                                1650(a)).
          (2) Duty to correct and update information.--A person 
        who--
                  (A) regularly and in the ordinary course of 
                business furnishes information to one or more 
                consumer reporting agencies about the person's 
                transactions or experiences with any consumer; 
                and
                  (B) has furnished to a consumer reporting 
                agency information that the person determines 
                is not complete or accurate,
        shall promptly notify the consumer reporting agency of 
        that determination and provide to the agency any 
        corrections to that information, or any additional 
        information, that is necessary to make the information 
        provided by the person to the agency complete and 
        accurate, and shall not thereafter furnish to the 
        agency any of the information that remains not complete 
        or accurate.
          (3) Duty to provide notice of dispute.--If the 
        completeness or accuracy of any information furnished 
        by any person to any consumer reporting agency is 
        disputed to such person by a consumer, the person may 
        not furnish the information to any consumer reporting 
        agency without notice that such information is disputed 
        by the consumer.
          (4) Duty to provide notice of closed accounts.--A 
        person who regularly and in the ordinary course of 
        business furnishes information to a consumer reporting 
        agency regarding a consumer who has a credit account 
        with that person shall notify the agency of the 
        voluntary closure of the account by the consumer, in 
        information regularly furnished for the period in which 
        the account is closed.
          (5) Duty to provide notice of delinquency of 
        accounts.--(A) In general.--A person who furnishes 
        information to a consumer reporting agency regarding a 
        delinquent account being placed for collection, charged 
        to profit or loss, or subjected to any similar action 
        shall, not later than 90 days after furnishing the 
        information, notify the agency of the date of 
        delinquency on the account, which shall be the month 
        and year of the commencement of the delinquency on the 
        account that immediately preceded the action.
                  (B) Rule of construction.--For purposes of 
                this paragraph only, and provided that the 
                consumer does not dispute the information, a 
                person that furnishes information on a 
                delinquent account that is placed for 
                collection, charged for profit or loss, or 
                subjected to any similar action, complies with 
                this paragraph, if--
                          (i) the person reports the same date 
                        of delinquency as that provided by the 
                        creditor to which the account was owed 
                        at the time at which the commencement 
                        of the delinquency occurred, if the 
                        creditor previously reported that date 
                        of delinquency to a consumer reporting 
                        agency;
                          (ii) the creditor did not previously 
                        report the date of delinquency to a 
                        consumer reporting agency, and the 
                        person establishes and follows 
                        reasonable procedures to obtain the 
                        date of delinquency from the creditor 
                        or another reliable source and reports 
                        that date to a consumer reporting 
                        agency as the date of delinquency; or
                          (iii) the creditor did not previously 
                        report the date of delinquency to a 
                        consumer reporting agency and the date 
                        of delinquency cannot be reasonably 
                        obtained as provided in clause (ii), 
                        the person establishes and follows 
                        reasonable procedures to ensure the 
                        date reported as the date of 
                        delinquency precedes the date on which 
                        the account is placed for collection, 
                        charged to profit or loss, or subjected 
                        to any similar action, and reports such 
                        date to the credit reporting agency.
          (6) Duties of furnishers upon notice of identity 
        theft-related information.--
                  (A) Reasonable procedures.--A person that 
                furnishes information to any consumer reporting 
                agency shall have in place reasonable 
                procedures to respond to any notification that 
                it receives from a consumer reporting agency 
                under section 605B relating to information 
                resulting from identity theft, to prevent that 
                person from refurnishing such blocked 
                information.
                  (B) Information alleged to result from 
                identity theft.--If a consumer submits an 
                identity theft report to a person who furnishes 
                information to a consumer reporting agency at 
                the address specified by that person for 
                receiving such reports stating that information 
                maintained by such person that purports to 
                relate to the consumer resulted from identity 
                theft, the person may not furnish such 
                information that purports to relate to the 
                consumer to any consumer reporting agency, 
                unless the person subsequently knows or is 
                informed by the consumer that the information 
                is correct.
          [(7) Negative information.--
                  [(A) Notice to consumer required.--
                          [(i) In general.--If any financial 
                        institution that extends credit and 
                        regularly and in the ordinary course of 
                        business furnishes information to a 
                        consumer reporting agency described in 
                        section 603(p) furnishes negative 
                        information to such an agency regarding 
                        credit extended to a customer, the 
                        financial institution shall provide a 
                        notice of such furnishing of negative 
                        information, in writing, to the 
                        customer.
                          [(ii) Notice effective for subsequent 
                        submissions.--After providing such 
                        notice, the financial institution may 
                        submit additional negative information 
                        to a consumer reporting agency 
                        described in section 603(p) with 
                        respect to the same transaction, 
                        extension of credit, account, or 
                        customer without providing additional 
                        notice to the customer.
                  [(B) Time of notice.--
                          [(i) In general.--The notice required 
                        under subparagraph (A) shall be 
                        provided to the customer prior to, or 
                        no later than 30 days after, furnishing 
                        the negative information to a consumer 
                        reporting agency described in section 
                        603(p).
                          [(ii) Coordination with new account 
                        disclosures.--If the notice is provided 
                        to the customer prior to furnishing the 
                        negative information to a consumer 
                        reporting agency, the notice may not be 
                        included in the initial disclosures 
                        provided under section 127(a) of the 
                        Truth in Lending Act.
                  [(C) Coordination with other disclosures.--
                The notice required under subparagraph (A)--
                          [(i) may be included on or with any 
                        notice of default, any billing 
                        statement, or any other materials 
                        provided to the customer; and
                          [(ii) must be clear and conspicuous.
                  [(D) Model disclosure.--
                          [(i) Duty of bureau.--The Bureau 
                        shall prescribe a brief model 
                        disclosure that a financial institution 
                        may use to comply with subparagraph 
                        (A), which shall not exceed 30 words.
                          [(ii) Use of model not required.--No 
                        provision of this paragraph may be 
                        construed to require a financial 
                        institution to use any such model form 
                        prescribed by the Bureau.
                          [(iii) Compliance using model.--A 
                        financial institution shall be deemed 
                        to be in compliance with subparagraph 
                        (A) if the financial institution uses 
                        any model form prescribed by the Bureau 
                        under this subparagraph, or the 
                        financial institution uses any such 
                        model form and rearranges its format.
                  [(E) Use of notice without submitting 
                negative information.--No provision of this 
                paragraph shall be construed as requiring a 
                financial institution that has provided a 
                customer with a notice described in 
                subparagraph (A) to furnish negative 
                information about the customer to a consumer 
                reporting agency.
                  [(F) Safe harbor.--A financial institution 
                shall not be liable for failure to perform the 
                duties required by this paragraph if, at the 
                time of the failure, the financial institution 
                maintained reasonable policies and procedures 
                to comply with this paragraph or the financial 
                institution reasonably believed that the 
                institution is prohibited, by law, from 
                contacting the consumer.
                  [(G) Definitions.--For purposes of this 
                paragraph, the following definitions shall 
                apply:
                          [(i) Negative information.--The term 
                        ``negative information'' means 
                        information concerning a customer's 
                        delinquencies, late payments, 
                        insolvency, or any form of default.
                          [(ii) Customer; financial 
                        institution.--The terms ``customer''and 
                        ``financial institution'' have the same 
                        meanings as in section 509 Public Law 
                        106 102.]
          (7) Duty of furnishers to inform consumers about 
        reporting negative information.--
                  (A) General negative information warning 
                notice to all consumers prior to furnishing 
                such information.--
                          (i) In general.--Any person that 
                        regularly furnishes negative 
                        information to a consumer reporting 
                        agency described in subsection (p) or 
                        (x) of section 603 about activity on 
                        any accounts of a consumer held by such 
                        person or transactions associated with 
                        credit extended to a consumer by such 
                        person shall provide a written general 
                        negative information warning notice to 
                        each such consumer before such person 
                        may furnish any negative information 
                        relating to such a consumer.
                          (ii) Content.--Such notice shall--
                                  (I) be clear and conspicuous;
                                  (II) describe the types of 
                                activities that constitute 
                                negative information;
                                  (III) inform the consumer 
                                that the person may report 
                                negative information relating 
                                to any such accounts or 
                                transactions to a consumer 
                                reporting agency described in 
                                subsection (p) or (x) of 
                                section 603;
                                  (IV) state that the negative 
                                information may appear on a 
                                consumer report of the consumer 
                                for the periods described in 
                                section 605 and that during 
                                such periods, the negative 
                                information may adversely 
                                impact the consumer's credit 
                                score;
                                  (V) state that in some 
                                limited circumstances, the 
                                negative information may result 
                                in other adverse actions, 
                                including a denial of a new job 
                                or a promotion from existing 
                                employment; and
                                  (VI) state that the consumer 
                                has right to--
                                          (aa) obtain a copy of 
                                        their consumer report 
                                        and credit score or 
                                        educational score (if 
                                        applicable), which in 
                                        some instances can be 
                                        obtained free of 
                                        charge, from any 
                                        consumer reporting 
                                        agency to which 
                                        negative information 
                                        may be been sent; and
                                          (bb) dispute, free of 
                                        charge, any errors on a 
                                        consumer report 
                                        relating to the 
                                        consumer.
                          (iii) Timing of notice.--Such person 
                        shall provide such notice to a consumer 
                        not later than 90 days before the date 
                        on which the person furnishes negative 
                        information relating to such consumer.
                  (B) Specific negative information notice to a 
                consumer.--
                          (i) In general.--Any person described 
                        in subparagraph (A) that has furnished 
                        negative information relating to 
                        activity on any accounts of a consumer 
                        held by such person or transactions 
                        associated with credit extended to a 
                        consumer by such person to a consumer 
                        reporting agency described in 
                        subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 
                        shall send a written notice to each 
                        such consumer.
                          (ii) Content.--Such notice shall--
                                  (I) be clear and conspicuous;
                                  (II) inform the consumer that 
                                the person has furnished 
                                negative information relating 
                                to such accounts or 
                                transactions to a consumer 
                                reporting agency described in 
                                subsection (p) or (x) of 
                                section 603;
                                  (III) identify any consumer 
                                reporting agency to which the 
                                negative information was 
                                furnished, including the name 
                                of the agency, mailing address, 
                                Internet website address, and 
                                toll-free telephone number; and
                                  (IV) include the statements 
                                described in subclauses (IV), 
                                (V), and (VI) of subparagraph 
                                (A)(ii).
                          (iii) Time of notice.--Such person 
                        shall provide such notice to a consumer 
                        not later than 5 business days after 
                        the date on which the person furnished 
                        negative information relating to such 
                        consumer.
                  (C) Notice effective for subsequent 
                submissions.--After providing the notice 
                described in subparagraph (B), the person may 
                submit additional negative information to a 
                consumer reporting agency described in 
                subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 without 
                providing additional notice to the consumer, 
                unless another person acquires the right to 
                repayment connected to the additional negative 
                information. The acquiring person shall be 
                subject to the requirements of this paragraph 
                and shall be required to send consumers the 
                written notices described in this paragraph, if 
                applicable.
                  (D) Non-traditional data furnishers.--Any 
                person that furnishes negative information to a 
                consumer reporting agency described in 
                subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 relating 
                to any accounts of, or transactions associated 
                with, a consumer by such person involving non-
                traditional data shall be subject to the 
                requirements described in subparagraphs (A), 
                (B), and (C).
                  (E) Model notices.--
                          (i) Duty of bureau.--Not later than 6 
                        months after date of the enactment of 
                        this paragraph, the Bureau shall issue 
                        model forms for the notices described 
                        in subparagraphs (A) and (B) that a 
                        person may use to comply with the 
                        requirements of this paragraph.
                          (ii) Use of model notice not 
                        required.--No provision of this 
                        paragraph may be construed to require a 
                        person to use the model notices 
                        prescribed by the Bureau.
                          (iii) Compliance using model 
                        notices.--A person shall be deemed to 
                        be in compliance with the requirements 
                        of subparagraph (A)(ii) or (B)(ii) (as 
                        applicable) if the person uses the 
                        model notice prescribed by the Bureau.
                  (F) Issuance of general negative warning 
                notice without submitting negative 
                information.--No provision of this paragraph 
                may be construed to require a person described 
                in subparagraph (A) or (D) to furnish negative 
                information about a consumer to a consumer 
                reporting agency described in subsection (p) or 
                (x) of section 603.
                  (G) Safe harbor.--A person shall not be 
                liable for failure to perform the duties 
                required by this paragraph if the person 
                reasonably believes that the person is 
                prohibited, by law, from contacting the 
                consumer.
                  (H) Effective date.--The requirements of 
                subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) shall not 
                take effect until the date that is 6 months 
                after the date of the issuance of model forms 
                for notices under subparagraph (E).
                  (I) Definitions.--In this paragraph, the 
                following definitions shall apply:
                          (i) Negative information.--The term 
                        ``negative information'' means 
                        information concerning a consumer's 
                        delinquencies, late payments, 
                        insolvency, or any form of default.
                          (ii) Non-traditional data.--The term 
                        ``non-traditional data'' relates to 
                        telecommunications payments, utility 
                        payments, rent payments, remittances, 
                        wire transfers, and such other items as 
                        determined by the Bureau.
          (8) Ability of consumer to dispute information 
        directly with furnisher.--
                  (A) In general.--The Bureau shall, in 
                consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, 
                the Federal banking agencies, and the National 
                Credit Union Administration, prescribe 
                regulations that shall identify the 
                circumstances under which a furnisher shall be 
                required to [reinvestigate] investigate a 
                dispute concerning the accuracy and 
                completeness of information contained in a 
                consumer report on the consumer, based on a 
                direct request of a consumer.
                  (B) Considerations.--In prescribing 
                regulations under subparagraph (A), the 
                agencies shall weigh--
                          (i) the benefits to consumers with 
                        the costs on furnishers and the credit 
                        reporting system;
                          (ii) the impact on the overall 
                        accuracy and integrity of consumer 
                        reports of any such requirements;
                          (iii) whether direct contact by the 
                        consumer with the furnisher would 
                        likely result in the most expeditious 
                        resolution of any such dispute; and
                          (iv) the potential impact on the 
                        credit reporting process if credit 
                        repair organizations, as defined in 
                        section 403(3), including entities that 
                        would be a credit repair organization, 
                        but for section 403(3)(B)(i), are able 
                        to circumvent the prohibition in 
                        subparagraph (G).
                  (C) Applicability.--Subparagraphs (D) through 
                (G) shall apply in any circumstance identified 
                under the regulations promulgated under 
                subparagraph (A).
                  (D) Submitting a notice of dispute.--A 
                consumer who seeks to dispute the accuracy or 
                completeness of information shall provide a 
                dispute notice directly to such person at the 
                address specified by the person for such 
                notices that--
                          (i) identifies the specific 
                        information that is being disputed;
                          (ii) explains the basis for the 
                        dispute; and
                          (iii) includes all supporting 
                        documentation required by the furnisher 
                        to substantiate the basis of the 
                        dispute.
                  [(E) Duty of person after receiving notice of 
                dispute.--After receiving a notice of dispute 
                from a consumer pursuant to subparagraph (D), 
                the person that provided the information in 
                dispute to a consumer reporting agency shall--
                          [(i) conduct an investigation with 
                        respect to the disputed information;
                          [(ii) review all relevant information 
                        provided by the consumer with the 
                        notice;
                          [(iii) complete such person's 
                        investigation of the dispute and report 
                        the results of the investigation to the 
                        consumer before the expiration of the 
                        period under section 611(a)(1) within 
                        which a consumer reporting agency would 
                        be required to complete its action if 
                        the consumer had elected to dispute the 
                        information under that section; and
                          [(iv) if the investigation finds that 
                        the information reported was 
                        inaccurate, promptly notify each 
                        consumer reporting agency to which the 
                        person furnished the inaccurate 
                        information of that determination and 
                        provide to the agency any correction to 
                        that information that is necessary to 
                        make the information provided by the 
                        person accurate.
                  [(F) Frivolous or irrelevant dispute.--
                          [(i) In general.--This paragraph 
                        shall not apply if the person receiving 
                        a notice of a dispute from a consumer 
                        reasonably determines that the dispute 
                        is frivolous or irrelevant, including--
                                  [(I) by reason of the failure 
                                of a consumer to provide 
                                sufficient information to 
                                investigate the disputed 
                                information; or
                                  [(II) the submission by a 
                                consumer of a dispute that is 
                                substantially the same as a 
                                dispute previously submitted by 
                                or for the consumer, either 
                                directly to the person or 
                                through a consumer reporting 
                                agency under subsection (b), 
                                with respect to which the 
                                person has already performed 
                                the person's duties under this 
                                paragraph or subsection (b), as 
                                applicable.
                          [(ii) Notice of determination.--Upon 
                        making any determination under clause 
                        (i) that a dispute is frivolous or 
                        irrelevant, the person shall notify the 
                        consumer of such determination not 
                        later than 5 business days after making 
                        such determination, by mail or, if 
                        authorized by the consumer for that 
                        purpose, by any other means available 
                        to the person.
                          [(iii) Contents of notice.--A notice 
                        under clause (ii) shall include--
                                  [(I) the reasons for the 
                                determination under clause (i); 
                                and
                                  [(II) identification of any 
                                information required to 
                                investigate the disputed 
                                information, which may consist 
                                of a standardized form 
                                describing the general nature 
                                of such information.]
                  (E) Duties of furnishers after receiving 
                notice of dispute from a consumer.--After 
                receiving a notice of dispute from a consumer 
                pursuant to subparagraph (D), the person that 
                provided the information in dispute to a 
                consumer reporting agency shall--
                          (i) promptly provide to each consumer 
                        reporting agency to which the person 
                        furnished the disputed information the 
                        notice of dispute;
                          (ii) review all information, 
                        including any substantiating documents, 
                        provided by the consumer about the 
                        disputed information and conduct an 
                        investigation, separate from any 
                        reinvestigation by a consumer reporting 
                        agency or a reseller conducted with 
                        respect to the disputed information;
                          (iii) before the expiration of the 
                        period under section 611(a)(1) within 
                        which a consumer reporting agency would 
                        be required to complete its action if 
                        the consumer had elected to dispute the 
                        information under that section, 
                        complete an investigation of the 
                        disputed information pursuant to the 
                        standards described in subparagraph 
                        (G);
                          (iv) notify the consumer, in writing, 
                        of the receipt of the dispute that 
                        includes--
                                  (I) a statement about any 
                                information additional to the 
                                information that the person is 
                                required to maintain under 
                                subsection (f) that would 
                                support the person's ability to 
                                carry out an investigation to 
                                resolve the consumer's dispute; 
                                and
                                  (II) a statement that the 
                                consumer reporting agency to 
                                which the disputed information 
                                was provided will include a 
                                notation described in section 
                                605(e) in the consumer's file 
                                until the investigation has 
                                been completed, and information 
                                about how a consumer may 
                                request that such notation is 
                                removed by the agency;
                          (v) if the investigation determines 
                        the disputed information is inaccurate, 
                        incomplete, or unverifiable, promptly 
                        notify each consumer reporting agency 
                        to which the person furnished such 
                        information in accordance with 
                        paragraph (2); and
                          (vi) notify the consumer of the 
                        results of the investigation, in 
                        writing, in accordance with 
                        subparagraph (H).
                  [(G)] (F) Exclusion of credit repair 
                organizations.--This paragraph shall not apply 
                if the notice of the dispute is submitted by, 
                is prepared on behalf of the consumer by, or is 
                submitted on a form supplied to the consumer 
                by, a credit repair organization, as defined in 
                section 403(3), or an entity that would be a 
                credit repair organization, but for section 
                403(3)(B)(i).
                  (G) Reasonable standards for furnishers for 
                conducting investigations and resolving 
                disputes submitted by consumers.--In any 
                investigation conducted by a person who 
                furnishes information to a consumer reporting 
                agency of an item of information being disputed 
                by a consumer, the person, at a minimum--
                          (i) shall maintain sufficient 
                        resources and trained staff, 
                        commensurate with the volume and 
                        complexity of disputes received or 
                        reasonably anticipated to be received, 
                        to conduct investigations;
                          (ii) shall verify that the person has 
                        a record of the particular information 
                        being disputed, consistent with the 
                        requirements of subsection (f);
                          (iii) shall verify that the 
                        personally identifiable information of 
                        the consumer submitting the dispute 
                        matches the personally identifiable 
                        information contained on such records;
                          (iv) shall conduct a reasonable 
                        review to determine whether the 
                        disputed information is accurate, 
                        complete, and can be verified that 
                        considers all the information, 
                        including any substantiating documents, 
                        provided by the consumer about the 
                        disputed information;
                          (v) shall ensure that the 
                        investigation is an independent 
                        analysis that is separate from any 
                        reinvestigation by a consumer reporting 
                        agency or a reseller conducted with 
                        respect to the disputed information; 
                        and
                          (vi) may not impose any limitations 
                        or otherwise impede the ability of a 
                        consumer to submit information, 
                        including any substantiating documents, 
                        about the disputed information.
                  (H) Contents of the notice to the consumer 
                about the results of the investigation by the 
                furnisher.--The notice of the results of the 
                investigation described in subparagraph (E) 
                shall include--
                          (i) a statement informing the 
                        consumer as to whether the disputed 
                        information was determined to be 
                        inaccurate, incomplete, or 
                        unverifiable;
                          (ii) a statement of the specific 
                        reasons supporting the results of the 
                        investigation;
                          (iii) a description of the procedure 
                        used by the dispute resolution staff of 
                        the person who furnishes information to 
                        a consumer reporting agency to 
                        determine the accuracy or completeness 
                        of the information, including the 
                        business name, mailing address, 
                        telephone number, and Internet website 
                        address (if available) of any person 
                        who was contacted by the staff in 
                        connection with the determination;
                          (iv) a copy of all information 
                        relating to the consumer that was used 
                        in carrying out the investigation and 
                        was the basis for any determination 
                        about the accuracy or completeness of 
                        the disputed information;
                          (v) a statement that consumer will 
                        receive, free of charge, a copy of 
                        their consumer report and credit score 
                        or educational credit score (if 
                        applicable), from any consumer 
                        reporting agency to which the disputed 
                        information had been provided, 
                        regardless of whether the consumer 
                        obtained or will obtain a free consumer 
                        report and credit score or educational 
                        credit score (if applicable) in the 12-
                        month period preceding receipt of the 
                        notice described in this subparagraph 
                        pursuant to section 612(a)(1);
                          (vi) if the disputed information was 
                        found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or 
                        unverifiable, a statement that the 
                        consumer report of the consumer shall 
                        be revised to reflect the change to the 
                        consumer's file as a result of the 
                        investigation;
                          (vii) a statement that the consumer 
                        has the right to appeal the results of 
                        the investigation under paragraph (10), 
                        free of charge, within 120 days after 
                        the date of the notice of the results 
                        of the investigation was provided to 
                        the consumer and the process for 
                        submitting an appeal;
                          (viii) a statement that the consumer 
                        may add a narrative statement, free of 
                        charge, to the consumer's file held by 
                        the consumer reporting agency to which 
                        the information has been furnished 
                        disputing the accuracy or completeness 
                        of the information, regardless of the 
                        results of the investigation by the 
                        person, and the process for contacting 
                        any agency that received the consumer's 
                        information from the person to submit a 
                        narrative statement;
                          (ix) a statement informing the 
                        consumer that a notation described in 
                        section 605(e) will be added to the 
                        consumer's file during the period in 
                        which the consumer appeals the results 
                        of an investigation and that such 
                        notation can be removed at the request 
                        of the consumer; and
                          (x) a statement that the consumer has 
                        the right to request a copy of their 
                        consumer report and credit score or 
                        educational credit score (if 
                        applicable), free of charge, within the 
                        12-month period following the date of 
                        the conclusion of the investigation 
                        from any consumer reporting agency in 
                        which the disputed information had been 
                        provided, regardless of whether the 
                        consumer obtained or will obtain a free 
                        annual consumer report and credit score 
                        or educational credit score (if 
                        applicable) under this subparagraph or 
                        section 612(a)(1).
          (9) Duty to provide notice of status as medical 
        information furnisher.--A person whose primary business 
        is providing medical services, products, or devices, or 
        the person's agent or assignee, who furnishes 
        information to a consumer reporting agency on a 
        consumer shall be considered a medical information 
        furnisher for purposes of this title, and shall notify 
        the agency of such status.
          (10) Duty of furnishers of information upon notice of 
        appeal of investigation.--
                  (A) In general.--Within 120 days of the date 
                of receipt of the results of an investigation 
                conducted under paragraph (8)(E), a consumer 
                may, free of charge, appeal such results by 
                submitting a notice of appeal to the person who 
                provided the information in the dispute to a 
                consumer reporting agency (hereafter in this 
                paragraph referred to as the ``furnisher'').
                  (B) Notice of appeal.--A notice of appeal 
                described in subparagraph (A) may be submitted 
                in writing, through a toll-free telephone 
                number, or by other electronic means 
                established by the furnisher, and--
                          (i) shall identify the information 
                        contained in the consumer's file that 
                        is the subject of the appeal;
                          (ii) shall describe the specific 
                        reasons for submitting the notice of 
                        appeal; and
                          (iii) may include any information, 
                        including substantiating documents, the 
                        consumer believes is relevant to the 
                        appeal.
                  (C) Furnisher actions.--Upon receipt of such 
                notice of appeal, the furnisher shall--
                          (i) before the end of the period of 3 
                        business days beginning on the date on 
                        which the furnisher receives the notice 
                        of appeal, notify each consumer 
                        reporting agency to which the person 
                        furnished such information a statement 
                        identifying the items of information 
                        that a consumer is appealing; and
                          (ii) notify the consumer confirming 
                        the receipt of the consumer's notice of 
                        appeal, including an approximate date 
                        when the consumer's appeal will be 
                        completed, the process and procedures 
                        by which a review of the appeal will be 
                        conducted, and the specific individual 
                        designated by the consumer reporting 
                        agency who, upon the request of the 
                        consumer, may discuss the substance and 
                        status of the appeal.
                  (D) Furnisher requirements upon receipt of 
                notice of appeal.--Not later than 20 days after 
                receiving a notice of appeal, the furnisher 
                shall determine whether the item of information 
                being disputed by the consumer is inaccurate, 
                incomplete, or cannot be verified, and shall 
                notify the consumer reporting agency of the 
                determination. If the furnisher cannot verify 
                the accuracy or completeness of the disputed 
                information, the furnisher shall, before the 
                end of the 20-day period beginning on the date 
                on which the furnisher receives notice of an 
                appeal from the consumer, submit instructions 
                to the consumer reporting agency that the item 
                of information being disputed by the consumer 
                should be deleted from the file of the 
                consumer.
                  (E) Minimum standards for appeals 
                employees.--Upon receipt of a notice of appeal 
                under subparagraph (A), a furnisher shall 
                designate one or more specific employees who--
                          (i) shall be assigned an employee 
                        reference number or other employee 
                        identifier that can be used by the 
                        consumer to discuss the appeal with the 
                        specific individuals handling the 
                        appeal;
                          (ii) shall have direct authority to 
                        resolve the dispute that is the subject 
                        of the notice of appeal on behalf of 
                        the furnisher from the review stage to 
                        its completion;
                          (iii) shall meet minimum training and 
                        ongoing certification requirements at 
                        regular intervals, as established by 
                        the Bureau;
                          (iv) may not have been involved in an 
                        investigation conducted pursuant to 
                        paragraph (8); and
                          (v) may not be subject to any 
                        requirements linking incentives, 
                        including promotion, to the number of 
                        appeals processed within a certain time 
                        period.
                  (F) Requirements for appeals process.--Such 
                employees shall conduct a robust review of the 
                appeal and make a determination regarding the 
                accuracy and completeness of the disputed 
                information by--
                          (i) conducting an independent 
                        analysis, separate from any 
                        reinvestigation by a reseller or 
                        consumer reporting agency, of the 
                        disputed information;
                          (ii) verifying that the personally 
                        identifiable information related to the 
                        dispute is accurate and complete;
                          (iii) analyzing the notice of appeal 
                        and all information, including 
                        substantiating documents, provided by 
                        the consumer with the notice of appeal;
                          (iv) evaluating the validity of any 
                        information submitted by any person 
                        that was used by the furnisher in the 
                        initial investigation into the dispute;
                          (v) verifying that the information 
                        being disputed relates to the consumer 
                        in whose file the information is 
                        located;
                          (vi) verifying that the furnisher has 
                        a record of the information being 
                        disputed; and
                          (vii) applying any additional factors 
                        or investigative processes, as 
                        specified by the Bureau.
                  (G) Extension of review period.--If a 
                consumer submits additional information related 
                to the appeal after the period of 3 business 
                days described in subparagraph (C)(i) and 
                before the end of the 20-day period described 
                in subparagraph (D), the furnisher shall have 
                an additional 10 business days to complete the 
                review of the appeal.
                  (H) Notice of appeal results.--Not later than 
                5 days after the end of the 20-day period 
                described in subparagraph (D) (or the 10 
                business day extension described under 
                subparagraph (G), as applicable) the furnisher 
                shall provide the consumer with written notice 
                of the results of the appeal by mail or, if 
                requested by the consumer, by other means. The 
                contents of such notice shall include--
                          (i) a statement that the appeal is 
                        completed and the date on which it was 
                        completed, the results of the appeal, 
                        and the specific reasons supporting the 
                        results of the appeal;
                          (ii) a copy of all information 
                        relating to the consumer that was used 
                        as a basis for deciding the results of 
                        the appeal;
                          (iii) if the appeal results in any 
                        change to the consumer report, a 
                        notification that the consumer shall 
                        receive a copy, free of charge, of a 
                        revised consumer report (based upon the 
                        consumer's file as that file was 
                        changed as a result of the appeal) and 
                        a credit score or educational credit 
                        score (if applicable) from each 
                        consumer reporting agency that had been 
                        furnished incorrect information;
                          (iv) a description of the procedure 
                        used to determine the accuracy and 
                        completeness of the information, 
                        including the business name, telephone 
                        number, mailing address, and Internet 
                        website address (if applicable), of any 
                        person who provided information that 
                        was contacted in connection with such 
                        information, if reasonably available;
                          (v) information describing that the 
                        consumer may submit a statement, 
                        without charge, disputing the accuracy 
                        or completeness of information in the 
                        consumer's file that was the subject of 
                        an appeal under this paragraph by 
                        submitting a statement directly to each 
                        consumer reporting agency that received 
                        the information; and
                          (vi) a notification that the consumer 
                        may request the furnisher to submit to 
                        each consumer reporting agency the 
                        consumer's request to furnish 
                        notifications pursuant to section 
                        611(d) (relating to furnishing 
                        notifications to certain users of 
                        consumer reports).
  (b) Duties of Furnishers of Information Upon Notice of 
Dispute.--
          (1) In general.--After receiving notice pursuant to 
        section 611(a)(2) of a dispute with regard to the 
        completeness or accuracy of any information provided by 
        a person to a consumer reporting agency, the person 
        shall--
                  (A) conduct an investigation with respect to 
                the disputed information;
                  (B) review all [relevant] information 
                provided by the consumer reporting agency 
                pursuant to section 611(a)(2);
                  (C) report the results of the investigation 
                to the consumer reporting agency;
                  (D) if the investigation finds that the 
                information is incomplete or inaccurate, report 
                those results to all other consumer reporting 
                agencies to which the person furnished the 
                information and that compile and maintain files 
                on consumers on a nationwide basis; and
                  (E) if an item of information disputed by a 
                consumer is found to be inaccurate or 
                incomplete or cannot be verified after any 
                reinvestigation under paragraph (1), for 
                purposes of reporting to a consumer reporting 
                agency only, as appropriate, based on the 
                results of the reinvestigation promptly--
                          (i) modify that item of information;
                          (ii) delete that item of information; 
                        or
                          (iii) permanently block the reporting 
                        of that item of information.
          (2) Deadline.--A person shall complete all 
        investigations, reviews, and reports required under 
        paragraph (1) regarding information provided by the 
        person to a consumer reporting agency, before the 
        expiration of the period under section 611(a)(1) within 
        which the consumer reporting agency is required to 
        complete actions required by that section regarding 
        that information.
  (c) Limitation on Liability.--Except as provided in section 
621(c)(1)(B), sections 616 and 617 do not apply to any 
violation of--
          (1) subsection (a) of this section, including any 
        regulations issued thereunder;
          (2) subsection (e) of this section, except that 
        nothing in this paragraph shall limit, expand, or 
        otherwise affect liability under section 616 or 617, as 
        applicable, for violations of subsection (b) of this 
        section; or
          (3) subsection (e) of section 615.
  (d) Limitation on Enforcement.--The provisions of law 
described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (c) 
(other than with respect to the exception described in 
paragraph (2) of subsection (c)) shall be enforced exclusively 
as provided under section 621 by the Federal agencies and 
officials and the State officials identified in section 621.
  (e) Accuracy Guidelines and Regulations Required.--
          (1) Guidelines.--The Bureau shall, with respect to 
        persons or entities that are subject to the enforcement 
        authority of the Bureau under section 621--
                  (A) establish and maintain guidelines for use 
                by each person that furnishes information to a 
                consumer reporting agency regarding the 
                accuracy and integrity of the information 
                relating to consumers that such entities 
                furnish to consumer reporting agencies, and 
                update such guidelines as often as necessary; 
                and
                  (B) prescribe regulations requiring each 
                person that furnishes information to a consumer 
                reporting agency to establish reasonable 
                policies and procedures for implementing the 
                guidelines established pursuant to subparagraph 
                (A).
          (2) Criteria.--In developing the guidelines required 
        by paragraph (1)(A), the Bureau shall--
                  (A) identify patterns, practices, and 
                specific forms of activity that can compromise 
                the accuracy and integrity of information 
                furnished to consumer reporting agencies;
                  (B) review the methods (including 
                technological means) used to furnish 
                information relating to consumers to consumer 
                reporting agencies;
                  (C) determine whether persons that furnish 
                information to consumer reporting agencies 
                maintain and enforce policies to ensure the 
                accuracy and integrity of information furnished 
                to consumer reporting agencies; and
                  (D) examine the policies and processes that 
                persons that furnish information to consumer 
                reporting agencies employ to conduct 
                reinvestigations and correct inaccurate 
                information relating to consumers that has been 
                furnished to consumer reporting agencies.
  (f) Duty of Furnishers to Maintain Records of Consumers.--
          (1) In general.--A person who furnishes information 
        to a consumer reporting agency relating to a consumer 
        who has an account with that person shall maintain all 
        information necessary to substantiate the accuracy and 
        completeness of the information furnished, including 
        any records establishing the liability and terms and 
        conditions under which credit was extended to a 
        consumer and any payment history with respect to such 
        credit.
          (2) Retention period.--Records described under 
        paragraph (1) shall be maintained until the information 
        with respect to which the records relate may no longer 
        be included in a consumer report pursuant to sections 
        605.
          (3) Transfer of ownership.--If a person providing 
        information to a consumer reporting agency is acquired 
        by another person, or if another person acquires the 
        right to repayment connected to such information, the 
        acquiring person shall be subject to the requirements 
        of this subsection with respect to such information to 
        the same extent as the person who initially provided 
        such information to the consumer reporting agency. The 
        person selling or transferring the right to repayment 
        shall provide the information described in paragraph 
        (1) to the transferee or the acquirer.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 630. Promotional periods

  (a) Termination Notice.--With respect to any product or 
service related to a consumer report or a credit score that is 
provided to a consumer under promotional terms, the seller or 
provider of such product or service shall provide clear and 
conspicuous notice to the consumer within a reasonable period 
of time before the promotional period ends.
  (b) Opt-in.--With respect to any such product or service, the 
seller or provider may not continue to sell or provide such 
product or service to the consumer after the end of the 
promotional period unless the consumer specifically agrees at 
the end of the promotional period to continue receiving the 
product or service.

Sec. 631. Fair and reasonable fees for products and services

  The Bureau may, with respect to any product or service 
offered by a consumer reporting agency to a consumer, set a 
fair and reasonable maximum fee that may be charged for such 
product or service, except where such maximum fee is otherwise 
provided under this title.

Sec. 632. Fair access to information for nonnative English speakers and 
                    the visually and hearing impaired

  (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this section, the Bureau shall issue a rule to 
require consumer reporting agencies and persons who furnish 
information to consumer reporting agencies under this title, to 
the maximum extent reasonably practicable--
          (1) to provide any information, disclosures, or other 
        communication with consumers--
                  (A) in each of the 10 most commonly spoken 
                languages, other than English, in the United 
                States, as determined by the Bureau of the 
                Census on an ongoing basis; and
                  (B) in formats accessible to individuals with 
                hearing or vision impairments; and
          (2) to ensure that--
                  (A) customer service representatives, 
                including employees assigned to handle disputes 
                or appeals under sections 611 and 623, who are 
                available to assist consumers are highly 
                familiar with the requirements of this title;
                  (B) such representatives are available during 
                regular business hours and outside of regular 
                business hours, including evenings and 
                weekends; and
                  (C) at least one among such representatives 
                is fluent in each of the 10 most commonly 
                spoken languages, other than English, in the 
                United States, as determined by the Bureau of 
                the Census on an ongoing basis.
  (b) Bureau Consultation.--The Bureau shall consult with 
advocates for civil rights, consumer groups, community groups, 
and organizations that serve traditionally underserved 
communities and populations in issuing the rule described in 
subsection (a).

Sec. 633. Nationwide consumer reporting agencies registry

  (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Bureau shall establish and 
maintain a publicly accessible registry of consumer reporting 
agencies described in subsection (p) or (x) of section 603 (and 
any other agencies the Bureau determines provide similar 
services to such consumer reporting agencies) that includes 
current contact information of each such agency, including the 
Internet website address of the Internet website described 
under section 611(h), and information on how consumers can 
obtain their consumer report, credit scores, or educational 
credit scores (as applicable) by toll-free telephone, postal 
mail, or electronic means.
  (b) Registry Requirements.--The registry described in 
subsection (a) shall--
          (1) identify the largest agencies and the markets and 
        demographics covered by such agencies; and
          (2) disclose, with respect to each agency, whether 
        the agency is subject to the supervisory authority of 
        the Bureau under this title.
  (c) Information Updates.--Each agency described under 
subsection (a) shall submit to the Bureau contact information 
for the registry, including any updates to such information. 
The Bureau shall--
          (1) independently verify information submitted by 
        each agency; and
          (2) update the registry not less frequently than 
        annually.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                             MINORITY VIEWS

    H.R. 3642, the Improving Credit Reporting for All Consumers 
Act, would dramatically alter the credit reporting dispute 
process by creating both a new reinvestigation process and a 
new appeal process for reinvestigations. H.R. 3642 would impose 
new requirements on both credit reporting agencies and 
furnishers including a standard of ``completeness,'' a nebulous 
term that is not defined in the bill. H.R. 3642 would further 
grant injunctive relief for consumers and prohibit several 
products and sales practices employed by credit reporting 
agencies. Finally, the bill would mandate the creation of a 
registry of credit reporting agencies to be maintained by the 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
    Committee Republicans believe the bill's reinvestigation 
and reinvestigation appeal processes are redundant and will be 
cumbersome and time-consuming for the consumer, the furnisher, 
and the credit reporting agency. Republicans believe the 
current reinvestigation process that exists, including existing 
rules, provide consumers with outlets to challenge the results 
of an investigation related to their credit reports. The 
processes contemplated in H.R. 3642 would not only add 
confusion for consumer reporting agencies but would create the 
potential to flood consumers with duplicative and unsolicited 
information. The new and undefined ``completeness'' standard 
exposes furnishers and credit reporting agencies to liability, 
similar to the CFPB's authority over ``abusive'' products, 
which will benefit the trial bar more than the consumer. 
``Completeness'' has never been defined or outlined in any 
meaningful way.
    Committee Republicans also believe other provisions of H.R. 
3642 are inconsistent to other proposals introduced by 
Committee Democrats. For example, H.R. 3642 focuses on ensuring 
information contained in consumer reports is ``complete'' while 
other bills seek to remove or mandate the removal of predictive 
information from the same reports--thus making a standard of 
``completeness'' impossible to meet.
    Committee Republicans agree that certain aspects of the 
credit reporting process need reform. Ranking Member McHenry 
offered a substitute amendment during the markup that would 
make significant strides in creating a more friendly consumer-
facing credit reporting system. The Ranking Member's substitute 
amendment would ensure protections for victims of financial 
abuse, mandate the expedited removal of paid medical debt, 
enhance data security protections at the consumer reporting 
agencies, require the inclusion of public record data sources 
in consumer reports, and statutorily require consumer reporting 
agencies to register with the CFPB. Unfortunately, this 
substitute amendment was ruled non-germane.
    Without amendments, Committee Republicans believe H.R. 3642 
fails to create a stronger or more equitable system for the 
consumer. Rather, the legislation adds layers of bureaucracy on 
credit reporting agencies and furnishers. Ultimately, the bill 
will do little more than lead to diminished underwriting 
standards and result in increased cost and reduction of credit 
availability.

                                   David Kustoff.
                                   Barry Loudermilk.
                                   Lance Gooden.
                                   William R. Timmons IV.
                                   Tom Emmer.
                                   Scott R. Tipton.
                                   Ted Budd.
                                   Peter T. King (NY).
                                   Roger Williams.
                                   Trey Hollingsworth.
                                   J. French Hill (AR).
                                   John W. Rose (TN).
                                   Warren Davidson (OH).
                                   Anthony Gonzalez (OH).
                                   Denver Riggleman.
                                   Andy Barr.
                                   Blaine Luetkemeyer.
                                   Bill Huizenga.
                                   Steve Stivers.
                                   Alexander X. Mooney (WV).
                                   Bill Posey.
                                   Frank D. Lucas.
                                   Ann Wagner.
                                   Lee M. Zeldin.
                                   Patrick T. McHenry.
                                   Bryan Steil.

                                  [all]