[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9842-9847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4279]



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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 902 3149]


Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc.; Proposed Consent 
Agreement With Analysis To Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

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SUMMARY: In settlement of alleged violations of federal law prohibiting 
unfair acts and practices and unfair methods of competition, this 
consent agreement, accepted subject to final Commission approval, would 
require, among other things, a Georgia-based corporation to follow 
reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy when 
preparing consumer reports as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
and to also maintain reasonable procedures to limit the furnishing of 
consumer reports to the purposes listed under Section 604 of the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 24, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to: FTC/Office of the Secretary, 
Room 159, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 
20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christopher W. Keller or Donald d'Entremont, FTC/S-4429, Washington, 
D.C. 20580. (202) 326-3159 or 326-2736.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C. 46 and Section 2.34 of 
the Commission's Rules of Practice (16 CFR 2.34), notice is hereby 
given that the following consent agreement containing a consent order 
to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to 
final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record 
for a period of sixty (60) days. Public comment is invited. Such 
comments or views will be considered by the Commission and will be 
available for inspection and copying at its principal office in 
accordance with Section 4.9(b)(6)(ii) of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice (16 CFR 4.9(b)(6)(ii)).
[[Page 9843]]

Agreement Containing Consent Order To Cease and Desist

    The Federal Trade Commission having initiated an investigation of 
certain acts and practices of Equifax Credit Information Services, 
Inc., a corporation, hereinafter sometimes referred to as Equifax, and 
it now appearing that Equifax is willing to enter into an agreement 
containing an order to cease and desist from the use of the acts and 
practices being investigated,
    It is hereby agreed by and between Equifax Credit Information 
Services, Inc., by its duly authorized officers, and its attorney, and 
counsel for the Federal Trade Commission that:
    1. Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc., is a corporation 
organized, existing, and doing business under and by virtue of the laws 
of the State of Georgia, with its office and principal place of 
business located at 1600 Peachtree Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 
30309.
    2. Equifax is a consumer reporting agency as defined in Section 
603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
    3. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction of the subject 
matter of this proceeding and of Equifax, and the proceeding is in the 
public interest.
    4. Equifax admits all the jurisdictional facts set forth in the 
draft complaint.
    5. Equifax waives:
    (a) Any further procedural steps;
    (b) The requirement that the Commission's decision contain a 
statement of findings of fact and conclusions of law;
    (c) All rights to seek judicial review or otherwise to challenge or 
contest the validity of the order entered into pursuant to this 
agreement; and
    (d) Any claim under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 5 U.S.C. 
Sec. 50 et seq.
    6. This agreement and the order contemplated hereby is for 
settlement purposes only and neither its execution by the parties 
hereto, acceptance by the Commission nor entry of the agreed-to order 
shall constitute any admission by Equifax that any law has been 
violated. Equifax specifically denies that it has violated the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act in any respect whatsoever.
    7. This agreement shall not become part of the public record of the 
proceeding unless and until it is accepted by the Commission. If this 
agreement is accepted by the Commission, it, together with the draft 
complaint contemplated thereby, will be placed on the public record for 
a period of sixty (60) days and information in respect thereto publicly 
released. The Commission thereafter may either withdraw its acceptance 
of this agreement and so notify Equifax, in which event it will take 
such action as it may consider appropriate, or issue and serve its 
complaint (in such form as the circumstances may require) and decision, 
in disposition of the proceeding.
    8. This agreement contemplates that, if it is accepted by the 
Commission, and if such acceptance is not subsequently withdrawn by the 
Commission pursuant to the provisions of Sec. 2.34 of the Commission's 
Rules, the Commission may, without further notice to Equifax, (1) issue 
its complaint corresponding in form and substance with the draft of 
complaint and its decision containing the following order to cease and 
desist in disposition of the proceeding and (2) make information public 
with respect thereto. When so entered, the order to cease and desist 
shall have the same force and effect and may be altered, modified or 
set aside in the same manner and within the same time provided by 
statute for other orders. The order shall become final upon service. 
Delivery by the U.S. Postal Service of the complaint and decision 
containing the agreed-to order to Equifax's address as stated in this 
agreement shall constitute service. Equifax waives any right it may 
have to any other manner of service. The complaint may be used in 
construing the terms of the order, and no agreement, understanding, 
representation, or interpretation not contained in the order or the 
agreement may be used to vary or contradict the terms of the order.
    9. Equifax has read the proposed complaint and order contemplated 
hereby. It understands that once the order has been issued, it will be 
required to file one or more compliance reports showing that it has 
fully complied with the order. Equifax further understands that it may 
be liable for civil penalties in the amount provided by law for each 
violation of the order after it becomes final.

Order

    For the purpose of this order, the following definitions apply:
    ``Commission'' means the Federal Trade Commission.
    ``Equifax'' means Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc., its 
successors and assigns, and its officers, agents, and employees acting 
in such capacity on its behalf, directly or through any corporation, 
subsidiary, division or other device.
    ``FCRA'' means the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 
et. seq., as the same from time to time may be amended or modified by 
statute or by regulations having the effect of statutory provisions.
    The terms ``Person,'' ``Consumer,'' ``Consumer Report,'' ``Consumer 
Reporting Agency,'' ``File,'' and ``Employment Purposes'' are defined 
as set forth in Sections 603 (b), (c), (d), (f), (g), and (h), 
respectively, of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. Secs. 1681a(b), 1681a(c), 
1681a(d), 1681a(f), 1681a(g), and 1681a(h).
    ``Permissible Purpose'' means any of the purposes listed in Section 
604 of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681b, for which a Consumer Reporting 
Agency may lawfully furnish a Consumer Report.
    ``Subscriber'' means any Person who, pursuant to an agreement with 
Equifax, furnishes Credit Information to Equifax or who requests or 
obtains a Consumer Report from Equifax, excluding Consumers, public 
record sources, and independent contractors who provide public record 
information.
    ``Prescreening'' means the process whereby Equifax, utilizing 
Credit Information, compiles or edits for a Subscriber a list of 
Consumers who meet specific criteria and provides this list to the 
Subscriber or a third party (such as a mailing service) on behalf of 
the Subscriber for use in soliciting those Consumers for an offer of 
credit.
    ``Credit Information'' means information described by Section 
603(d) of the FCRA, which Equifax maintains with respect to any 
Consumer, that Equifax obtains from Subscribers, public records or any 
other sources and from which Equifax creates Consumer Reports.
    ``Mixed File'' means a Consumer Report in which some or all of the 
information pertains to Consumers other than the Consumer who is the 
subject of that Consumer Report.
    ``Consumer DTEC Report'' means a type of Consumer Report, by 
whatever name, containing only Consumer identifying information such as 
name, telephone number, mother's maiden name, address, zip code, year 
of birth, age, any generational designation, Social Security number or 
substantially similar identifiers, or any combination thereof, together 
with information showing employment or employment status.
    ``Mixed-use Subscriber of Consumer DTEC Reports'' means the 
following Subscribers who obtain Consumer DTEC Reports: attorneys, law 
firms, detective agencies, private investigators, and protective 
services firms.
    ``Joint User'' means a user of a Consumer Report jointly involved 
with a Subscriber in a decision for which there is a Permissible 
Purpose to obtain the Consumer Report and for which the Consumer Report 
was initially obtained. [[Page 9844]] 
    ``Approval Date'' means the date on which the Associate Director 
for Enforcement of the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Commission 
notifies respondent that the methodologies required by Paragraph II.1. 
of this Order have received final approval.

I

    It is ordered that Equifax, in connection with the collection, 
preparation, assembly, maintenance and furnishing of Consumer Reports 
and Files, forthwith cease and desist from failing to:
    1. Maintain reasonable procedures designed to limit the furnishing 
of Consumer Reports to Subscribers that have Permissible Purposes to 
receive them under Section 604 of the FCRA, as required by Section 
607(a) of the FCRA. Such procedures shall include but are not limited 
to:
    a. Continuing to require in Equifax's contracts that those who 
obtain Consumer Reports from Equifax in the form of lists developed 
through Prescreening make a firm offer of credit to each Consumer on 
the lists and take reasonable steps to enforce those contracts; and
    b. Reasonable procedures to avoid (i) including in a Consumer 
Report information identifiable as pertaining to a Consumer other than 
the Consumer for whom a Permissible Purpose exists as to such report; 
and (ii) displaying Files identifiable as pertaining to more than one 
Consumer in response to a Subscriber request on one Consumer.
    2. Maintain reasonable procedures designed to limit the furnishing 
of Consumer DTEC Reports to Subscribers under the circumstances 
described by Section 604 of the FCRA, as required by Section 607(a) of 
the FCRA. Such procedures shall include, with respect to prospective 
Subscribers of Consumer DTEC Reports, before furnishing any Consumer 
DTEC Report to such Subscribers, and with respect to current Consumer 
DTEC Subscribers, within six months after the effective date of this 
order:
    a. Adoption of procedures requiring all Consumer DTEC Subscribers 
to provide written certification that Subscribers will not share or 
provide Consumer DTEC Reports to anyone else, other than the subject of 
the report or to a Joint User;
    b. Continuation of procedures requiring all Consumer DTEC 
Subscribers to provide written identification of themselves; written 
certification of the Permissible Purpose(s) for which the Consumer DTEC 
Reports are sought; and written certification that the Consumer DTEC 
Reports will be used for no other purpose(s) than the purpose(s) 
certified;
    c. With respect to each entity that becomes a Consumer DTEC Report 
Subscriber on or after the effective date of this order, visitation to 
its place of business to confirm the certifications made pursuant to 
Paragraphs I.2.a. and I.2.b. of this order;
    d. Refusing to furnish Consumer DTEC Reports to Subscribers who 
fail or refuse to provide the certifications required in Paragraphs 
I.2.a. and I.2.b. of this order;
    e. Requiring each Mixed-use Subscription of Consumer DTEC Reports 
to provide a separate certification as to the Permissible Purpose for 
each Consumer DTEC Report it requests before the Consumer DTEC Report 
is furnished to it; and
    f. Terminating access to Consumer DTEC Reports by any Subscriber 
who Equifax knows or has reason to know has obtained, after the 
effective date of this order, a Consumer DTEC Report for any purpose 
other than a Permissible Purpose, unless that Subscriber obtained such 
Report through inadvertent error--i.e., a mechanical, electronic, or 
clerical error that the Subscriber demonstrates was unintentional and 
occurred notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably 
designed to avoid such errors.
    3. Maintain reasonable procedures as required by Section 607(a) of 
the FCRA to avoid including in any Equifax Consumer Report, other than 
a Consumer Report described in Section 605(b) of the FCRA, any 
information, notice or other statement that indicates directly or 
indirectly the existence of items of adverse information, the reporting 
of which is prohibited by Section 605(a) of the FCRA.
    4. Follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy 
of the information concerning the Consumer about whom the Consumer 
Report relates, as required by Section 607(b) of the FCRA. Such 
procedures shall include but are not limited to reasonable precedures:
    a. To detect, before Credit Information is available for reporting 
by Equifax, logical errors in such Credit Information.
    b. To prevent reporting to Subscribers that Credit Information 
pertains to a particular Consumer unless Equifax has identified such 
information by at least two of the following identifiers: (i) the 
Consumer's name, (ii) the Consumer's Social Security number, (iii) the 
Consumer's date of birth, (iv) the Consumer's account number with a 
Subscriber or a similar identifier unique to the Consumer; provided 
however that,
    (A) for public record information only, if such public record 
information does not contain at least two of the above identifiers, 
Equifax may identify such public record information by the Consumer's 
full name (including middle initial and suffix, if available) together 
with the Consumer's full address (including apartment number, if any); 
and
    (B) in the future Equifax may alternatively identify Credit 
Information (including public record information) by a discrete 
identifier that is (i) unique to the Consumer, (ii) not utilized by 
Equifax at the time of execution of this agreement, and (iii) not 
susceptible of data entry error.
    c. To assure that information in a Consumer's File that has been 
determined by Equifax to be inaccurate is not subsequently included in 
a Consumer Report furnished on that Consumer;
    d. To prevent furnishing any Consumer Report containing information 
that Equifax knows or has reason to believe is incorrect, including 
information that the Consumer or the source or repository of the 
information has stated is not accurate (including that it does not 
pertain to the Consumer) unless Equifax has reason to believe that the 
statement is frivolous or irrelevant or, upon investigation, not valid;
    e. To avoid the occurrence of Mixed Files, including but not 
limited to mixing of Files as the result of entry of data by 
Subscribers when seeking Consumer Reports; and
    f. To avoid reporting in a Consumer Report public record 
information that pertains to Consumers other than the Consumer who is 
the subject of the Consumer Report, or which does not accurately 
reflect information concerning such subject as it appears on public 
records, including but not limited to following reasonable procedures 
to sample, verify or otherwise corroborate public record information 
furnished by Equifax.
    5. Maintain reasonable procedures so that information disputed by a 
Consumer that is deleted or corrected upon reinvestigation by Equifax, 
does not subsequently appear in uncorrected form in Consumer Reports 
pertaining to that Consumer; provided, however, that if after Equifax 
has deleted such information from the File, Equifax reverifies such 
information, Equifax may reinsert such information in the File and 
report such information in subsequent Consumer Reports concerning that 
Consumer if, and only if, Equifax advises the Consumer in 
[[Page 9845]] writing that the information has been reinserted.
    6. Make disclosure of the nature and substance of all information 
(except medical information) in its Files on the Consumer at the time 
of the request for disclosure, as required by Sections 609 and 610 of 
the FCRA, to any Consumer who has requested disclosure, has provided 
proper identification as required under Section 610 of the FCRA, and 
has paid or accepted any charges that may be imposed under Section 612 
of the FCRA.
    7. Reinvestigate and record the current status of items of 
information the completeness or accuracy of which is disputed by a 
Consumer, when the Consumer directly conveys the dispute to Equifax, 
and Equifax does not have reason to believe the dispute is frivolous or 
irrelevant. Such investigation shall include but not limited to:
    a. Completing any reinvestigation, i.e., verifiying, deleting, or 
modifying all disputed items in the Consumer's File, with thirty (30) 
days of receipt of the Consumer's dispute; provided, however, that if 
Equifax in good faith cannot determine the nature of the Consumer's 
dispute, Equifax shall attempt to determine the nature of the dispute 
by contacting the Consumer by mail or telephone within five (5) 
business days of receiving the Consumer's dispute, and complete its 
reinvestigation within thirty (30) days of the Consumer's response if 
Equifax in good faith can then determine the nature of the Consumer's 
dispute;
    b. Communicating to the source used to verify the disputed 
information, a summary of the nature and substance of the Consumer's 
dispute;
    c. Accepting the Consumer's version of the disputed information and 
correcting or deleting the disputed information, when the Consumer 
submits to Equifax documentation obtained from the source of the 
information in dispute which confirms that the disputed information on 
the Consumer Report was inaccurate or incomplete, unless Equifax in 
good faith has reason to doubt the authenticity of the documentation, 
in which case Equifax need not accept the Consumer's version of the 
dispute if it reinvestigates the dispute by contacting the source of 
the information and verifies that the documentation is not authentic; 
and
    d. Employing reasonable procedures designed specifically to resolve 
(i) Consumer disputes that Equifax has reason to believe arise from 
Mixed Files, and (ii) Consumer disputes that indicate the repeated 
inclusion in Consumer Reports of previously disputed inaccurate or 
incomplete items.
    8. Reinvestigate Consumer disputes in accordance with Section 611 
of the FCRA. In connection therewith, Equifax shall impose no 
requirements beyond those in Section 611 of the FCRA, including but not 
limited to requirements that the Consumer:
    a. Pay a fee for updating and recording the current status of 
disputed information;
    b. Provide copies of identifying documentation, including but not 
limited to driver's license, Social Security card, and utility bills; 
and
    c. Provide a written authorization before reinvestigating 
information the Consumer has disputed.
    9. Continue, upon completion of the reinvestigation of information 
disputed by a Consumer, to write the Consumer and provide the 
following:
    a. The results of the reinvestigation conducted by Equifax; and
    b. A statement advising the Consumer of the Consumer's right to 
request that Equifax furnish notification that information has been 
deleted, or furnish a copy or codification or summary of any Consumer 
statement of explanation of the dispute that has been filed by the 
Consumer, to any Person specifically designated by the Consumer who has 
within the preceding two years received a Consumer Report for 
Employment Purposes, or within the preceding six months received a 
Consumer Report for any other purpose, which contained the deleted or 
disputed information.

II

    It is further ordered that Equifax shall, annually for the five (5) 
year period following the Approval Date, measure, monitor, and test the 
extent to which changes in its computer system, including its 
algorithms, reduce the incidence of Mixed Files.
    1. In complying with this Section, Equifax shall submit, within one 
hundred eighty (180) days of the effective date of this Order, for 
approval to the Associate Director for Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, of the Federal Trade Commission (``ADE''):
    a. A proposed methodology for establishing a baseline against which 
changes may be measured, monitored, and tested; and
    b. A proposed methodology for accurately measuring, monitoring, 
testing, and reporting the effects of changes made against the baseline 
established under the preceding paragraph.
    2. For five (5) years following the Approval Date, Equifax shall 
submit annually to the ADE, in writing, the results of its comparison 
using the methodologies approved by the ADE as specified in Paragraph 
II.1. above, and to the extent not otherwise provided, shall include 
with such reports the results of a statistically significant analysis 
to determine the incidence of Mixed Files.

III

    It is further ordered that Equifax shall, annually for five (5) 
years following the effective date of this order, submit the following 
information to the ADE within sixty (60) days of the anniversary of the 
effective date of this order and with respect to the preceding twelve 
(12) month period:
    1. The total number of File disclosures to Consumers by Equifax;
    2. The number of occasions on which Consumers have informed Equifax 
that they dispute information in files maintained by Equifax;
    3. The number of such disputes where the disputed information was 
verified as accurate;
    4. The number of such disputes in which information disputed was 
deleted from, or modified in, the disputing Consumer's File, after 
reinvestigation response; and
    5. The number of such disputes in which information disputed was 
deleted from the disputing Consumer's File because no response to 
Equifax's verification inquiry was received within thirty days.

IV

    It is further ordered that, except for Section III above, Equifax 
shall, until the expiration of five (5) years following the effective 
date of this order, maintain and upon request make available to the ADE 
for inspection and copying, all documents demonstrating compliance with 
this order. Such documents shall include, but are not limited to, 
representative copies of each form of agreement or contract governing 
Subscriber access to or use of Credit Information, each periodic audit 
or similar report concerning the testing or monitoring of its systems 
for preparation, maintenance, and furnishing of Consumer Reports and 
files, instructions given to employees regarding compliance with the 
provisions of this order, and any notices provided to Subscribers in 
connection with the terms of this order.

V

    It is further ordered that Equifax shall deliver a copy of this 
order to all of its present and future management officials having 
administrative or policy responsibilities with respect to the subject 
matter of this order. [[Page 9846]] 

VI

    It is further ordered that Equifax shall notify the ADE at least 
thirty (30) days prior to any proposed change in Equifax that might 
affect compliance obligations arising out of this order such as 
dissolution, assignment, sale resulting in the emergence of a successor 
corporation, or the creation or dissolution of subsidiaries.

VII

    It is further ordered that Equifax shall, within one hundred eighty 
(180) days of service of this order, deliver to the ADE a report, in 
writing, setting forth the manner and form in which it has complied 
with this order as of that date. The Commission shall keep such report 
and its contents, or any report, document, or other information 
provided under Sections II, III, or IV above, or any notification 
provided under Section VI above, strictly confidential, in accordance 
with the Commission's Rules of Practice.

VIII

    It is further ordered that if the FCRA is amended (or other similar 
federal legislation enacted) or the Commission issues any 
interpretation of the FCRA, relating to any obligation imposed on 
Equifax herein, which creates any new requirement for compliance with 
the FCRA that directly conflicts with any obligation imposed on Equifax 
by this order, Equifax may conform the manner in which it conducts its 
business as a Consumer Reporting Agency or its use of Credit 
Information to the requirements of such statutory provision or 
interpretation; provided, however, that Equifax shall notify the ADE 
promptly if it intends to change its conduct as provided for in this 
Section, and provided further that nothing in this provision shall 
limit the right of the FTC to challenge any determination of direct 
conflict of Equifax hereunder and to seek enforcement of Equifax's 
obligations under this order to the extent such determination is 
erroneous. For purposes of this order, and by way of example only, a 
``direct conflict'' between this order and a new statutory amendment or 
interpretation shall include a requirement in any such amendment or 
interpretation that a Consumer Reporting Agency complete a task or 
obligation addressed in this order in a greater period of time than is 
specified in the order.

IX

    This order does not address the issue of disclosure under Section 
609 of Credit Information (whether or not separately maintained in any 
File), including but not limited to Credit Information utilized for 
fraud alert or similar application verification services, which 
categorizes the identifiers on the Consumer or categorizes any other 
data on the Consumer and is susceptible of being furnished to a 
Subscriber, and the order does not in any way limit the right of the 
Commission to take any appropriate action after entry of this order 
relating to this issue, nor does it limit in any way Equifax's defenses 
to any such action.

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission has accepted, subject to final 
approval, an agreement containing a consent order from Equifax Credit 
Information Services, Inc., a corporation (``the respondent''). This 
agreement, among other requirements, requires the respondent to cease 
and desist from failing to follow reasonable procedures to assure 
maximum possible accuracy when preparing consumer reports and cease and 
desist from failing to maintain reasonable procedures to limit the 
furnishing of consumer reports to subscribers that have permissible 
purposes to receive them, such as purposes encompassing credit 
transactions involving the consumer, employment and the underwriting of 
insurance.
    The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for 
sixty (60) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments 
received during this period will become part of the public record. 
After sixty (60) days, the Commission will again review the agreement 
and the comments received and will decide whether it should withdraw 
from the agreement and take other appropriate action, or make final the 
proposed order contained in the agreement.
    According to the complaint, the respondent failed to take 
reasonable steps to reduce the incidence of inaccuracies and obsolete 
items of information in the consumer reports it furnished and failed to 
maintain and follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible 
accuracy of the information contained in its consumer reports.
    The complaint also alleges that respondent failed to limit the 
furnishing of consumer reports to only those who possessed a 
permissible purpose to receive consumer reports. The complaint further 
alleges that the respondent failed adequately to give disclosures of 
the nature and substance of all information (except medical 
information) when consumers properly requested disclosure of the 
information in their own files. The complaint additionally alleges that 
the respondent failed to properly reinvestigate disputed items of 
information in consumer reports.
    The complaint alleges that by its failures to comply with the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act and pursuant to Section 621(a) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act, respondent has engaged in unfair and deceptive acts or 
practices in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a)(1) of 
the Federal Trade Commission Act.
    The consent order contains provisions designed to ensure that the 
respondent does not engage in similar allegedly illegal acts and 
practices in the future. Specifically, Part I of the Order requires the 
respondent to maintain reasonable procedures to assure that information 
placed in a consumer's file belongs to the consumer in question and is 
also accurate, complete and up-to-date without obsolete information. 
Further, the Order requires respondent to reinvestigate disputed items 
of information in a consumer's file in a timely and reasonable manner, 
generally within 30 days.
    The consent order also contains provisions requiring respondent to 
maintain reasonable procedures to limit the furnishing of consumer 
reports (and specifically consumer reports in the form of 
identification reports containing employment information) to only those 
with permissible purposes to receive consumer reports. Further, the 
consent order provides that respondent disclose the nature and 
substance of all information (except medical information) in its files 
on a consumer in response to a proper request for disclosure from the 
consumer who is the subject of the file.
    Part II of the Order requires the respondent to submit to the 
Commission for approval a methodology by which changes to the 
respondent's computer system will be measured. The incidence of 
consumer reports containing information of other consumers, not the 
subject of the report, will be measured against a baseline established 
by the methodology to determine the efficacy of the computer changes. 
These measurements will be submitted for five (5) years to the 
Commission in the form of annual reports.
    Part III of the Order requires the respondent to annually for five 
(5) years submit to the Commission information concerning the numbers 
of disclosures provided and disputes received by the respondent.
    Part IV of the Order requires the respondent for a period of five 
years to [[Page 9847]] maintain and make available all documents 
demonstrating its compliance with the Order.
    Part V of the Order requires the respondent to deliver a copy of 
the Order to all of its present and future management officials having 
administrative responsibilities with respect to the subject matter of 
the Order.
    Part VI of the Order requires the respondent to notify the 
Commission at least thirty (30) days prior to any proposed change in 
its corporate structure that may affect its compliance with the Order.
    Part VII of the Order requires the respondent to file a written 
report with the Commission within one hundred eighty (180) days after 
service of the Order detailing the manner and form in which it has 
complied with the Order.
    Part VIII of the Order allows respondent to conform the manner in 
which it conducts its business to any FCRA amendment (or other similar 
federal legislation enacted) or official Commission interpretation 
which relates to any obligation imposed on the respondent by the Order 
and which directly conflicts with an obligation imposed by the Order.
    Part IX of the Order specifically reserves for future consideration 
the issue of disclosure of fraud alert or similar verification services 
to consumers who properly request disclosure under the FCRA.
    The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the 
proposed Order, and it is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the agreement and proposed Order or to modify in any 
way their terms.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Seceretary.
[FR Doc. 95-4279 Filed 2-21-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M