[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74831-74832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30373]


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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

[Docket No. CFPB-2012-0047]


Fair Credit Reporting Act Disclosures

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Notice regarding charges for certain disclosures under the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) announces 
that the ceiling on allowable

[[Page 74832]]

charges under Section 612(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) 
will remain unchanged at $11.50 for 2013. The Bureau is required to 
increase the $8.00 amount referred to in Section 612(f)(1)(A)(i) of the 
FCRA on January 1 of each year, based proportionally on changes in the 
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), with fractional 
changes rounded to the nearest fifty cents. The CPI-U increased 42.74 
percent between September 1997, the date the FCRA amendments took 
effect, and September 2012. This increase in the CPI-U, and the 
requirement that any increase be rounded to the nearest fifty cents, 
results in no change in the maximum allowable charge of $11.50.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Regulations, Bureau of 
Consumer Financial Protection, 202-435-7700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 612(f)(1)(A) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (the FCRA) provides that a consumer reporting agency may 
charge a consumer a reasonable amount for making a disclosure to the 
consumer pursuant to Section 609 of the FCRA.\1\ Section 612(f)(1)(A) 
of the FCRA provides that, where a consumer reporting agency is 
permitted to impose a reasonable charge on a consumer for making a 
disclosure to the consumer pursuant to Section 609 of the FCRA, the 
charge shall not exceed $8.00 and shall be indicated to the consumer 
before making the disclosure. Section 612(f)(2) of the FCRA states that 
the Bureau shall increase the $8.00 maximum amount on January 1 of each 
year, based proportionally on changes in the Consumer Price Index, with 
fractional changes rounded to the nearest fifty cents.
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    \1\ This provision, originally Section 612(a), was added to the 
FCRA in September 1996 and became effective in September 1997. It 
was relabeled Section 612(f) by Section 211(a)(1) of the Fair and 
Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act), Public Law 108-
159, which was signed into law on December 4, 2003.
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    In 2011, the responsibility for performing this task was 
transferred from the Federal Trade Commission to the Bureau pursuant to 
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 
2010.\2\ Like the Federal Trade Commission, the Bureau's calculations 
are based on the CPI-U, which is the most general Consumer Price Index 
and covers all urban consumers and all items.
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    \2\ Public Law 111-203, Title X, Section 1088.
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    Section 211(a)(2) of the FACT Act added a new Section 612(a) to the 
FCRA that gives consumers the right to request free annual disclosures 
once every 12 months. The maximum allowable charge established by this 
notice does not apply to requests made under that provision. The charge 
does apply when a consumer who orders a file disclosure has already 
received a free annual disclosure and does not otherwise qualify for an 
additional free disclosure.
    The Bureau is using the $8.00 amount set forth in Section 
612(f)(1)(A)(i) of the FCRA as the baseline for its calculation of the 
increase in the ceiling on reasonable charges for certain disclosures 
made under Section 609 of the FCRA. Since the effective date of the 
amended FCRA was September 30, 1997, the Bureau calculated the 
proportional increase in the CPI-U from September 1997 to September 
2012. The Bureau then determined what modification, if any, from the 
original base of $8.00 should be made effective for 2013, given the 
requirement that fractional changes be rounded to the nearest fifty 
cents.
    Between September 1997 and September 2012, the CPI-U increased by 
42.74 percent--from an index value of 161.2 in September 1997 to a 
value of 230.1 in September 2012. An increase of 42.74 percent in the 
$8.00 base figure would lead to a new figure of $11.42. However, 
because the statute directs that the resulting figure be rounded to the 
nearest $0.50, the maximum allowable charge is $11.50. The Bureau 
therefore determines that the maximum allowable charge for the year 
2013 will remain unchanged at $11.50.

    Dated: December 8, 2012.
Richard Cordray,
Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2012-30373 Filed 12-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P