Sec. 804. Enhances access to credit freezes, limits the cost of such freezes, and provides access to free credit freezes for vulnerable consumers
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/bill/114/hr/5282/ih/section-804·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 605A of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681c–1 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: Upon the direct request of a consumer, or individual acting on behalf of or as a personal representative of a consumer, a consumer reporting agency described in section 603(p) that maintains a file on the consumer and has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester (as described in section 1022.123 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations) shall— place a credit freeze on the file of the consumer not later than 1 business day after receiving such request sent by postal mail, toll-free telephone, or secure electronic means as established by the agency and— not later than 5 business days after placing the credit freeze, provide the consumer with written confirmation of the credit freeze and a unique personal identification number or password (other than the consumer’s social security number) for use to authorize the release of the consumer’s report for a specific period of time; and disclose all relevant information to the consumer relating to the procedures for temporarily lifting and fully removing a credit freeze, including a statement about the maximum amount of time given to an agency to conduct such actions; for a consumer who provides a correct personal identification number or password, temporarily lift an existing credit freeze from the consumer’s file for a period of time specified by the consumer for a specific user or category of users, as determined by the consumer— not later than 1 business day after receiving the request by postal mail; or not later than 15 minutes after receiving the request by toll-free telephone number or secure electronic means established by the agency, if such request is received during regular business hours, except if the consumer reporting agency’s ability to temporarily lift the credit freeze is prevented by— an act of God, including earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, or similar natural disaster or phenomenon, or fire; unauthorized or illegal acts by a third party including terrorism, sabotage, riot, vandalism, labor strikes or disputes disrupting operations, or a similar occurrence; an operational interruption, including electrical failure, unanticipated delay in equipment or replacement part delivery, computer hardware or software failures inhibiting response time, or a similar disruption; governmental action, including emergency orders or regulations, judicial or law enforcement action, or a similar directive; regularly scheduled maintenance or updates to the consumer reporting agency’s systems occurring outside of normal business hours; or commercially reasonable maintenance of, or repair to, the consumer reporting agency’s systems that is unexpected or unscheduled; or for a consumer who provides a correct personal identification number or password, fully remove an existing credit freeze from the file of the consumer not later than 1 business day after receiving such request by postal mail, toll-free telephone, or secure electronic means established by the agency.
The Bureau may establish classes of consumers eligible to place, temporarily lift, or fully remove a credit freeze free of charge. A consumer reporting agency described in section 603(p) may not charge a consumer a fee to place, temporarily lift, or fully remove a credit freeze if the consumer or a representative of the consumer— asserts in good faith a suspicion that the consumer has been or is about to become a victim of identity theft, fraud, or a related crime, or harmed by the unauthorized disclosure of the consumer’s financial or personally identifiable information; is an active duty military consumer; is 65 years of age or older; or is a member of a class established by the Bureau under subparagraph (A).
For consumers not described in subparagraph (B), a consumer reporting agency may charge not more than $3 (as adjusted by the Bureau on January 1st of each year, based proportionally on changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics of the Department of Labor, with fractional changes rounded to the nearest 50 cents) for each request by a consumer or a representative of the consumer to place, temporarily lift, or fully remove a credit freeze.
If a consumer reporting agency includes a credit freeze in the file of a consumer described in paragraph (2)(A), the consumer reporting agency shall— disclose to the consumer that the consumer may request a free copy of the file and credit score or educational credit score of the consumer pursuant to section 612(d) on an annual basis beginning on the date the freeze is placed and ending on the date that is 12 months after the freeze is fully removed; and provide to the consumer all disclosures required to be made under section 609, without charge to the consumer, not later than 3 business days after any request described in paragraph
(1)is made. During the period beginning on the date a consumer or a representative of the consumer requests to place a credit freeze and ending the date on which the consumer or representative requests to fully remove a credit freeze, a consumer reporting agency shall exclude the consumer from any list of consumers prepared by the consumer reporting agency and provided to any third party to offer credit or insurance to the consumer as part of a transaction that was not initiated by the consumer, unless the consumer or such representative requests that such exclusion be rescinded before end of such period. A consumer reporting agency may not change the name, date of birth, social security number, or address of a consumer in the file of the consumer during the period that a credit freeze is in place unless the consumer reporting agency sends a written confirmation of the change to the consumer within 30 days of the change being posted to the consumer’s file. Written confirmation shall not be required for technical modifications of a consumer’s personally identifiable information including name and street abbreviations, complete spellings, or transposition of numbers or letters. In the case of an address change of the consumer, any written confirmation shall be sent to the new address and former address of the consumer. A credit freeze placed on the file of a consumer shall not prohibit a consumer reporting agency from disclosing public record information lawfully obtained by, or for, the consumer reporting agency from an open public record. This subsection does not annul, alter, or affect in any manner the meaning, scope or applicability of the laws of any State relating to credit freezes or other similar actions, except to the extent those laws are inconsistent with any provision of this title, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency. For purposes of this subsection, a term or provision of a State law is not inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection if the term or provision affords greater protection and benefit to the consumer than the protection and benefit provided under this subsection as determined by the Bureau, on its own motion or upon the petition of any interested party. .
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- 15 USC 1681c–1
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Sec. 804
Enhances access to credit freezes, limits the cost of such freezes, and provides access to free credit freezes for vulnerable consumers
Cite15 USC 1681c–1
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