1. Fair Credit Reporting ActS

2. What is it?S The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulates howconsumer reporting agencies use your informationS The FRCA was passed in the 1970s, and later amendedin the 1990s and in 2003 3. ScopeS The law regulates the consumer reporting industry andplaces disclosure obligations on users of consumerreportsS The FRCA covers two types of credit reportingS First, it covers reports that include information on aconsumers character, general reputation, personalcharacteristics, or mode of livingS Second, are credit reports issued by credit bureaus. Thesereports focus on credit information obtained by creditors. 4. FRCA and IllinoisS Abide by the Federal Trade Commissions Fair CreditReporting Act (FCRA),S 15 U. S. C. 1661 et seq. and the following state ruling:(20 ILCS 2635/7 (A) (1) (2) (from ch. 38, par. 1607) IllinoisUniform Conviction Information Act 5. FRCA and Illinois contdS The Illinois statute applies to employment or licensing purposesS (1) A requester shall, in the form and manner prescribed by the Department (Illinois Department of State Police), submit a request to the Department, and maintain on file for at least 2 years a release signed by the individual to whom the information request pertains. The Department shall furnish the requester with a copy of its response. (2) Each requester of conviction information furnished by the Department shall provide the individual named in the request with a copy of the response furnished by the Department. Within 7 working days of receipt of such copy, the individual shall have the obligation and responsibility 20 ILCS 2635 6. Recent FRCA CasesS United States of America v. Teletrack (2011)S The Federal Trade Commission charged Teletrack of violating the FRCAby selling credit reports to marketersS The FRCA protects consumers privacy by ensuring that credit reportinformation is not sold for marketing purposesS According to the FTC, Teletrack sold credit reports and other services tobusinesses. With the information Teletrack gathered they created amarketing database, and sold the information to marketersS Teletrack settled and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.8 million and tofurnish credit reports only to those people that it has reason to believehave a permissbile purpose to receive them under the FCRA United States of America v Teletrack 7. Recent FRCA CasesS United States of America v. Central Credit, LLC(2010)S The Federal Trade Commission charged Central Credit of violating the FRCA bynot informing casinos of its legal obligations under the FRCA.S The FRCA requires that consumers be provided adverse-action notices whencredit is declined or a check not cashed, secondly requires that companies thatfurnish information for credit reports to provide accurate information aboutconsumers.S Central Credit failed to inform consumers of their rights under FRCA, such as theright to obtain a free annual credit report, and providing clear instructions to forrequesting a free reportS Central Credit agreed to pay $150,000 in civil penalties and bars future violationsof the FCRAUnited States of America v. Central Credit 8. Recent FRCA CasesS United States of America v. Credit Bureau Collection Services(2010)S The FTC charged that Credit Bureau Collection Services (CBCS) violated theFRCA by reporting information to credit agencies that consumers had provedwas inaccurate, failing to inform the credit agencies that consumers haddisputed the debts, and failing to investigate after receiving a notice of disputefrom a credit reporting agencyS The FRCA requires that credit reporting agencies provide accurate creditreports, inform credit agencies of disputed debts.S The CBCS settled and agreed to pay $1.1 million civil penalty and was alsobarred from re-reporting information to credit reporting agencies that it hadvoluntarily deleted from credit reporting before December 2008. United States of America v. Credit Bureau Collection Services 9. Fixing Credit ReportsS There is no quick or easy way to fix poor credit. Time is the only thingthat will repair your credit report.S Credit Fixing Agencies claim that they can fix credit reports. The onlything they can fix is information that is actually wrong