Federal
Fair Credit Reporting Act (as amended by the Consumer Credit Reporting
Reform Act of 1996)
Although
the FCRA primarily regulates the operations of consumer credit reporting
agencies, it also affects you as a user of information. We have included a
copy of the FCRA with your membership kit. We suggest that you and your
employees become familiar with the following sections in particular:
§ 604.
Permissible Purposes of Reports
§ 607.
Compliance Procedures
§ 615.
Requirement on users of consumer reports
§ 616. Civil
liability for willful noncompliance
§ 617. Civil
liability for negligent noncompliance
§ 619.
Obtaining information under false pretenses
§ 621.
Administrative Enforcement
§ 623.
Responsibilities of Furnishers of Information to Consumer Reporting Agencies
Each
of these sections is of direct consequence to users who obtain reports on
consumers.
As
directed by the law, credit reports may be issued only if they are to be
used for extending credit, review or collection of an account, employment
purposes, underwriting insurance or in connection with some other legitimate
business transaction such as in investment, partnership, etc. It is
imperative that you identify each request for a report to be used for
employment purposes when such report is ordered. Additional state laws may
also impact your usage of reports for employment purposes.
We
strongly endorse the letter and spirit of the Federal Fair Credit Reporting
Act. We believe that this law and similar state laws recognize and preserve
the delicate balance between the rights of the consumer and the legitimate
needs of commerce.
In
addition to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, other federal and state
laws addressing such topics as computer crime and unauthorized access to
protected databases have also been enacted. As a prospective user of
consumer reports, we expect that you and your staff will comply with all
relevant federal statutes and the statutes and regulations of the states in
which you operate.
Please
date and initial to indicate that you have read and understood this
statement and include a copy with your agreement for credit services..
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