MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Banking and Financial Services
By: Representative Guice
AN ACT TO REQUIRE EACH CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY TO PROVIDE A CONSUMER WITH ONE DISCLOSURE COPY OF HIS OR HER FILE TWO TIMES PER YEAR AT NO CHARGE; TO PROVIDE THE PROCEDURE TO FOLLOW IN CASE OF DISPUTED ACCURACY OF INFORMATION IN A CONSUMER'S FILE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this act, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Consumer" means a natural person residing in the State of Mississippi.
(b) "Consumer report" means any written, oral, or other communication or any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, debts, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living, that is used or expected to be used or collected, in whole or in part, as a factor to establish a consumer's eligibility for (i) credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, (ii) employment purposes, or (iii) any other purpose authorized under applicable provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USCS Section 1681 et seq.
(c) "Consumer reporting agency" means any person that, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties. "Consumer reporting agency" does not include any business entity that provides check verification or check guarantee services only.
(d) "Creditworthiness" means any entry in a consumer's credit file that impacts the ability of a consumer to obtain and retain credit, employment, business or professional licenses, investment opportunities, or insurance. Entries contained in a consumer file or in a consumer report that affect creditworthiness shall include, but not be limited to, payment information, defaults, judgments, liens, bankruptcies, collections, records of arrest and indictments, and multiple-credit inquiries.
(e) "Employment purposes," when used in connection with a consumer report, means a report used for the purpose of evaluating a consumer for employment, promotion, reassignment, or retention as an employee.
(f) "File" means all of the information on the consumer that is recorded and retained by a consumer reporting agency regardless of how the information is stored.
(g) "Person" means any natural person, firm, corporation or partnership.
(2) Each consumer reporting agency, upon the request of a consumer, shall provide the consumer with one (1) disclosure copy of his or her file two (2) times per calendar year at no charge. If the consumer requests a disclosure copy of his or her file more than two (2) times per year under this subsection, the consumer reporting agency may charge the consumer up to Eight Dollars ($8.00) for each additional disclosure copy.
(3) A consumer reporting agency, upon written or verbal request of a consumer under subsection (2) of this section and proper identification of the consumer, shall clearly, accurately, and in a manner that is understandable to the consumer, disclose to the consumer, in writing, all information in its files at the time of the request pertaining to the consumer, including, but not limited to:
(a) The names of all persons requesting credit information pertaining to the consumer during the prior twelve-month period and the date of each request; and
(b) A set of instructions, presented in a manner that is understandable to the consumer, describing how information is presented on its written disclosure of the file.
SECTION 2. (1) Reinvestigations of disputed information.
(a) Reinvestigation required.
(i) In general. Subject to subsection (5) of this section, if the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumer's file at a consumer reporting agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency directly, or indirectly through a reseller, of such dispute, the agency shall, free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is inaccurate and record the current status of the disputed information, or delete the item from the file in accordance with paragraph (e), before the end of the thirty-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice of the dispute from the consumer or reseller.
(ii) Extension of period to reinvestigate.
Except as provided in subparagraph (iii), the thirty-day period described in subparagraph (i) may be extended for not more than fifteen (15) additional days if the consumer reporting agency receives information from the consumer during that thirty-day period that is relevant to the reinvestigation.
(iii) Limitations on extension of period to reinvestigate. Subparagraph (ii) shall not apply to any reinvestigation in which, during the thirty-day period described in subparagraph (i), the information that is the subject of the reinvestigation is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or the consumer reporting agency determines that the information cannot be verified.
(b) Prompt notice of dispute to furnisher of information.
(i) In general. Before the expiration of the five-business-day period beginning on the date on which a consumer reporting agency receives notice of a dispute from any consumer or a reseller in accordance with paragraph (a), the agency shall provide notification of the dispute to any person who provided any item of information in dispute, at the address and in the manner established with the person. The notice shall include all relevant information regarding the dispute that the agency has received from the consumer or reseller.
(ii) Provision of other information. The consumer reporting agency shall promptly provide to the person who provided the information in dispute all relevant information regarding the dispute that is received by the agency from the consumer or the reseller after the period referred to in subparagraph (i) and before the end of the period referred to in paragraph (a)(i).
(c) Determination that dispute is frivolous or irrelevant.
(i) In general. Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a consumer reporting agency may terminate a reinvestigation of information disputed by a consumer under that paragraph if the agency reasonably determines that the dispute by the consumer is frivolous or irrelevant, including by reason of a failure by a consumer to provide sufficient information to investigate the disputed information.
(ii) Notice of determination. Upon making any determination in accordance with subparagraph (i) that a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant, a consumer reporting agency shall notify the consumer of such determination not later than five (5) business days after making such determination, by mail or, if authorized by the consumer for that purpose, by any other means available to the agency.
(iii) Contents of notice. A notice under subparagraph (ii) shall include:
1. The reasons for the determination under subparagraph (i); and
2. Identification of any information required to investigate the disputed information, which may consist of a standardized form describing the general nature of such information.
(d) Consideration of consumer information. In conducting any reinvestigation under paragraph (a) with respect to disputed information in the file of any consumer, the consumer reporting agency shall review and consider all relevant information submitted by the consumer in the period described in paragraph (a)(i) with respect to such disputed information.
(e) Treatment of inaccurate or unverifiable information.
(i) In general. If, after any reinvestigation under paragraph (a) of any information disputed by a consumer, an item of the information is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified, the consumer reporting agency shall:
1. Promptly delete that item of information from the file of the consumer, or modify that item of information, as appropriate, based on the results of the reinvestigation; and
2. Promptly notify the furnisher of that information that the information has been modified or deleted from the file of the consumer.
(ii) Requirements relating to reinsertion of previously deleted material.
1. Certification of accuracy of information. If any information is deleted from a consumer's file pursuant to subparagraph (i), the information may not be reinserted in the file by the consumer reporting agency unless the person who furnishes the information certifies that the information is complete and accurate.
2. Notice to consumer. If any information that has been deleted from a consumer's file pursuant to subparagraph (i) is reinserted in the file, the consumer reporting agency shall notify the consumer of the reinsertion in writing not later than five (5) business days after the reinsertion or, if authorized by the consumer for that purpose, by any other means available to the agency.
3. Additional information. As part of, or in addition to, the notice under clause 2., a consumer reporting agency shall provide to a consumer in writing not later than five (5) business days after the date of the reinsertion:
a. A statement that the disputed information has been reinserted;
b. The business name and address of any furnisher of information contacted and the telephone number of such furnisher, if reasonably available, or of any furnisher of information that contacted the consumer reporting agency, in connection with the reinsertion of such information; and
c. A notice that the consumer has the right to add a statement to the consumer's file disputing the accuracy or completeness of the disputed information.
(iii) Procedures to prevent reappearance. A consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to prevent the reappearance in a consumer's file, and in consumer reports on the consumer, of information that is deleted pursuant to this paragraph (other than information that is reinserted in accordance with subparagraph (ii)1.).
(iv) Automated reinvestigation system. Any consumer reporting agency that compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis shall implement an automated system through which furnishers of information to that consumer reporting agency may report the results of a reinvestigation that finds incomplete or inaccurate information in a consumer's file to other such consumer reporting agencies.
(f) Notice of results of reinvestigation.
(i) In general. A consumer reporting agency shall provide written notice to a consumer of the results of a reinvestigation under this subsection not later than five (5) business days after the completion of the reinvestigation, by mail or, if authorized by the consumer for that purpose, by other means available to the agency.
(ii) Contents. As part of, or in addition to, the notice under subparagraph (i), a consumer reporting agency shall provide to a consumer in writing before the expiration of the five-day period referred to in subparagraph (i):
1. A statement that the reinvestigation is completed;
2. A consumer report that is based upon the consumer's file as that file is revised as a result of the reinvestigation;
3. A notice that, if requested by the consumer, a description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy and completeness of the information shall be provided to the consumer by the agency, including the business name and address of any furnisher of information contacted in connection with such information and the telephone number of such furnisher, if reasonably available;
4. A notice that the consumer has the right to add a statement to the consumer's file disputing the accuracy or completeness of the information; and
5. A notice that the consumer has the right to request under subsection (4) of this section that the consumer reporting agency furnish notifications under that subsection.
(g) Description of reinvestigation procedure. A consumer reporting agency shall provide to a consumer a description referred to in paragraph (f)(ii)3. by not later than fifteen (15) days after receiving a request from the consumer for that description.
(h) Expedited dispute resolution. If a dispute regarding an item of information in a consumer's file at a consumer reporting agency is resolved in accordance with paragraph (e)(i) by the deletion of the disputed information by not later than three (3) business days after the date on which the agency receives notice of the dispute from the consumer in accordance with paragraph (a)(i), then the agency shall not be required to comply with paragraphs (b), (f), and (g) with respect to that dispute if the agency:
(i) Provides prompt notice of the deletion to the consumer by telephone;
(ii) Includes in that notice, or in a written notice that accompanies a confirmation and consumer report provided in accordance with subparagraph (iii), a statement of the consumer's right to request under subsection (4) of this section that the agency furnish notifications under that subsection; and
(iii) Provides written confirmation of the deletion and a copy of a consumer report on the consumer that is based on the consumer's file after the deletion, not later than five (5) business days after making the deletion.
(2) Statement of dispute. If the reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute, the consumer may file a brief statement setting forth the nature of the dispute. The consumer reporting agency may limit such statements to not more than one hundred words if it provides the consumer with assistance in writing a clear summary of the dispute.
(3) Notification of consumer dispute in subsequent consumer reports. Whenever a statement of a dispute is filed, unless there is reasonable grounds to believe that it is frivolous or irrelevant, the consumer reporting agency shall, in any subsequent consumer report containing the information in question, clearly note that it is disputed by the consumer and provide either the consumer's statement or a clear and accurate codification or summary thereof.
(4) Notification of deletion of disputed information. Following any deletion of information which is found to be inaccurate or whose accuracy can no longer be verified or any notation as to disputed information, the consumer reporting agency shall, at the request of the consumer, furnish notification that the item has been deleted or the statement, codification or summary pursuant to subsection (2) or (3) of this section to any person specifically designated by the consumer who has within two (2) years prior thereto received a consumer report for employment purposes, or within six (6) months prior thereto received a consumer report for any other purpose, which contained the deleted or disputed information.
(5) Reinvestigation requirement applicable to resellers.
(a) Exemption from general reinvestigation requirement. Except as provided in paragraph (b), a reseller shall be exempt from the requirements of this section.
(b) Action required upon receiving notice of a dispute. If a reseller receives a notice from a consumer of a dispute concerning the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumer report on such consumer produced by the reseller, the reseller shall, within five (5) business days of receiving the notice, and free of charge:
(i) Determine whether the item of information is incomplete or inaccurate as a result of an act or omission of the reseller; and
(ii) If:
1. The reseller determines that the item of information is incomplete or inaccurate as a result of an act or omission of the reseller, not later than twenty (20) days after receiving the notice, correct the information in the consumer report or delete it; or
2. If the reseller determines that the item of information is not incomplete or inaccurate as a result of an act or omission of the reseller, convey the notice of the dispute, together with all relevant information provided by the consumer, to each consumer reporting agency that provided the reseller with the information that is the subject of the dispute, using an address or a notification mechanism specified by the consumer reporting agency for such notices.
(c) Responsibility of consumer reporting agency to notify consumer through reseller. Upon the completion of a reinvestigation under this section of a dispute concerning the completeness or accuracy of any information in the file of a consumer by a consumer reporting agency that received notice of the dispute from a reseller under paragraph (b):
(i) The notice by the consumer reporting agency under paragraph (f), (g), or (h) of subsection (1) of this section shall be provided to the reseller in lieu of the consumer; and
(ii) The reseller shall immediately reconvey such notice to the consumer, including any notice of a deletion by telephone in the manner required under paragraph (h)(i).
(d) Reseller reinvestigations. No provision of this subsection shall be construed as prohibiting a reseller from conducting a reinvestigation of a consumer dispute directly.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007.