15 U.S.C. 1681c-1 - part 2

This is part 2 of my explanation of 15 U.S.C. 1681c-1 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

"(c) Active duty alerts. Upon the direct request of an active duty military consumer, or an individual acting on behalf of or as a personal representative of an active duty military consumer, a consumer reporting agency described in section 603(p) [15 U.S.C. 1681a(p)] that maintains a file on the active duty military consumer and has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester shall --

(1) include an active duty alert in the file of that active duty military consumer, and also provide that alert along with any credit score generated in using that file, during a period of not less than 12 months, or such longer period as the Commission shall determine, by regulation, beginning on the date of the request, unless the active duty military consumer or such representative requests that such fraud alert be removed before the end of such period, and the agency has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester for such purpose;

(2) during the 2-year period beginning on the date of such request, exclude the active duty military 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as part of a transaction that was not initiated by the consumer, unless the consumer requests that such exclusion be rescinded before the end of such period; and

(3) refer the information regarding the active duty alert to each of the other consumer reporting agencies described in section 603(p), in accordance with procedures developed under section 621(f)."

[This subsection requires a consumer reporting agency that is made aware of the active military duty status of a consumer (and confirms the consumer's identity) to include an active military duty alert on the consumer's credit reports at least for a year, longer if the Federal Trade Commission decides it should be longer. Also, for the first two years of any active duty alert, the credit bureaus must exclude the military consumer from the lists of consumers they provide to third parties for offers of credit or insurance. I do not think subsection (1) is supposed to refer to this alert as a "fraud alert", since it is actually an active duty alert which does not mean any fraud has occurred or is suspected of occurring.]

"(d) Procedures. Each consumer reporting agency described in section 603(p) shall establish policies and procedures to comply with this section, including procedures that inform consumers of the availability of initial, extended, and active duty alerts and procedures that allow consumers and active duty military consumers to request initial, extended, or active duty alerts (as applicable) in a simple and easy manner, including by telephone."

[This subsection requires the credit bureaus to come up with procedures to make consumers aware of the two types of fraud alerts (i.e. the 90 day initial alert and the 7 year extended alert) as well as the active duty alert.]

"(e) Referrals of alerts. Each consumer reporting agency described in section 603(p) that receives a referral of a fraud alert or active duty alert from another consumer reporting agency pursuant to this section shall, as though the agency received the request from the consumer directly, follow the procedures required under --

(1) paragraphs (1)(A) and (2) of subsection (a), in the case of a referral under subsection (a)(1)(B);

(2) paragraphs (1)(A), (1)(B), and (2) of subsection (b), in the case of a referral under subsection (b)(1)(C); and

(3) paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c), in the case of a referral under subsection (c)(3)."

[This subsection applies where a consumer reporting agency that did not receive the original notification of a fraud alert or active duty alert receives notification of such alert from the credit bureau that did receive the initial request for an alert. In that instance, the credit bureau must comply with the subsections listed just like it had received the original request for an alert.]

"(f) Duty of reseller to reconvey alert. A reseller shall include in its report any fraud alert or active duty alert placed in the file of a consumer pursuant to this section by another consumer reporting agency."

[This section just requires a reseller of credit information to include the fraud alert or active duty alert on the credit report it compiles and resells.]

I should be able to finish with my explanation of 15 U.S.C. 1681c-1 in part 3.