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

I conclude my explanation of 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act with this post.

"(d) Exception for Resellers

(1) No reseller file. This section shall not apply to a consumer reporting agency, if the consumer reporting agency --

(A) is a reseller;

(B) is not, at the time of the request of the consumer under subsection (a), otherwise furnishing or reselling a consumer report concerning the information identified by the consumer; and

(C) informs the consumer, by any means, that the consumer may report the identity theft to the Commission to obtain consumer information regarding identity theft."

[In other words, this section does not apply to resellers of credit information as long as they are not furnishing or reselling a credit report regarding the consumer at the time of the report of identity theft. The reseller must tell the consumer that he or she may report the identity theft to the FTC to get more information regarding identity theft.]

"(2) Reseller with file. The sole obligation of the consumer reporting agency under this section, with regard to any request of a consumer under this section, shall be to block the consumer report maintained by the consumer reporting agency from any subsequent use, if --

(A) the consumer, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a), identifies to the consumer reporting agency, information in the file of the consumer that resulted from identity theft; and

(B) the consumer reporting agency is a reseller of the identified information."

[The reseller that is currently reporting a credit report at the time of the report of identity theft must only keep from block the credit report from any subsequent use.]

"(3) Notice. In carrying out its obligation under paragraph (2), the reseller shall promptly provide a notice to the consumer of the decision to block the file. Such notice shall contain the name, address, and telephone number of each consumer reporting agency from which the consumer information was obtained for resale."

[If the reseller is publishing a credit report regarding the consumer when it is told by the consumer of the identity theft, the reseller must inform the consumer that it is blocking his credit file and provide the contact information for the credit bureau that provided the information to the reseller that ultimately caused the credit report to be blocked.]

"(e) Exception for verification companies. The provisions of this section do not apply to a check services company, acting as such, which issues authorizations for the purpose of approving or processing negotiable instruments, electronic fund transfers, or similar methods of payments, except that, beginning 4 business days after receipt of information described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a), a check services company shall not report to a national consumer reporting agency described in section 603(p), any information identified in the subject identity theft report as resulting from identity theft."

[The duty to block information resulting from identity theft does not apply to check verification companies, except that, starting four days after the report of identity theft, they are not allowed to publish the identity theft information to any national credit bureau.]

"(f) Access to blocked information by law enforcement agencies. No provision of this section shall be construed as requiring a consumer reporting agency to prevent a Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency from accessing blocked information in a consumer file to which the agency could otherwise obtain access under this title."

[This section creates an exception for law enforcement to be able to see blocked information if it would normally be allowed access absent the block.]

This concludes my explanation of 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. I will start my explanation of 15 U.S.C. 1681d in the next installment.