House Passes Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2020

The United States House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 5332, the Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2020.  The Act would amend FCRA is several respects.  The overall purpose of the Act is to “ensure that consumer reporting agencies are providing fair and accurate information reporting in consumer reports.” The Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2020 would: First, require the CRAs to create a single online consumer portal.  The online portal would entitle a consumer to unlimited free access to

1. 1. their credit report
   2. their credit score
   3. place and remove credit freeze
   4. initiate a dispute
   5. see who has accessed a consumer’s credit report within the last 24 months and for what permissible purpose the report was furnished

Second, amend 1681e in an effort to increase accuracy:

1. 1. CRAs would be required to match all 9 digits of a consumer’s social security number with information included in the credit report
   2. If a consumer’s social security number is not available, the CRAs would be required to match a full legal name, date of birth, current address and one previous address to the consumer
   3. CRAs required to set up periodic audits of their system on a schedule set by the CFPB to check for accuracy of their reports

Third, amend 1681s-2(a)(8) to improve the dispute process.  Furnishers would have a duty to conduct an investigation so long as consumer submitted “new or additional information” that was not previously submitted to the CRAs. Fourth, amend 1681i to improve the dispute process.  CRAs would be required to provide additional information to consumers regarding reinvestigations, such as:

1. 1. Disclose the name and contact information of any furnisher involved in responding to the dispute
   2. Provide additional options if the consumer is unhappy with the results of the reinvestigation

Fifth, create a "Credit Reporting Ombudsperson." This person would oversee the CRAs, and make referrals for supervisory and enforcement actions against non-compliance CRAs. And finally, expand Private Right of Action under FCRA.  Consumers would have the ability to seek injunctive relief to require compliance with terms of FCRA and would be entitled to award of attorney’s fees in the event the court grants the injunction. We will continue to track the progress of this legislation.