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Fair Credit Reporting: New Jersey

Child Support Debts Statute: N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:17-56.21 (West).

The state Department of Human Services shall report child support arrearages to consumer reporting agencies. The Department must give obligor prior notice and an opportunity to contest the accuracy of the information.

Data Security Breach Statute: N.J. Stat. Ann. § 56:8-163 (West).

Fair Credit Reporting: New Mexico

Child Support Debts Statute: N.M. Stat. Ann. § 56-3-3.

Child Support Enforcement Division may obtain credit reports for use in locating obligors and enforcing obligations. Division must furnish to credit bureau, on request, the judgment or case number for the obligation for which a report is requested.

Credit Information in Personal Insurance Statute: N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 59A-17A-1 to 59A-17A-11.

Scope: Use of credit information in personal insurance.

Fair Credit Reporting: New York

Child Support Debts Statute: N.Y. Soc. Serv. Law § 111-c(2)(h) (McKinney).

Each social services district shall report periodically to CRAs information regarding past-due support owed by the parent owing support, including amount of the delinquency. A social services official, at least ten days prior, must provide notice to parent obligor, including the opportunity to be heard, and the methods available for contesting the accuracy of the information.

Fair Credit Reporting: North Carolina

Credit Information in Personal Insurance Statute: N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 58-36-90. See also N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 58-39-1 to 58-39-76.

Scope: Credit reports or credit scores used in non-commercial insurance underwriting (i.e., residential or non-commercial vehicle).

Fair Credit Reporting: North Dakota

Child Support Debts Statute: N.D. Cent. Code § 50-09-08.4.

Enforcement agencies may report past due support amounts provided obligors given notice and a reasonable opportunity to contest the accuracy of the report first.

Credit Information in Personal Insurance Statute: N.D. Cent. Code §§ 26.1-25.1-01 to 26.1-25.1-11.

Scope: Credit information used in underwriting personal insurance, i.e., policies individually underwritten for personal, family or household purposes.

Fair Credit Reporting: Oklahoma

Child Support Debts Statute: Okla. Stat. tit. 56, § 240.7.

Department of Human Services shall report child support arrearages to consumer reporting agencies. Obligors must be notified prior to the release of the information and be given a reasonable opportunity to contest the accuracy of the information.

Credit Information in Personal Insurance Statute: Okla. Stat. tit. 36, §§ 950 to 959.

Fair Credit Reporting: Oregon

Child Support Debts Statute: Or. Rev. Stat. § 25.650.

The Department of Justice shall provide information on child support arrearages to consumer reporting agencies, but first the obligor parent must be notified and given opportunity to contest accuracy of information. Department of Justice shall promptly notify agency when obligor pays off previously reported arrearage.

Credit Information in Personal Insurance Statute: Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 746.650, 746.661.

Fair Credit Reporting: West Virginia

Child Support Debts Statute: W. Va. Code § 48-18-121.

Those in arrears for child support payments must be provided procedural due process, including notice and a reasonable opportunity to contest accuracy of information, prior to state reporting such arrearages to consumer reporting agencies. State child support enforcement agency must give consumer ten days’ notice prior to requesting report and must use report solely to establish consumer’s capacity to make child support payments.

Fair Credit Reporting: Wisconsin

Child Support Debts Statute: Wis. Stat. § 49.22(11).

Department of Public Assistance shall report child support arrearages, but must give twenty business days prior notice to obligor and disclose methods available to contest accuracy of information. Department must report any errors or payments within thirty days and reporting agency must correct consumer files within thirty days.

Credit Repair Statute: Wis. Stat. §§ 422.501 to 422.506.

Fair Credit Reporting: Wyoming

Child Support Debts Statute: Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-6-106(w). See also Wyo. R. & Regs. 049.0009.8 § 2.

Child support delinquencies shall be reported to CRAs. Obligor shall be sent advance notice via first class mail and may request administrative review.

Fair Credit Reporting: 13.3.1 Overview

A violation of the FCRA is a violation of the various statutes providing general enforcement powers to each of the federal agencies with FCRA administrative enforcement jurisdiction.75 In general, the agencies may utilize their normal statutory enforcement authority to enforce the FCRA.76

Fair Credit Reporting: 13.3.2 CFPB Enforcement Powers

Like the other agencies currently or formerly invested with enforcement authority by the FCRA, the CFPB utilizes its own statutory enforcement powers to enforce the FCRA.77 The CFPB’s enforcement powers are defined in Subtitle E of Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act.78 The CFPB is not required to engage in a rulemaking prior to bringing an enforcement action.79

Fair Credit Reporting: 13.3.3 FTC Enforcement Powers

The FTC can use the powers it has under the FTC Act to secure compliance, irrespective of whether the defendant is engaged in “commerce” or meets any other jurisdictional tests in the FTC Act.90 The FTC’s authority encompasses the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and all the United States territories, but does not extend to activities outside those areas.91 Prior to the Dodd-Frank Act, this breadth of jurisdiction made the FTC the principal enforcement agency

Fair Credit Reporting: 13.3.4 FTC Ability to Seek Civil Penalties from Information Furnishers Is Limited

There is a significant limitation on the FTC’s authority to seek civil penalties for violations of the FCRA against information furnishers. The FCRA imposes several duties on furnishers when they furnish information to CRAs.99 One of the most critical duties is a limited duty not to report inaccurate information, which is not privately enforceable.100 It is also this duty for which the FTC’s authority to impose civil penalties is sharply curtailed.

Fair Credit Reporting: 13.3.5 Consumer Complaint Referral Process

The CFPB has statutory obligations with regard to consumer complaints about credit reporting. The statutory requirements are limited; however, the CFPB has the authority to create more robust complaint systems than those required by statute, and has done so.

Fair Credit Reporting: 13.4.1 Overview

Public FCRA enforcement actions are often resolved through consent decrees that can aid consumers who seek to bring their own case. Strictly speaking, an FTC or CFPB consent order or settlement does not adjudicate disputed issues of fact and does not decide a disputed issue of law.

Fair Credit Reporting: 13.4.3.1 Generally

The CFPB has taken a number of enforcement actions that involve consumer reporting issues, sometimes through joint efforts with the FTC.162 Some of these enforcement actions fall under sections of the FCRA that have no private right of action,163 whereas other actions it has brought against furnishers and consumer reporting agencies can also be brought by individual consumers.164

Fair Credit Reporting: 13.4.3.3 Claims Against Furnishers Under § 1681s-2

The CFPB has brought enforcement actions against furnishers for violations under section 1681s-2(a) for furnishing inaccurate information about consumers to CRAs that it knew or had reasonable cause to believe was inaccurate, as well as under section 1681s-2(b) for failure to conduct reasonable investigations of consumer disputes or to do so in a timely manner.

Fair Credit Reporting: 9.2.2.3.1 Introduction

An identity theft victim can seek a second type of alert, an extended fraud alert. The extended fraud alert lasts seven years.73 In order to obtain this alert, the consumer must (1) file a qualifying “identity theft report” with a law enforcement agency, and (2) provide the CRA with “appropriate proof of identity.”74

Fair Credit Reporting: 9.2.2.3.3 Effects of the extended fraud alert

By submitting the identity theft report and providing satisfactory proof of identification to a nationwide CRA, the consumer may add to their credit file an extended fraud alert that can last for seven years.75 As with the initial fraud alert, the CRA must refer the alert to the other nationwide CRAs, all of whom must provide a “clear and conspicuous view” of the alert each time they generate the consumer’s credit score.76