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Fair Debt Collection: 5.7.9.2 Procedures Where the Debt Collector Acquires the Email Address from the Consumer

Compliance with Regulation F § 1006.6.(d)(4)(i) (effective November 30, 2021) occurs where either the consumer used the email address to communicate with the debt collector about the debt and has not since opted out of communications to that email address,378 or the collector received directly from the consumer prior consent to use the email address to communicate about the debt and the consumer has not withdrawn the consent.379 Opting out of communications to an email address is examined at

Fair Debt Collection: 5.7.9.4 Procedures Where a Prior Debt Collector Obtains the Email Address from the Consumer

Regulation F (effective November 30, 2021) sets out procedures where a prior debt collector obtained the email address.407 The immediately prior collector408 must have used that email address to send an email to the consumer (and the consumer cannot then have opted out of communications to that email address) and any prior collector obtained the email address in compliance with Reg.

Fair Debt Collection: 5.8.1 Text of FDCPA § 1692c(c) and Reg. F § 1006.6(c)

(c) Ceasing communication—If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communications with the consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt, except—

(1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector’s further efforts are being terminated;

Fair Debt Collection: 5.8.5 Debt Referred to Another Collector After Request to Cease Collection

Where a creditor refers its claim against a consumer to a new collection agency after the consumer has sent a cease-contact letter to a prior collection agency, the creditor may violate a state unfair and deceptive acts and practices (UDAP) statute478—unless the particular state’s UDAP statute excludes from coverage collection practices.479 Another theory for pursuing the creditor for facilitating a subsequent debt collector’s contact with the consumer may be that the creditor violated the coven

Fair Credit Reporting: 3.3.9.1 Generally

In addition to the rights to a free copy of a consumer report discussed in the preceding sections, the FCRA provides consumers the right to a paid report at any time.

Fair Credit Reporting: 3.3.3.3 Formatting Requirements

The mandatory disclosure for free credit report promotions must be “prominent.”192 It must be in the same language as the principal language used by the advertisement.193 Furthermore, an advertisement cannot contain anything that is contrary to, inconsistent with, or undermines the disclosure.194

Fair Credit Reporting: 3.3.10.3 Nature of Scores Sold

The CRA can disclose to the consumer either the current score or the most recent score that the CRA had calculated for a creditor.287 The score must either (a) be generated using a scoring model that is widely distributed to users by the CRA or (b) assist the consumer in understanding the assessment by the credit scoring model of their credit behavior and predications about that behavior.288 Note that the latter option means that the credit score provided by the CRA may not necessarily be the sa

Fair Credit Reporting: 3.3.2.2 Timing, Volume, and Identification Requirements

Both nationwide CRAs and nationwide specialty CRAs must provide free annual reports within fifteen days after the date on which the request is received.139 They must have adequate capacity to meet a reasonably anticipated volume of consumer requests,140 with adequate contingency plans for reasonably likely situations that might increase demand.141 Regulation V makes certain provisions where request volume exceeds any reasonable anticipation.

Fair Credit Reporting: 3.3.1.3.3 User disclosure where information obtained from a person other than a consumer reporting agency leads to credit denial or an increase in credit charges

Whenever consumer credit is denied, based at least in part on information obtained from a person other than a CRA, the creditor, when communicating the fact of the adverse credit action, must clearly and accurately disclose the consumer’s right to obtain information about the reasons for the adverse credit action.107 The consumer can send a written request for the reasons for the adverse action, if that request is received within sixty days of the consumer learning of the adverse action.108

Fair Credit Reporting: 3.3.1.1 Advantages

While a report can be obtained as a matter of right from a CRA, there are advantages in obtaining the report directly from a creditor or other entity that has recently used the consumer report. The user’s report is the actual report that was the basis for the adverse action, not a report generated at a later date that may be significantly different than the report relied upon by the user.

Fair Credit Reporting: 3.3.10.4 Disclosure of Key Factors

In addition to the credit score itself, the CRA must disclose the top four key factors (and no more) that adversely affected the credit score, listed in order of importance.298 In addition, the CRA must also disclose if the number of inquiries on a consumer’s file adversely affected the score, even if it was not one of the four top reasons.299 However, “check services companies” (e.g., a check verification agency) are excluded from the requirement to disclose inquiries as a key factor.