Comments due on FTC FCRA address discrepancies rules

The Federal Trade Commission has announced it is seeking comments on proposed changes in five Commission rules implementing parts of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to bring them in line with the Dodd-Frank Act. The notices of proposed rulemaking to be published shortly propose changes to the following rules, which apply only to motor vehicle dealers (the FTC's rulemaking authority related to parts of the FCRA was transferred to the CFPB by the Dodd-Frank Act).

• Address Discrepancy Rule, which outlines the obligations of users of consumer reports when they receive a notice of address discrepancy from a nationwide consumer reporting agency (CRA);
• Affiliate Marketing Rule, which gives consumers the right to restrict a person from using certain information obtained from an affiliate to make solicitations to the consumer;
• Furnisher Rule, which requires entities that furnish information to CRAs to establish and implement reasonable written policies and procedures regarding the accuracy and integrity of the information relating to consumers provided to a CRA;
• Pre-screen Opt-Out Notice Rule, which outlines requirements for those who use consumer report information to make unsolicited credit or insurance offers to consumers; and
• Risk-Based Pricing Rule, which requires those who use information from a consumer report to offer less favorable terms to consumers to provide them with a notice about the use of such data.

In addition, as part of its periodic review of its rules and guides, the FTC is seeking comment on the effectiveness of the five rules. Comments on each of the five proposals will be accepted for 75 days following their publication in the Federal Register.

PUBLICATION AND COMMENT PERIOD UPDATE: The proposed rule is scheduled for Federal Register publication on September 15, 2020. The comment deadline will be November 30, 2020.