Data Furnisher Announcements

Obligations Of Furnishers Under The FCRA

TransUnion requires that all data contributors take actions to ensure the data you report is accurate and truly represents the consumers’ standing. We also require that all of our data-contributing customers comply with the FCRA, all state credit reporting laws and the Consumer Data Industry Association’s (CDIA) reporting guidelines – including the use of all required and applicable Metro 2® format field standards, automated consumer dispute verification processes, and data maintenance processes.  Updates and revisions to these standards can be found in the Credit Reporting Resource Guide® (CRRG®).

Notice to Furnishers of Information

COVID-19

Data Furnisher Obligations

Data furnishers are advised of the following obligations under the FCRA and CARES Act:

• The requirements of Section 623(a)(1)(F) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (enacted as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act), which requires that when a furnisher reaches an “accommodation” (as defined therein) with respect to one or more payments on a credit obligation or account of a consumer, and the consumer makes the payments or is not required to make one or more payments pursuant to the accommodation, the furnisher report the credit obligation or account as “current,” unless such credit obligation or account was delinquent before the accommodation, or has been charged off by the furnisher.
• In regards to federal student loans, furnishers are apprised of the requirements of Section 3513 of the CARES Act, which suspends all payments due for loans made under part D and part B (that are held by the Department of Education) of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.; 1071 et seq.) through September 30, 2020, and requires that any payment that has been suspended is treated, for the purpose of consumer credit reporting, as if it were a regularly scheduled payment made by a borrower.

TransUnion recommends that you consult with your internal Compliance or Legal departments on complying with the FCRA and the CARES Act.

Resources for Data Furnishers 

• CARES Act Post-Accommodation reporting guidelines
• Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) and Metro 2® Task Force guidelines for CARES Act reporting
• CDIA COVID-19 support center
• Department of Education COVID-19 guidance
• Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
• New York Department of Financial Services industry letter

Reporting Date Open Reminder

In general, furnishers are to report a Date Opened reflecting “the date the account was originally opened,” and are to “retain the original Date Opened regardless of future activity, such as transfer, refinance, lost or stolen card, etc.” (CRRG® page 4-6).

ID HB 515 - Idaho Patient Act

Idaho HB 515, enacting the Idaho Patient Act, was enacted on March 16, 2020 with an effective date of January 1, 2021.

• The Act imposes new requirements on and sets prohibitions for debt collectors.

It prohibits any individual from engaging, directly or indirectly, in any extraordinary collection action against a patient except in certain circumstances, creates new consolidated summary of services notice requirements, and establishes enforcement mechanisms for violations of the new law.

“Extraordinary collection action” includes reporting adverse information to a CRA.

Idaho Code 48-303. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this chapter:

***

(3) "Extraordinary collection action" means any of the following actions done in connection with a patient's debt:

(a) Prior to sixty (60) days from the patient's receipt of the final statement, selling, transferring, or assigning any amount of a patient's debt to any third-party, or otherwise authorizing any third-party to collect the debt in a name other than the name of the health care provider;

(b) Reporting adverse information about the patient to a consumer reporting agency; or

(c) Commencing any judicial or legal action or filing or recording any document in relation thereto, including but not limited to:

(i) Placing a lien on a person's property or assets;

(ii) Attaching or seizing a person's bank account or any other personal property;

(iii) Initiating a civil action against any person; or

(iv) Garnishing an individual's wages.