BILL NUMBER: SB 1239 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 860
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 25, 2002
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 25, 2002
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 20, 2002
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 12, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 1, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 12, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Senator Figueroa
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Correa and Koretz)
(Coauthors: Senators Bowen, Karnette, Kuehl, Ortiz, and Romero)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bates, Cedillo, Chan, Liu,
Longville, Nation, Pavley, and Strom-Martin)
JANUARY 7, 2002
An act to amend Section 1785.15 of, and to add Section 1785.15.3
to, the Civil Code, relating to consumer credit.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1239, Figueroa. Consumer credit reporting agencies.
Existing law, the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act, governs
the disclosure of consumer credit reports. A consumer credit
reporting agency is required to make specified disclosures of
information contained in a consumer credit report upon the request of
a consumer and to provide a free disclosure if the consumer has been
turned down for credit, employment, insurance, or a rented dwelling
because of information in his or her credit report within the
preceding 60 days. Existing law also requires consumer credit
reporting agencies to provide a specified written summary of rights
to consumers.
This bill would enact provisions, effective July 1, 2003, that
would additionally require a consumer credit reporting agency to
provide a statement describing the statutory rights of victims of
identity theft, as specified, and to provide one free copy each
month, for up to 12 consecutive months, of a consumer's file, upon
the request of a consumer who is a victim of identity theft. The
bill would except from its provisions certain credit reporting
agencies that act only as resellers of credit information collected
from other credit reporting agencies, as specified.
The bill would also revise the content of the written summary of
rights provided to consumers, as specified.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1785.15 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
1785.15. (a) A consumer credit reporting agency shall supply
files and information required under Section 1785.10 during normal
business hours and on reasonable notice. In addition to the
disclosure provided by this chapter and any disclosures received by
the consumer, the consumer has the right to request and receive all
of the following:
(1) Either a decoded written version of the file or a written copy
of the file, including all information in the file at the time of
the request, with an explanation of any code used.
(2) A credit score for the consumer, the key factors, and the
related information, as defined in and required by Section 1785.15.1.
(3) A record of all inquiries, by recipient, which result in the
provision of information concerning the consumer in connection with a
credit transaction that is not initiated by the consumer and which
were received by the consumer credit reporting agency in the 12-month
period immediately preceding the request for disclosure under this
section.
(4) The recipients, including end users specified in Section
1785.22, of any consumer credit report on the consumer which the
consumer credit reporting agency has furnished:
(A) For employment purposes within the two-year period preceding
the request.
(B) For any other purpose within the 12-month period preceding the
request.
Identification for purposes of this paragraph shall include the
name of the recipient or, if applicable, the fictitious business name
under which the recipient does business disclosed in full. If
requested by the consumer, the identification shall also include the
address of the recipient.
(b) Files maintained on a consumer shall be disclosed promptly as
follows:
(1) In person, at the location where the consumer credit reporting
agency maintains the trained personnel required by subdivision (d),
if he or she appears in person and furnishes proper identification.
(2) By mail, if the consumer makes a written request with proper
identification for a copy of the file or a decoded written version of
that file to be sent to the consumer at a specified address. A
disclosure pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in the
United States mail, postage prepaid, within five business days after
the consumer's written request for the disclosure is received by the
consumer credit reporting agency. Consumer credit reporting agencies
complying with requests for mailings under this section shall not be
liable for disclosures to third parties caused by mishandling of
mail after the mailings leave the consumer credit reporting agencies.
(3) A summary of all information contained in files on a consumer
and required to be provided by Section 1785.10 shall be provided by
telephone, if the consumer has made a written request, with proper
identification for telephone disclosure.
(4) Information in a consumer's file required to be provided in
writing under this section may also be disclosed in another form if
authorized by the consumer and if available from the consumer credit
reporting agency. For this purpose a consumer may request disclosure
in person pursuant to Section 1785.10, by telephone upon disclosure
of proper identification by the consumer, by electronic means if
available from the consumer credit reporting agency, or by any other
reasonable means that is available from the consumer credit reporting
agency.
(c) "Proper identification," as used in subdivision (b) means that
information generally deemed sufficient to identify a person. Only
if the consumer is unable to reasonably identify himself or herself
with the information described above, may a consumer credit reporting
agency require additional information concerning the consumer's
employment and personal or family history in order to verify his or
her identity.
(d) The consumer credit reporting agency shall provide trained
personnel to explain to the consumer any information furnished him or
her pursuant to Section 1785.10.
(e) The consumer shall be permitted to be accompanied by one other
person of his or her choosing, who shall furnish reasonable
identification. A consumer credit reporting agency may require the
consumer to furnish a written statement granting permission to the
consumer credit reporting agency to discuss the consumer's file in
that person's presence.
(f) Any written disclosure by a consumer credit reporting agency
to any consumer pursuant to this section shall include a written
summary of all rights the consumer has under this title and in the
case of a consumer credit reporting agency which compiles and
maintains consumer credit reports on a nationwide basis, a toll-free
telephone number which the consumer can use to communicate with the
consumer credit reporting agency. The written summary of rights
required under this subdivision is sufficient if in substantially the
following form:
"You have a right to obtain a copy of your credit file from a
consumer credit reporting agency. You may be charged a reasonable
fee not exceeding eight dollars ($8). There is no fee, however, if
you have been turned down for credit, employment, insurance, or a
rental dwelling because of information in your credit report within
the preceding 60 days. The consumer credit reporting agency must
provide someone to help you interpret the information in your credit
file.
You have a right to dispute inaccurate information by contacting
the consumer credit reporting agency directly. However, neither you
nor any credit repair company or credit service organization has the
right to have accurate, current, and verifiable information removed
from your credit report. Under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting
Act, the consumer credit reporting agency must remove accurate,
negative information from your report only if it is over seven years
old. Bankruptcy information can be reported for 10 years.
If you have notified a consumer credit reporting agency in writing
that you dispute the accuracy of information in your file, the
consumer credit reporting agency must then, within 30 business days,
reinvestigate and modify or remove inaccurate information. The
consumer credit reporting agency may not charge a fee for this
service. Any pertinent information and copies of all documents you
have concerning an error should be given to the consumer credit
reporting agency.
If reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute to your
satisfaction, you may send a brief statement to the consumer credit
reporting agency to keep in your file, explaining why you think the
record is inaccurate. The consumer credit reporting agency must
include your statement about disputed information in a report it
issues about you.
You have a right to receive a record of all inquiries relating to
a credit transaction initiated in 12 months preceding your request.
This record shall include the recipients of any consumer credit
report.
You may request in writing that the information contained in your
file not be provided to a third party for marketing purposes.
You have a right to place a "security alert" in your credit
report, which will warn anyone who receives information in your
credit report that your identity may have been used without your
consent and that recipients of your credit report are advised, but
not required, to verify your identity prior to issuing credit. The
security alert may prevent credit, loans, and services from being
approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be
aware that taking advantage of this right may delay or interfere with
the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you
make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, insurance, rental
housing, employment, investment, license, cellular phone, utilities,
digital signature, Internet credit card transaction, or other
services, including an extension of credit at point of sale. If you
place a security alert on your credit report, you have a right to
obtain a free copy of your credit report at the time the 90-day
security alert period expires. A security alert may be requested by
calling the following toll-free telephone number: (Insert applicable
toll-free telephone number).
You have a right to place a "security freeze" on your credit
report, which will prohibit a consumer credit reporting agency from
releasing any information in your credit report without your express
authorization. A security freeze must be requested in writing by
certified mail. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit,
loans, and services from being approved in your name without your
consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze
to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial
information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or
prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application
you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, insurance,
government services or payments, rental housing, employment,
investment, license, cellular phone, utilities, digital signature,
Internet credit card transaction, or other services, including an
extension of credit at point of sale. When you place a security
freeze on your credit report, you will be provided a personal
identification number or password to use if you choose to remove the
freeze on your credit report or authorize the release of your credit
report for a specific party or period of time after the freeze is in
place. To provide that authorization you must contact the consumer
credit reporting agency and provide all of the following:
(1) The personal identification number or password.
(2) Proper identification to verify your identity.
(3) The proper information regarding the third party who is to
receive the credit report or the period of time for which the report
shall be available.
A consumer credit reporting agency must authorize the release of
your credit report no later than three business days after receiving
the above information.
A security freeze does not apply to a person or entity, or its
affiliates, or collection agencies acting on behalf of the person or
entity, with which you have an existing account, that requests
information in your credit report for the purposes of reviewing or
collecting the account. Reviewing the account includes activities
related to account maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases,
and account upgrades and enhancements.
You have a right to bring civil action against anyone, including a
consumer credit reporting agency, who improperly obtains access to a
file, knowingly or willfully misuses file data, or fails to correct
inaccurate file data.
If you are a victim of identity theft and provide to a consumer
credit reporting agency a copy of a valid police report or a valid
investigative report made by a Department of Motor Vehicles
investigator with peace officer status describing your circumstances,
the following shall apply:
(1) You have a right to have any information you list on the
report as allegedly fraudulent promptly blocked so that the
information cannot be reported. The information will be unblocked
only if (A) the information you provide is a material
misrepresentation of the facts, (B) you agree that the information is
blocked in error, or (C) you knowingly obtained possession of goods,
services, or moneys as result of the blocked transactions. If
blocked information is unblocked you will be promptly notified.
(2) Beginning July 1, 2003, you have a right to receive, free of
charge and upon request, one copy of your credit report each month
for up to 12 consecutive months."
SEC. 2. Section 1785.15.3 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1785.15.3. (a) In addition to any other rights the consumer may
have under this title, every consumer credit reporting agency, after
being contacted by telephone, mail, or in person by any consumer who
has reason to believe he or she may be a victim of identity theft,
shall promptly provide to that consumer a statement, written in a
clear and conspicuous manner, describing the statutory rights of
victims of identity theft under this title.
(b) Every consumer credit reporting agency shall, upon the receipt
from a victim of identity theft of a police report prepared pursuant
to Section 530.6 of the Penal Code, or a valid investigative report
made by a Department of Motor Vehicles investigator with peace
officer status regarding the public offenses described in Section
530.5 of the Penal Code, provide the victim, free of charge and upon
request, with up to 12 copies of his or her file during a consecutive
12-month period, not to exceed one copy per month, following the
date of the police report. Notwithstanding any other provision of
this title, the maximum number of free reports a victim of identity
theft is entitled to obtain under this title is 12 per year, as
provided by this subdivision.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a consumer reporting agency
that acts only as a reseller of credit information by assembling and
merging information contained in the database of another consumer
reporting agency or agencies and that does not maintain a permanent
database of credit information from which new credit reports are
produced.
(d) The provisions of this section shall become effective July 1,
2003.