FCRA Data Furnishing & Accuracy Requirements 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A mortgage servicer transfers a loan to a new servicer mid-dispute. Under the FCRA, the new servicer's obligation regarding the in-flight dispute is:
- No obligation; the dispute transfers back to the consumer to re-file
- The new servicer inherits and must complete the dispute investigation (Correct answer)
- The dispute automatically converts to a CFPB complaint
- The new servicer has 90 additional days to begin the investigation
Correct answer: The new servicer inherits and must complete the dispute investigation
When servicing transfers occur mid-dispute, the new servicer inherits the furnisher obligations and must complete the investigation within the original statutory timeframe.
Question 2: Under Metro 2, the 'Date of First Delinquency' (DOFD) field is critical because it determines:
- When the furnisher must charge off the account
- The start of the 7-year obsolescence clock for negative reporting (Correct answer)
- The date from which interest ceases to accrue
- The effective date of any identity theft block
Correct answer: The start of the 7-year obsolescence clock for negative reporting
The DOFD anchors the FCRA's 7-year reporting window; the negative item must be removed no later than 7 years from the DOFD.
Question 3: A furnisher reports a joint account delinquency only under one co-borrower's profile, omitting the other. This practice may violate which FCRA obligation?
- The permissible purpose restrictions of Section 604
- The completeness element of the Section 623 accuracy duty (Correct answer)
- The Section 615 adverse action notice requirement
- The Section 609 disclosure obligation
Correct answer: The completeness element of the Section 623 accuracy duty
The duty to report accurate and complete information under Section 623 includes correctly attributing joint-account liability to all obligated parties.
Question 4: The CFPB's Supervision and Examination Manual for furnishers evaluates whether a furnisher's dispute investigation is 'reasonable' by looking at:
- Whether the consumer hired an attorney to represent them
- The depth of review of underlying account documents and records (Correct answer)
- The furnisher's market share among peer institutions
- Whether the CRA rated the dispute as high priority
Correct answer: The depth of review of underlying account documents and records
Examiners assess reasonableness by reviewing whether furnishers actually examined the relevant account records, transaction histories, and supporting documents during their investigation.
Question 5: A debt collector who also furnishes collection account information to CRAs must comply with:
- Only the FDCPA, which supersedes FCRA for debt collectors
- Both the FDCPA and the FCRA furnisher requirements simultaneously (Correct answer)
- Only the FCRA, which preempts the FDCPA for reporting activities
- Neither law if the debt is older than 3 years
Correct answer: Both the FDCPA and the FCRA furnisher requirements simultaneously
Debt collectors acting as furnishers are subject to both the FDCPA's collection standards and the FCRA's accuracy and dispute investigation requirements concurrently.
Question 6: A furnisher that receives a consumer's direct dispute notice submitted via email must:
- Reject it as invalid because disputes must be submitted in writing via postal mail
- Accept it, since electronic submissions qualify as written disputes under Regulation V (Correct answer)
- Forward it to the relevant CRA to handle on the furnisher's behalf
- Acknowledge receipt but defer investigation until a paper copy is received
Correct answer: Accept it, since electronic submissions qualify as written disputes under Regulation V
Regulation V treats electronic submissions as valid written disputes, so email direct disputes trigger the same investigation obligations as postal mail submissions.
Question 7: After a furnisher concludes a dispute investigation and finds the information accurate, it must notify the consumer of the result. Which additional item must be included in that notification?
- The consumer's full credit score from each bureau
- The consumer's right to add a statement of dispute to their CRA file (Correct answer)
- A 90-day moratorium on adverse action by the furnisher
- The furnisher's internal audit log of the investigation
Correct answer: The consumer's right to add a statement of dispute to their CRA file
When a furnisher finds information accurate after investigation and does not modify it, the consumer must be informed of their right to add a 100-word statement of dispute to their CRA file.
FCRA Data Furnishing & Accuracy Requirements 5
A mortgage servicer transfers a loan to a new servicer mid-dispute.
Under the FCRA, the new servicer's obligation regarding the in-flight dispute is: