LaDonna Bohling and Leslie Bender will share their expertise during discussions on navigating the dispute process and data furnisher practices Dec. 10.
12/6/2019 11:00
ACA International will be a part of a workshop on credit reporting cohosted by the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Dec. 10.
Selected for one of the four panel discussions, LaDonna Bohling, IFCCE, chief compliance officer for Receivables Solutions Inc., will speak on navigating the dispute process.
“I am honored to have been selected to participate on this panel. My goal is to give an accurate depiction of the challenges our industry faces in fulfilling our responsibilities as data furnishers,” Bohling said. “We must navigate through complicated technical requirements, coordinating with various third parties, and work with consumers to assist them in understanding the process involved to resolve their disputes.”
Leslie Bender, IFCCE, CCCO, chief strategy officer and general counsel at BCA Financial Services Inc., will be a part of the Furnisher Practices and Compliance with Accuracy Requirements panel discussion.
“It is a privilege to serve on one of the FTC/CFPB panels in the upcoming workshop and to discuss issues related to data furnishing with a wide array of stakeholders,” Bender said. “The Fair Credit Reporting Act, a nearly 50-year-old law, is credited with being the beginning of data privacy or data protection laws in our country.”
The law is clear that furnishers who furnish information about consumers to consumer reporting agencies must:
- Provide complete and accurate information to the credit reporting agencies;
- Investigate consumer disputes received from credit reporting agencies; and
- Correct, delete, or verify information within 30 or 45 days of receipt of a dispute.
However, according to the FTC’s research a few years ago, nearly a quarter of all consumers complain that there are errors in their credit files, Bender said.
“Tuesday’s workshop should be a wonderful opportunity to listen to varying perspectives about the information in consumers’ credit files and how it is used,” she said, adding it will be interesting to compare the FTC/CFPB workshop discussion with recent legislative hearings on data privacy.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee met Dec. 4 for a review of federal data privacy law proposals, some that would preempt state regulations, some that would not.
“It is interesting how this is juxtaposed against the Dec. 4 hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee and to evaluate legislative alternatives for perhaps a national omnibus privacy law along the lines of the California Consumer Privacy Act,” Bender said.
ACA is pleased to have a seat at the table during this workshop titled “Accuracy in Consumer Reporting,” which will also feature discussions on:
- A decade of developments in consumer reporting;
- Current accuracy topics for traditional credit reporting agencies; and
- Accuracy considerations for background screening.
“This panel is an opportunity for all stakeholders to unite, and to understand the difficulty both consumers and commerce face in navigating the credit reporting system, especially when the laws we must follow are unclear,” Bohling added.
The workshop will also feature remarks by FTC Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips and CFPB Deputy Director Brian Johnson.
As part of the workshop, the CFPB and FTC seek stakeholder, including industry representatives, consumer advocates and regulators, comments on data in credit reports and credit reporting regulations.
Comments are accepted until Jan. 10, 2020 and ACA encourages members and stakeholders to share their input before the Dec. 10, 2019 workshop. ACA staff will also be working with the Federal Affairs and Members Attorney Program committees to contribute comments. Contact ACA's Vice President and Senior Counsel of Federal Advocacy Leah Dempsey at [email protected] to share your input.
Read more on guidance for submitting comments in ACA’s coverage here.
The workshop, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Constitution Center, 400 7th St., SW, Washington, D.C., and will be webcast live on the FTC’s website.