Sec. 09.03.07.05. Operational Procedures

A. A consumer reporting agency shall devise procedures to identify inaccurate information in consumer credit information submitted to it by a person who furnishes information to a consumer reporting agency.

B. As a part of the procedures required in §A of this regulation, a consumer reporting agency:

(1) Shall comply with 15 U.S.C. §1681i;

(2) May not include in a consumer’s file any loan, regardless of the date of the loan, that has been determined to be usurious or otherwise void or unenforceable under Maryland law pursuant to a court order or final order issued by the Commissioner and for which the credit reporting agency received said order from a court, the Commissioner, a consumer or consumer’s representative to which the information relates, or identified through any other process instituted by the credit reporting agency that would notify them of such a determination; and

(3) Shall use personal information and publicly available information to match tax liens and judgments to the appropriate consumer report, except that this requirement does not apply to a consumer reporting agency that is acting as a “reseller” as defined under 15 U.S.C. §1681a(u) with respect to that consumer report.

C. Complaints - General.

(1) This section does not apply to a report of information made to a consumer reporting agency before the effective date of this chapter.

(2) A consumer reporting agency may not list information which was received from a collection agency in a consumer's file unless there is also included in the consumer's file information sufficient to enable the consumer to identify the creditor who referred the debt to the collection agency.

D. Complaints - Specific Types.

(1) This section does not apply:

(a) If the consumer reporting agency has reason to believe that the consumer complaint:

(i) Is fraudulent; or

(ii) Has been previously investigated by the consumer reporting agency and found to be without merit;

(b) Unless the consumer complaint contains the consumer's:

(i) Full name;

(ii) Date of birth;

(iii) Social Security number;

(iv) Home addresses for the preceding 3 years; and

(v) Signature;

(c) If the complaint is filed by or with the assistance of a credit repair agency that is required to be licensed, but is not licensed, by the Commissioner under Commercial Law Article, Title 14, Subtitle 19, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(2) Except as provided in §D(1) of this regulation, this section applies to a written complaint submitted to a consumer reporting agency in which the consumer alleges that there is false information contained in the consumer report attributable to the:

(a) Consumer having been the victim of credit fraud; or

(b) Mixing of the information in the consumer's file with that of another person.

(3) There is a rebuttable presumption that a consumer complaint to which this section is applicable, and which is submitted to a consumer reporting agency, is:

(a) Legitimate; and

(b) Not frivolous.

(4) The presumption established by this section is rebutted if the consumer reporting agency receives verification from the source of the disputed information in the consumer report that the information pertains to the consumer.

(5) Complaints subject to the presumption established by this section shall receive expedited handling by the consumer reporting agency.

(6) The consumer reporting agency shall include in its investigation of a consumer complaint to which this section is applicable, an attempt to verify the disputed information using the consumer's Social Security number.

(7) If the presumption established by this section is:

(a) Rebutted, the consumer reporting agency shall mail a written notice to the consumer stating:

(i) That the information was verified; and

(ii) The rights of the consumer under Commercial Law Article, Title 14, Subtitle 12, Annotated Code of Maryland;

(b) Not rebutted, the consumer reporting agency shall delete the information from the consumer's file and mail:

(i) Written notice of the correction to the consumer and to each person designated by the consumer to receive a copy of the correction in accordance with Commercial Law Article, §14-1208, Annotated Code of Maryland; and

(ii) A statement of the rights of the consumer under Commercial Law Article, Title 14, Subtitle 12, Annotated Code of Maryland.

E. Costs. A consumer reporting agency shall pay the actual cost per day for each investigator engaged in an investigation by the Commissioner.