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CRA's Responsibilities to Record Retrievers (Furnishers) in a Disputed Record Case
The CRA has a clear legal responsibility under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to provide the data furnisher with all relevant information regarding the dispute. They cannot simply ask for a blind re-check.
This is a critical step in the process, mandated by Section 611 of the FCRA. Here are the specifics:
What the CRA Must Provide
Within five business days of receiving a dispute from a consumer, the CRA must provide notice to the data furnisher who supplied the information. This notice must include "all relevant information regarding the dispute" that the CRA received from the consumer.
In practice, this means the furnisher must be told:
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Who the consumer is.
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What specific information is being disputed (e.g., the case number, charge, date, and disposition).
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The nature of the dispute itself (i.e., why the consumer says the information is wrong).
Why This Is Required
The furnisher needs this specific information to conduct a meaningful investigation. Without context, they wouldn't know what to look for. For example:
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If the dispute is "This is not my record," the researcher needs to re-verify all personal identifiers (name, date of birth, address, etc.) with extreme care.
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If the dispute is "This case was expunged," the researcher must specifically look for a sealed or expunged record order in the court file, which they might have missed the first time.
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If the dispute is "The charge was a misdemeanor, not a felony," the researcher must focus on the specific charge and disposition details in the official record.
By providing all relevant information, the CRA enables the furnisher to do more than just a simple re-check; it directs them to investigate the consumer's specific claim, which is the entire purpose of the dispute resolution process.
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