The undersigned 38 consumer and advocacy groups expressed opposition to H.R. 5775, the FCRA Liability Harmonization Act (Loudermilk) and H.R. 8141, the Fair Credit Reporting Reseller Accuracy Act (Lawler). In short:
H.R. 5775, the FCRA Liability Harmonization Act, would dramatically reduce accountability
for credit bureaus and other companies, including when they wrongfully label innocent
consumers as bad borrowers or criminals. The bill eliminates punitive damages under the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), no matter how egregious the violation. It caps both statutory
damages and actual damages for class actions to $500,000, no matter how many thousands or millions of consumers were harmed or the extent of their losses caused by illegal conduct. It also caps attorney’s fees, no matter how complicated the case or obstructionist the defense counsel, gutting the fee shifting nature of the Act, an essential part of the Act’s enforcement/
accountability framework, and a common tool across the American legal landscape.
H.R. 8141, the Fair Credit Reporting Reseller Accuracy Act, purports to impose new accuracy
standards on resellers, companies that assemble and merge information from other consumer
reporting agencies, but it actually gives these companies a free pass from liability.
Resellers would be off the hook for errors if they conveyed information unaltered from another company, even if the inaccuracy was obvious on its face, such as facially illogical or
contradictory information, or the other company has a history of problems. Many resellers are
multi-billion-dollar companies (some owned by private equity), with more than adequate
resources for compliance.
See all resources related to: Consumer Protection Regulation, Credit Reporting & Data Fairness