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Abstract: 

The 40 years since the enactment of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) have brought major changes to the consumer credit industry. Mindful of the purposes of FCRA—to ensure accurate and fair credit reporting, an efficient banking system, and consumer privacy—Congress has responded to the changing landscape with two major amendments to FCRA. The Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996 imposed requirements on furnishers and users of credit information, and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) granted consumers free access to their credit reports and forced merchants to truncate credit card information on receipts to help prevent identity theft. This article tracks the practical impact of those amendments on FCRA-based jurisprudence, first focusing on the extent to which FCRA preempts state consumer credit statutes, and then analyzing trends in class action litigation under FCRA.

Keywords: Fair Credit Reporting Act; Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act; preemption; class certification; firm offer; receipt truncation; inaccurate credit reporting; Safeco Insurance Company of America v. Burr

Affiliations:  1: BuckleySandler LLP; 2: BuckleySandler LLP; 3: BuckleySandler LLP.