Consumer advocates point out that a flurry of legislative activity may have hastened the activity of clearing the names of the reporting bureaus. Nearly a third of the states passed laws making it easier and cheaper for consumers to obtain credit reports. Several more states have similar bills pending.
A bill currently in congress would go even further than most of the state laws. If passed, the federal legislation would put a $3 cap on the price a credit bureau can charge a consumer for a copy of his or her credit report. It would also put the burden of proof in credit disputes on credit grantors and bureaus, rather than consumers, and allow consumers to take credit grantors and credit bureaus to small-claims court if they fail to rectify consumers' accounts.
Should the pending bill pass it may well make National City Check, formerly JBS Associates, rethink their process of using Credit information to make check approval decisions. (See previous Green Sheet Issue January 22, 1996, for more information).
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