15 U.S.C. § 1666a — Regulation of credit reports

Page 1540 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 1666a (5) A computation error or similar error of an accounting nature of the creditor on a statement. (6) Failure to transmit the statement re- quired under section 1637(b) of this title to the last address of the obligor which has been dis- closed to the creditor, unless that address was furnished less than twenty days before the end of the billing cycle for which the statement is required. (7) Any other error described in regulations of the Bureau. (c) Action by creditor to collect amount or any part thereof regarded by obligor to be a bill- ing error For the purposes of this section, ‘‘action to collect the amount, or any part thereof, indi- cated by an obligor under paragraph (2)’’ does not include the sending of statements of ac- count, which may include finance charges on amounts in dispute, to the obligor following written notice from the obligor as specified under subsection (a), if— (1) the obligor’s account is not restricted or closed because of the failure of the obligor to pay the amount indicated under paragraph (2) of subsection (a), and (2) the creditor indicates the payment of such amount is not required pending the credi- tor’s compliance with this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any action by a creditor to collect any amount which has not been indicated by the ob- ligor to contain a billing error. (d) Restricting or closing by creditor of account regarded by obligor to contain a billing error Pursuant to regulations of the Bureau, a cred- itor operating an open end consumer credit plan may not, prior to the sending of the written ex- planation or clarification required under para- graph (B)(ii), restrict or close an account with respect to which the obligor has indicated pur- suant to subsection (a) that he believes such ac- count to contain a billing error solely because of the obligor’s failure to pay the amount indi- cated to be in error. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit a creditor from ap- plying against the credit limit on the obligor’s account the amount indicated to be in error. (e) Effect of noncompliance with requirements by creditor Any creditor who fails to comply with the re- quirements of this section or section 1666a of this title forfeits any right to collect from the obligor the amount indicated by the obligor under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this sec- tion, and any finance charges thereon, except that the amount required to be forfeited under this subsection may not exceed $50. (Pub. L. 90–321, title I, § 161, as added Pub. L. 93–495, title III, § 306, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1512; amended Pub. L. 96–221, title VI §§ 613(g), 620, Mar. 31, 1980, 94 Stat. 177, 184; Pub. L. 111–203, title X, §§ 1087, 1100A(2), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2086, 2107.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Pub L. 111–203, § 1100A(2), which directed the substi- tution of ‘‘Bureau’’ for ‘‘Board’’ wherever appearing in title I of Pub. L. 90–321, was executed to this section, which is section 161 of title I of Pub. L. 90–321. Section 1087 of Pub. L. 111–203, which directed the making of an identical amendment in title III of Pub. L. 93–495, which added this section to title I of Pub. L. 90–321, has not been executed. AMENDMENTS 2010—Subsecs. (b)(7), (d). Pub. L. 111–203, § 1100A(2), substituted ‘‘Bureau’’ for ‘‘Board’’. See Codification note above. 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–221, § 613(g), substituted ‘‘(b)(10)’’ for ‘‘(b)(11)’’ and ‘‘(a)(7)’’ for ‘‘(a)(8)’’. Subsec. (b)(6), (7). Pub. L. 96–221, § 620(a), added par. (6) and redesignated former par. (6) as (7). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–221, § 620(b), inserted provisions respecting finance charges on amounts in dispute. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111–203 effective on the des- ignated transfer date, see section 1100H of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 552a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1980 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 96–221 effective on expiration of two years and six months after Mar. 31, 1980, with all regulations, forms, and clauses required to be pre- scribed to be promulgated at least one year prior to such effective date, and allowing any creditor to com- ply with any amendments, in accordance with the regu- lations, forms, and clauses prescribed by the Board prior to such effective date, see section 625 of Pub. L. 96–221, set out as a note under section 1602 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 93–495, title III, § 308, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1517, provided that: ‘‘This title [enacting this section and sections 1666a to 1666j of this title, amending sec- tions 1601, 1602, 1610, 1631, 1632, and 1637 of this title, and enacting provision set out as a note under section 1601 of this title] takes effect upon the expiration of one year after the date of its enactment [Oct. 28, 1974].’’ SHORT TITLE Title III of Pub. L. 93–495, which is classified prin- cipally to this part, is known as the ‘‘Fair Credit Bill- ing Act’’. For complete classification of Title III to the Code, see Short Title of 1974 Amendment note set out under section 1601 of this title and Tables. § 1666a. Regulation of credit reports (a) Reports by creditor on obligor’s failure to pay amount regarded as billing error After receiving a notice from an obligor as provided in section 1666(a) of this title, a cred- itor or his agent may not directly or indirectly threaten to report to any person adversely on the obligor’s credit rating or credit standing be- cause of the obligor’s failure to pay the amount indicated by the obligor under section 1666(a)(2) of this title, and such amount may not be re- ported as delinquent to any third party until the creditor has met the requirements of section 1666 of this title and has allowed the obligor the same number of days (not less than ten) there- after to make payment as is provided under the credit agreement with the obligor for the pay- ment of undisputed amounts. Page 1541 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 1666c (b) Reports by creditor on delinquent amounts in dispute; notification of obligor of parties no- tified of delinquency If a creditor receives a further written notice from an obligor that an amount is still in dis- pute within the time allowed for payment under subsection (a) of this section, a creditor may not report to any third party that the amount of the obligor is delinquent because the obligor has failed to pay an amount which he has indicated under section 1666(a)(2) of this title, unless the creditor also reports that the amount is in dis- pute and, at the same time, notifies the obligor of the name and address of each party to whom the creditor is reporting information concerning the delinquency. (c) Reports by creditor of subsequent resolution of delinquent amounts A creditor shall report any subsequent resolu- tion of any delinquencies reported pursuant to subsection (b) to the parties to whom such delin- quencies were initially reported. (Pub. L. 90–321, title I, § 162, as added Pub. L. 93–495, title III, § 306, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1513.) § 1666b. Timing of payments (a) Time to make payments A creditor may not treat a payment on a cred- it card account under an open end consumer credit plan as late for any purpose, unless the creditor has adopted reasonable procedures de- signed to ensure that each periodic statement including the information required by section 1637(b) of this title is mailed or delivered to the consumer not later than 21 days before the pay- ment due date. (b) Grace period If an open end consumer credit plan provides a time period within which an obligor may repay any portion of the credit extended without in- curring an additional finance charge, such addi- tional finance charge may not be imposed with respect to such portion of the credit extended for the billing cycle of which such period is a part, unless a statement which includes the amount upon which the finance charge for the period is based was mailed or delivered to the consumer not later than 21 days before the date specified in the statement by which payment must be made in order to avoid imposition of that finance charge. (Pub. L. 90–321, title I, § 163, as added Pub. L. 93–495, title III, § 306, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1514; amended Pub. L. 111–24, title I, § 106(b)(1), May 22, 2009, 123 Stat. 1742; Pub. L. 111–93, § 2, Nov. 6, 2009, 123 Stat. 2998.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2009—Pub. L. 111–24 amended section generally, add- ing provisions relating to late payments and delivery of periodic statements, substituting provisions requiring a 21-day statement delivery period for provisions re- quiring a 14-day period before the imposition of addi- tional finance charges, and striking provisions relating to excusable cause for creditor’s failure to make timely mailing or delivery of periodic statements. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–93 inserted ‘‘a credit card ac- count under’’ after ‘‘payment on’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 111–24, title I, § 106(b)(2), May 22, 2009, 123 Stat. 1742, provided that: ‘‘Notwithstanding section 3 [see Ef- fective Date of 2009 Amendment note set out under sec- tion 1602 of this title], section 163 of the Truth in Lend- ing Act [15 U.S.C. 1666b], as amended by this subsection, shall become effective 90 days after the date of enact- ment of this Act [May 22, 2009].’’ § 1666c. Prompt and fair crediting of payments (a) In general Payments received from an obligor under an open end consumer credit plan by the creditor shall be posted promptly to the obligor’s ac- count as specified in regulations of the Bureau. Such regulations shall prevent a finance charge from being imposed on any obligor if the cred- itor has received the obligor’s payment in read- ily identifiable form, by 5:00 p.m. on the date on which such payment is due, in the amount, man- ner, and location indicated by the creditor to avoid the imposition thereof. (b) Application of payments (1) In general Upon receipt of a payment from a card- holder, the card issuer shall apply amounts in excess of the minimum payment amount first to the card balance bearing the highest rate of interest, and then to each successive balance bearing the next highest rate of interest, until the payment is exhausted. (2) Clarification relating to certain deferred in- terest arrangements A creditor shall allocate the entire amount paid by the consumer in excess of the min- imum payment amount to a balance on which interest is deferred during the last 2 billing cy- cles immediately preceding the expiration of the period during which interest is deferred. (c) Changes by card issuer If a card issuer makes a material change in the mailing address, office, or procedures for handling cardholder payments, and such change causes a material delay in the crediting of a cardholder payment made during the 60-day pe- riod following the date on which such change took effect, the card issuer may not impose any late fee or finance charge for a late payment on the credit card account to which such payment was credited. (Pub. L. 90–321, title I, § 164, as added Pub. L. 93–495, title III, § 306, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1514; amended Pub. L. 111–24, title I, § 104, May 22, 2009, 123 Stat. 1741; Pub. L. 111–203, title X, §§ 1087, 1100A(2), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2086, 2107.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Pub L. 111–203, § 1100A(2), which directed the substi- tution of ‘‘Bureau’’ for ‘‘Board’’ wherever appearing in title I of Pub. L. 90–321, was executed to this section, which is section 164 of title I of Pub. L. 90–321. Section 1087 of Pub. L. 111–203, which directed the making of an identical amendment in title III of Pub. L. 93–495, which added this section to title I of Pub. L. 90–321, has not been executed.