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The Vermont Statutes Online
Title
09
:
Commerce and Trade
Chapter
063
:
CONSUMER PROTECTION
Subchapter
003
:
FAIR CREDIT REPORTING
§
2480h. Security freeze by credit reporting agency; time in effect
(a) Any Vermont
consumer may place a security freeze on his or her credit report. A credit
reporting agency shall not charge a fee to victims of identity theft but may
charge a fee of up to $10.00 to all other Vermont consumers for placing and
$5.00 for removing, removing for a specific party or parties, or removing for a
specific period of time after the freeze is in place a security freeze on a
credit report. A consumer who has been the victim of identity theft may place a
security freeze on his or her credit report by making a request in writing by
certified mail to a credit reporting agency with a valid copy of a police
report, investigative report, or complaint the consumer has filed with a law
enforcement agency about unlawful use of his or her personal information by
another person. All other Vermont consumers may place a security freeze on his
or her credit report by making a request in writing by certified mail to a
credit reporting agency. A security freeze shall prohibit, subject to the
exceptions in subsection (l) of this section, the credit reporting agency from
releasing the consumer's credit report or any information from it without the
express authorization of the consumer. When a security freeze is in place,
information from a consumer's credit report shall not be released to a third
party without prior express authorization from the consumer. This subsection
does not prevent a credit reporting agency from advising a third party that a
security freeze is in effect with respect to the consumer's credit report.
(b) A credit
reporting agency shall place a security freeze on a consumer's credit report no
later than five business days after receiving a written request from the consumer.
(c) The credit
reporting agency shall send a written confirmation of the security freeze to
the consumer within 10 business days and shall provide the consumer with a
unique personal identification number or password, other than the customer's
Social Security number, to be used by the consumer when providing authorization
for the release of his or her credit for a specific party, parties, or period
of time.
(d) If the
consumer wishes to allow his or her credit report to be accessed for a specific
party, parties, or period of time while a freeze is in place, he or she shall
contact the credit reporting agency, request that the freeze be temporarily
lifted, and provide the following:
(1) Proper
identification.
(2) The unique
personal identification number or password provided by the credit reporting
agency pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(3) The proper
information regarding the third party, parties, or time period for which the
report shall be available to users of the credit report.
(e) A credit
reporting agency may develop procedures involving the use of telephone, fax,
the Internet, or other electronic media to receive and process a request from a
consumer to temporarily lift a freeze on a credit report pursuant to subsection
(d) of this section in an expedited manner.
(f) A credit
reporting agency that receives a request from a consumer to lift temporarily a
freeze on a credit report pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall
comply with the request no later than three business days after receiving the
request.
(g) A credit
reporting agency shall remove or temporarily lift a freeze placed on a
consumer's credit report only in the following cases:
(1) Upon
consumer request, pursuant to subsection (d) or (j) of this section.
(2) If the consumer's
credit report was frozen due to a material misrepresentation of fact by the
consumer. If a credit reporting agency intends to remove a freeze upon a
consumer's credit report pursuant to this subdivision, the credit reporting
agency shall notify the consumer in writing prior to removing the freeze on the
consumer's credit report.
(h) If a third
party requests access to a credit report on which a security freeze is in
effect and this request is in connection with an application for credit or any
other use and the consumer does not allow his or her credit report to be
accessed for that specific party or period of time, the third party may treat
the application as incomplete.
(i) If a
consumer requests a security freeze pursuant to this section, the credit
reporting agency shall disclose to the consumer the process of placing and
temporarily lifting a security freeze and the process for allowing access to
information from the consumer's credit report for a specific party, parties, or
period of time while the security freeze is in place.
(j) A security
freeze shall remain in place until the consumer requests that the security
freeze be removed. A credit reporting agency shall remove a security freeze
within three business days of receiving a request for removal from the consumer
who provides both of the following:
(1) Proper
identification.
(2) The unique
personal identification number or password provided by the credit reporting
agency pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(k) A credit
reporting agency shall require proper identification of the person making a
request to place or remove a security freeze.
(l) The
provisions of this section, including the security freeze, do not apply to the
use of a consumer report by the following:
(1) A person, or
the person's subsidiary, affiliate, agent, or assignee with which the consumer
has or, prior to assignment, had an account, contract, or debtor-creditor
relationship for the purposes of reviewing the account or collecting the
financial obligation owing for the account, contract, or debt, or extending
credit to a consumer with a prior or existing account, contract, or
debtor-creditor relationship, subject to the requirements of section 2480e of
this title. For purposes of this subdivision, "reviewing the account"
includes activities related to account maintenance, monitoring, credit line
increases, and account upgrades and enhancements.
(2) A
subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, or prospective assignee of a person to
whom access has been granted under subsection (d) of this section for purposes
of facilitating the extension of credit or other permissible use.
(3) Any person
acting pursuant to a court order, warrant, or subpoena.
(4) The Office
of Child Support when investigating a child support case pursuant to Title IV-D
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. et seq.) and 33 V.S.A. 4102.
(5) The Economic
Services Division of the Department for Children and Families or the Department
of Vermont Health Access or its agents or assignee acting to investigate welfare
or Medicaid fraud.
(6) The
Department of Taxes, municipal taxing authorities, or the Department of Motor
Vehicles or any of their agents or assignees, acting to investigate or collect
delinquent taxes or assessments, including interest and penalties, unpaid court
orders, or to fulfill any of their other statutory or charter responsibilities.
(7) A person's
use of credit information for the purposes of prescreening as provided by the
federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.
(8) Any person
for the sole purpose of providing a credit file monitoring subscription service
to which the consumer has subscribed.
(9) A credit
reporting agency for the sole purpose of providing a consumer with a copy of
his or her credit report upon the consumer's request.
(10) Any property
and casualty insurance company for use in setting or adjusting a rate or
underwriting for property and casualty insurance purposes. (Added 2003, No. 155
(Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. July 1, 2005; amended 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 15;
2005, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 3, 4; 2009, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § I.15.)