§1681h Conditions and form of disclosure to consumers

Summary

A consumer reporting agency must get proper ID before giving the disclosures required under section 1681g. Those disclosures must be in writing unless the consumer allows another form. If the consumer agrees, the agency may give the disclosures in a nonwritten form that the agency can provide and the consumer chooses. The consumer can ask for the disclosure in person at the agency’s regular office during normal business hours with reasonable notice, by telephone if the consumer first requested phone disclosure in writing, by electronic means if the agency offers it, or by any other reasonable way the agency makes available. The agency must provide trained staff to explain the information. A consumer may bring one other person who must show ID, and the agency may require written permission to discuss the file in that person’s presence. Except as provided in sections 1681n and 1681o, a consumer cannot sue a consumer reporting agency, a user of the information, or a person who supplies information for defamation, invasion of privacy, or negligence over information disclosed under sections 1681g, 1681h, or 1681m, or over information a user disclosed when taking adverse action—unless the information was false and given with malice or a willful intent to harm.