ENFORCEMENT
CS 809P Credit Bureau Reporting
06/86
Revised 01/13/25 Training Completed 01/27/25 Last Reviewed 03/05/25
15 U.S.C. 1681a, 15 U.S.C. 1681i, 42 U.S.C. 666; 45
CFR 302.70(a)(7); Utah
Code 26B-9-214, 26B-9-228, 81-7-102;
R527-200
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (United States Code, Title 15 –
Commerce and Trade, Chapter 41 – Consumer Credit Reporting Subchapter III –
Credit Reporting Agencies, §1681a(f)) defines a “consumer reporting agency
(CRA),” also known as a credit bureau, as:
“. . . . any person which, for
monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in
whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit
information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing
consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of
interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer
reports.”
Federal and State Requirements
Federal
regulations found at 45 CFR 302.70(a)(7) require the Office of Recovery
Services/Child Support Services (ORS/CSS) to have:
“Procedures for making information regarding the amount of overdue
support owed by a noncustodial parent available to consumer reporting agencies . . . .”
Utah law
26B-9-228 states:
“The office shall periodically report the name of any obligor who is
delinquent in the payment of support and the amount of overdue support owed by
the obligor to consumer reporting agencies as defined in the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681a(f):
(1) only after the obligor has been afforded notice and a reasonable
opportunity to contest the accuracy of the information; and
(2) only to an entity that has provided satisfactory evidence that
it is a consumer reporting agency under 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681a(f).”
CSS Actions
CSS fulfills the Federal and State requirements by taking the
actions listed below on qualified cases.
1. Notification to Noncustodial Parent (NCP) – On an annual basis, ORSIS automatically generates the Annual Notice of Past-Due Child Support to every NCP with an overdue support obligation. This notice lists the total past-due support amount owed as of the date of the notice, and informs the NCP that CSS will periodically report accrued and accruing past-due support to the credit bureaus. The NCP has the right to contest the amount stated in the notice.
In addition, child support orders
satisfy procedural due process requirements of the state and are considered
public records. New child support orders
and sum-certain judgments taken by CSS include language that states CSS will
report the past due amount to the credit bureau.
NOTE: Utah Code 81-7-102 states:
“(4) Each payment or installment of child
support or alimony under any support order is, on and after the date the
payment or installment is due:
(a) a judgment with the same attributes and
effect of any judgment of a district court, except as provided in Subsection
(5);
(b) entitled, as a judgment, to full faith and
credit in this and in any other jurisdiction; and
(c) not subject to retroactive modification by
this or any other jurisdiction, except as provided in Subsection (5). . . .”
and 26B-9-214 states:
“(1)
Each payment or installment of child support is, on and after the date it is
due, a judgment with the same attributes and effect of any judgment of a
district court in accordance with Section 81-7-102 and for purposes of Section
78B-5-202. . . .”
This means that the definition of
a judgment includes sum-certain judgments as well as any arrears that have
accrued under a valid child support order.
2. Credit Bureau Reporting – On the last business day of each month, ORSIS automatically and electronically transmits the total liability (current support and arrears) on an NCP’s case to three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) if the case meets the reporting criteria. The liability report is listed as an account in the tradeline section of the consumer’s credit report.
a. Initial Reporting Criteria. A case is reported to the credit bureau for the first time when:
i. The auto enforcement indicator is set to “Y” (Yes, Enforce) on ORSIS;
ii. The IV-A arrears balance is greater than $150.00 or the Non-IV-A arrears balance is greater than $500.00, and the total arrears balance for the case is greater than three times the current support due; and,
iii. The Obligor has a complete address and either a date of birth or a primary social security number on ORSIS.
b. On-going Reporting. Once the case has initially been reported to the credit bureau, monthly reporting will continue on the NCP until:
i. The auto enforcement indicator on ORSIS from “Y” to:
A. “B” – No auto enforcement, bankruptcy;
B. “G” – No auto enforcement , good cause;
C. “H” – Hold auto enforcement; or,
D. “N” – No auto enforcement.
When
the auto enforcement indicator changes from “Y” to any of the codes listed above, ORSIS will transmit a
delete request to the credit bureau.
ii. The arrears balance reaches $0.00. ORSIS will transmit a delete request to the credit bureau when the arrears balance reaches $0.00; or,
iii. The case closes. When a case is closed for any reason, ORSIS will transmit a delete request to the credit bureau.
NOTE 1: As long as there is an arrears balance and the initial reporting criteria have been met, ORS reports all qualified IV-D and non-IV-D cases once a month, even if the arrears balance is unchanged.
NOTE 2: If there are FEES debts or pending
obligations on a case, these amounts will not be included in the reported
amount.
NOTE 3: Outgoing intergovernmental cases are not
included in credit bureau reporting to prevent double reporting, since the
responding state is responsible for credit bureau reporting on the case. If an outgoing intergovernmental record is
opened after the case has been reported to the credit bureau, ORSIS will
transmit a delete request to the credit bureau.
Disputes of ORS/CSS Information on Credit Reports
Consumers
are entitled to dispute information which appears on their credit reports in
accordance with 15 U.S.C. § 1681i – Procedure in case of disputed
accuracy. Most consumer disputes
involving CSS come from NCPs and center around the past-due amount that CSS has
reported to the credit bureau(s) and/or payments that may have been made on the
debt. Occasionally a current spouse or
an ex-spouse will dispute an NCP’s past-due debt that shows incorrectly on
his/her credit report.
The consumer
should contact the credit reporting agencies (CRAs) listed below to file a
credit history dispute:
·
Experian 1-888-397-3742
· Equifax 1-800-685-1111
· TransUnion 1-800-916-8800
After the
consumer files a credit history dispute with a CRA, the CRA initiates Automated
Credit Dispute Verification (ACDV) on behalf of the consumer and sends the
dispute to ORS. ORS receives the dispute
electronically via the Online Solution for Complete and Accurate Reporting
(e-OSCAR). E-OSCAR is a browser-based,
online, data correction system.
E-OSCAR is
accessed by the ORS program. When the
program specialist receives notification of a dispute, s/he performs the
necessary research and responds directly to the CRA through e-OSCAR.
In order to
meet the intent of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the program specialist must respond as soon as a dispute is received
from the CRA.
Accessing
Credit Reports
Authorized CSS agents may access
partial credit bureau reports to obtain address information on NCPs. When you access a full credit report on a
person, a record of the ORS inquiry becomes a part of that person’s credit
report. Partial credit reports do not
include the financial information and are primarily used for locate purposes as
they do not become a part of that person’s credit report.