Commission Approves Federal Register Notice Announcing Increase in the Ceiling on Allowable Charges Under Section 612(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Commission has approved the publication of a Federal Register notice regarding the ceiling on allowable charges for certain disclosures under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). As detailed in the notice, the ceiling on allowable charges for certain disclosures under Section 612(f)(1)(A) of the FCRA will increase from $10.00 to $10.50 in 2008. This section of the Act provides that, in those cases where the FCRA does not require the disclosure to be made without charge, a consumer reporting agency may charge a reasonable amount for making a disclosure to the consumer if the charge does not exceed a statutory maximum and is indicated to the consumer before the disclosure is made. The Act provides that the charge is to be adjusted annually for inflation.

This charge does not apply to consumers’ requests for free annual disclosures under the provisions of Section 211(a) of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA). The charge applies when a consumer who has received a free annual disclosure does not otherwise qualify for an additional free disclosure. The Commission vote to publish the notice in the Federal Register was 5-0. (File No. P075400; staff contact is Keith B. Anderson, Bureau of Economics, 202-326-3428.)

Copies of the document mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.