A bill, introduced last Friday, gives victims of identity theft more flexibility to sue credit reporting agencies for failing to protect their personal information.
The bill would give victims of identity theft two years from the date they learn of the illegal disclosure and use of their personal information to file suit against a credit-reporting agency. The measure repeals an existing provision in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) authorizing such victims to file suit within two years of the date the credit reporting agency learned about the improper disclosure.
“The statute of limitations clock starts ticking whether or not a consumer is aware that information about his finances has been illegally handled or disclosed,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) who authored the bill with Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA). “The two year limitations period can expire before a consumer ever even suspects that her credit information has fallen in to the wrong hands.”
The bill, if passed, would counteract a decision last Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme Court barring a California woman in 1996 from suing TRW Inc. for violating the FCRA by not notifying her until 1994 that he identity had been used illegally.
The legislation would “encourage consumer reporting agencies to establish proper security measures needed to deny identity thieves access to [a person’s] most personal financial information” Leahy said.
The statute would also ensure that the FCRA “has real teeth to fulfill its mission of protecting the accuracy and privacy of consumer credit information,” he said.
The change “ensures that consumers have a fair chance to vindicate their rights should credit reporting companies fail to take reasonable steps to protect private financial and personal information from theft and misuse,” Grassley added.
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