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Bill 174, Consumer Reporting Amendment Act, 2005

Ruprecht, Tony

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Acts affected

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Bill 174 2018

Act to amend the Consumer Reporting Act

Note: This Act

amends the Consumer Reporting Act . For the

legislative history of the Act, see Public Statutes - Detailed Legislative History

on www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

(1) The

definition of “credit information” in subsection 1 (1) of the Consumer Reporting Act is amended by adding at the end

“as well as inquiry records arising out of applications for credit”.

(2) Subsection 1 (1) of the Act is amended

by adding the following

definitions:

“credit

score” means a numerical value or categorization derived from a statistical

tool or modelling system used by a consumer reporting agency to predict the

likelihood of certain credit behaviours, including default; (“cote de crédit”)

“inquiry record” means a record indicating that a credit

inquiry has been received with respect to a consumer and that, pursuant to that

inquiry, personal or credit information relating to the consumer has been

provided; (“dossier de demande de renseignements”)

“key factors” means all relevant elements or reasons

adversely affecting the credit score for a particular individual listed in

order of their importance based on their effect on the credit score; (“ éléments-clés ”)

(3) The definition of “personal

information” in subsection 1 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out “or

about any other matter concerning the consumer” at the end.

(1) Section

8 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Same

(1.1) No consumer reporting agency shall

provide a consumer report to any person without first obtaining,

(

a) a

copy of the consent by which the consumer authorized the communication of

personal or credit information;

(

b) the

person’s name, address, telephone and fax numbers and the reference number

under which the person stored the original of the consumer’s consent to the

communication of personal or credit information to the person; and

(

c) confirmation

that the information is sought for a purpose permitted under this

section and

will be used for no other purpose.

(2) Subsection 8 (3) of the Act is amended

by striking out “Despite subsections (1) and (2)” at the beginning and

substituting “Despite subsections (1), (1.1) and (2)”.

3. (1) Subsection

9 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Procedures

of agencies

(1) Every

consumer reporting agency shall ensure accuracy and fairness in its consumer

reports.

(2) Subsection 9 (3) of the Act is amended

by adding the following clauses:

(e.1) information

as to the creditors of the consumer in a bankruptcy proceeding and the amounts

owing by the consumer at the date of the consumer’s discharge from bankruptcy;

. . . .

(j.1) information

as to an inquiry record after three years following the date of the consumer’s

application for credit that gave rise to the inquiry record;

(3) Section 9 of the Act is amended by

adding the following subsections:

Calculation

of credit scores

(3.1) No consumer reporting agency shall

consider as a key factor in determining the credit score of a person the fact

that there is an inquiry record or that a personal or credit information has

been obtained.

Duty

to include information not at issue

(3.2) Where a consumer has commenced a

legal proceeding against a consumer reporting agency, the agency shall not

delete or otherwise fail to include personal or credit information in a

consumer report as long as that information is not at issue in the legal

proceeding.

. . . .

Collection,

storage and disclosure of information in files

(5) For the purpose of ensuring accuracy

and fairness as described in subsection (1) and, in addition, for the purpose

of ensuring privacy, integrity and confidentiality with respect to the

information in its reports, every consumer reporting agency shall adopt all procedures

that are reasonable, including,

(

a) ensuring

that all information is collected, stored and disclosed in accordance with this

Act and the principles of fair information practices listed in

Schedule 1 to

the Personal Information Protection and Electronic

Documents Act (Canada);

(

b) ensuring

that all retention, disclosure and use of personal or credit information and

personally identifiable data by the consumer reporting agency has the

consumer’s explicit consent, as witnessed by the consumer’s written signature;

(

c) ensuring

that electronic signature certificates originate from a certification authority

approved by the federal Communications Security Establishment with a registered

object identifier number issued by Public Works and Government Services Canada

and that,

(

i) all

personal or credit information is adequately secured with encryption mechanisms

to prevent inadvertent disclosure,

(ii) notification

is provided to the consumer before the deletion of any personal or credit

information in accordance with the requirements of the Personal

Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada),

(iii) access

is provided to the Registrar and other authorized persons for the purpose of

auditing and reporting on compliance with requirements for the retention,

disclosure and use of personal or credit information, personally identifiable

data and collected consents, and

(iv) the

consumer reporting agency complies with its responsibilities regarding the

retention, disclosure and use of personal or credit information, personally

identifiable data and collected consents.

Definitions

(6) In this section,

“electronic

document” means data that is recorded or stored on any medium in or by a

computer system or other similar device and that can be read or perceived by a

person or a computer system or other similar device, and includes a display,

printout or other output of that data; (“document é lectronique ”)

“electronic signature” means a signature that consists of

one or more letters, characters, numbers or other symbols in digital form

incorporated in, attached to or associated with an electronic document;

(“signature électronique ”)

“personally identifiable data” means any data relating to

an identified or identifiable individual who is the subject of the data. (“donn ées

personnelles identifiables ”)

4. (1) Subsection

10 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Disclosure

of report

(1) Every person who refers to a consumer

report in connection with any specified transaction or matter in which the

person is engaged shall,

(

a) inform

the consumer that a consumer report respecting him or her has been or is to be

referred to;

(

b) provide

the consumer with the name and address of the consumer reporting agency

supplying the report; and

(

c) upon

the consumer’s request, provide the consumer with a copy of the consumer

report, by mail or personal delivery, within 30 days of obtaining the report.

(2) Subsection 10 (2) of the Act is amended

by striking out “where the consumer so requests” in the portion after clause

(b).

(3) Subsection 10 (3) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

Same

(3) If a person proposes to extend credit

to a consumer and a consumer report containing only credit information is being

or may be referred to in connection with the transaction, the person shall give

notice of the fact to the consumer in writing at the time of the application

for credit and provide the name and address of the consumer reporting agency

that will be supplying the report.

(4) Subsection 10 (5) of the Act is amended

by striking out “unless the person notifies the consumer in writing at the time

of the application for credit that the person intends to do so” at the end.

(5) Subsection 10 (7) of the Act is repealed

and the following substituted:

Adverse

action

(7 ) If

a benefit is denied to a consumer or a charge to a consumer is increased either

wholly or partly because of information received from a consumer reporting

agency or a person other than a consumer reporting agency, the user of the

information shall communicate the action to the consumer and at the time the

action is communicated,

(

a) inform the consumer of the nature and

source of the information, if it is furnished by a person other than a consumer

reporting agency; or

(

b) deliver to the consumer a copy of the

consumer report including the name and address of the consumer reporting

agency, if the information is furnished by a consumer reporting agency.

Same

(8) The notice required under subsection

(7) shall include notice of the consumer’s right to correct any errors in the

information received from a consumer reporting agency or a person other than a

consumer reporting agency.

5. (1) Subsection

11 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Supplying

list of names

(1) No person shall supply a list of names

and criteria to a consumer reporting agency in order to obtain an indication of

the names of the persons named in the list who meet the criteria unless,

(

a) the

person first notifies in writing each person named on the list or about whom

information is being obtained that such a list is being submitted or that

information is being requested; and

(

b) the

person provides the name and address of the consumer reporting agency involved.

(2) Subsection 11 (4) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

Supplying

list of criteria

(4) No consumer reporting agency that

receives a list of names and criteria, or receives a request for names of

persons so that information may be inferred about them, shall provide the name

of any person without first notifying that person in writing of the request and

the name and address of the person making the request and obtaining consent to

the request.

6. (1) Clause

12 (1) (

c) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(

c) the name, address and telephone number of

every person on whose behalf the file has been accessed within the three-year

period preceding the request;

(2) Clause 12 (1) (

d) of the Act is amended

by adding “addresses and telephone numbers” after “the names” in the portion

before subclause (i).

(3) Subsection 12 (1) of the Act is amended

by adding the following clause:

(

f) the

current credit score or the most recent credit score that was previously calculated

by the consumer reporting agency, including,

(

i) the

range of possible credit scores under the model used,

(ii) all

the key factors that adversely affected the score,

(iii) the

date the credit score was created, and

(iv) a

summary of how the credit score was calculated, including the method used,

(4) Subsection 12 (2) of the Act is

repealed.

(5) Clause 12 (3) (

b) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

(

b) by mail if he or she has made a written

request.

(6) Subsection 12 (4) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

Same

(4) Every

consumer reporting agency shall provide a toll free telephone number and

trained personnel to explain to the consumer any information furnished to him

or her under this section.

(7) Subsection 12 (5) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

Consumer’s

adviser

(5) A consumer who makes a request for

disclosure under clause (3) (

a) shall be permitted to be accompanied by one or

more persons of his or her choosing to whom the consumer reporting agency may

be required by the consumer to disclose his or her file.

7. The

Act is amended by adding the following section:

Duty

to inform consumer of unlawful disclosure

12.1 Every

consumer reporting agency shall, immediately on discovering that any of a

consumer’s information has been unlawfully disclosed, inform the consumer of

the disclosure.

8. (1) Subsection

13 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Correction

of errors

(1) If a

consumer disputes the accuracy or completeness of any item of information

contained in his or her file, the consumer reporting agency shall, within 30

days, investigate the dispute and notify the consumer in writing of the results

of the investigation.

Same

(1.1) If an investigation under subsection

(1) results in a determination that the disputed information is unconfirmed,

inaccurate or incomplete, the consumer reporting agency shall,

(

a) within

30 days after receiving the notice of dispute by the consumer, delete disputed

information that is unconfirmed; and

(

b) correct

or supplement disputed information that is inaccurate or incomplete in

accordance with good practice.

Same

(1.2) If, after an investigation under

subsection (1) and action under subsection (1.1), a consumer still disputes the

accuracy or completeness of the disputed information or disputes the correction

or supplement under subsection (1.1), the consumer reporting agency shall

include in all consumer reports respecting the consumer a statement outlining

the nature and basis of the dispute.

(2) Subsection 13 (2) of the Act is amended

by striking out the portion before clause (

a) and substituting the following:

Same

(2) If a consumer reporting agency deletes,

corrects or supplements information under subsection (1.1) or adds a statement

of dispute under subsection (1.2), the consumer reporting agency shall furnish

notification of the correction, supplement, deletion or addition to the

consumer and to,

. . . .

Commencement

9. This

Act comes into force six months after the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

10. The

short title of this Act is the Consumer Reporting

Amendment Act, 2005 .

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill provides that consumer reporting agencies and other persons may not

consider, as a key factor in determining the credit score of a consumer, the

fact that a consumer report has been requested. In addition, credit scores and

the key factors used to determine them are added to the list of information to

be disclosed to a consumer on request.

The

Bill provides that a person who takes adverse action against a consumer on the

basis of information contained in a consumer report shall inform the consumer

of the action and provide a copy of the report, including the name and address

of the agency that prepared it, and shall notify the consumer of the right to

correct incomplete or inaccurate information.

The

Bill provides that consumer reporting agencies shall investigate disputed

information within 30 days and correct, supplement or delete any information

found to be unconfirmed, incomplete or inaccurate.

The

Bill provides that consumer reporting agencies shall only report inquiry

records resulting out of actual applications for credit except in a report

given to the consumer.

The

Bill provides that consumer reporting agencies shall not delete or otherwise

fail to make available any information in a consumer file that is not contested

in legal proceedings brought by a consumer against the agency arising out of a

claim of inaccuracy in a consumer report.

The

Bill provides that consumer reporting agencies shall not provide the names of

creditors or the amounts owing to such creditors after the date on which the

debtor is discharged from bankruptcy. The consumer reporting agencies shall

continue to be able to note bankruptcies by providing information on the date

of filing for bankruptcy, the date of the discharge and the total amount

involved.

The

Bill provides that where a consumer reporting agency discovers that there has

been an unlawful disclosure of consumer information, it shall immediately

inform the affected consumer.

The

Bill provides that consumers are entitled to a copy of the report obtained by a

third party upon request so as to be able to challenge its accuracy.

The

Bill incorporates guidelines for storing and safekeeping of consumer

information, including electronic signatures, under the Personal

Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada), for the

purpose of minimizing identity theft.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

April 7, 2005

Ordered referred to Standing Committee

Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs

April 7, 2005

Second Reading

Carried

April 7, 2005

Second Reading

Debate

March 3, 2005

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

March

3, 2005

Second Reading

Debate

April

7, 2005

Mr. Ruprecht, Mr. Martiniuk, Mr. Kormos, Mr. McNeely, Mr.

Hardeman, Mr. Sergio, Mrs. Witmer, Mr. Bisson

April

7, 2005

Declared carried. Referred to the Standing Committee on Finance

and Economic Affairs.

Committee

Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs

Third Reading

Royal Assent :

Coming into force :

This Act comes into force six months after the day it receives Royal Assent.

Acts Affected: Most Ontario public acts are available electronically; to view copies of the Acts to be amended by this bill visit e-Laws .

Consumer Reporting Act

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