WASHINGTON–The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a final rule it said it designed to help survivors avoid some of the financial consequences of human trafficking.
The CFPB said it has established, among other things, a method for survivors of trafficking to submit documentation to credit reporting companies that identifies any adverse item of information that resulted from human trafficking.
The rule prohibits credit reporting companies from providing a report containing the adverse items of information.
What Survivors Encounter
According to the Bureau, survivors often find that their credit reports reflect financial obligations and negative information that were the result of the financial abuse they endured, while being trafficked. Survivors and support organizations report that traffickers employ financial abuse as both a source of income and a method of control.
“After destroying their victims’ credit history and racking up charges in their names, traffickers know their victims will be unable to find affordable housing, become employed, or access credit on fair terms for purchases such as buying a car,” the CFPB stated.
In December 2021, President Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law, which included the Debt Bondage Repair Act. The Debt Bondage Repair Act prohibits credit reporting companies from providing credit reports that contain any negative item of information about a survivor of trafficking that resulted from the trafficking.
The CFPB said its final rule updates the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s implementing regulation to ensure it meets the Debt Bondage Repair Act’s credit reporting requirements and that survivors’ credit information is reported fairly.
The Rule’s Provisions
The CFPB said the rule:
- Provides guidance to survivors on the “trafficking documentation” they need to provide to credit reporting companies”
- Provides numerous ways for individuals to obtain documentation on their status as survivors of trafficking
- Provides guidance to survivors on reporting status as having experienced a form of trafficking
- Requires credit reporting companies to block adverse information in credit reports
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