# Credit Bureau Reporting for DRE — Quick Reference

## Authority: FCRA (15 U.S.C. §§ 1681–1681x) + Texas Fin. Code Ch. 392

## Can DRE Report to Consumer Credit Bureaus?

| Debt Type | Report to Equifax/Experian/TransUnion? | Rules |
|-----------|---------------------------------------|-------|
| **Consumer debt** (individual, personal/family/household) | ✅ Yes | FCRA furnisher duties + FDCPA pre-reporting contact + TX Ch. 392 |
| **Corporate B2B debt** | ❌ No | "Consumer" = individual (§ 1681a(c)); no consumer file for business entities |
| **Sole proprietor debt** | ✅ Yes | Individual = consumer. Report against individual's personal file |
| **Personal guarantor** | ✅ Yes | FTC Tatelbaum (2001): personal guarantor = consumer with permissible purpose |
| **B2B + personal guarantee** | ✅ Yes on guarantor, ❌ on entity | Report against guarantor individually; use business bureaus for the entity |

## FCRA Furnisher Duties (§ 1681s-2)

### § 1681s-2(a) — Duty of Accuracy (Gov't enforcement only — NO private right of action)
- Don't furnish info you know or have reason to believe is inaccurate
- Upon consumer's written notice of error, stop furnishing until confirmation
- Notify CRAs of corrections
- Note dispute status during investigation

### § 1681s-2(b) — Duty to Investigate (Private right of action EXISTS)
Triggered when a CRA notifies DRE of a consumer dispute:
1. Investigate within **30 days** (45 if free annual report dispute)
2. Review all relevant info from CRA
3. Report results to CRA
4. If inaccurate → correct with ALL nationwide CRAs
5. Don't re-report inaccurate info

**Liability:** Actual damages, statutory ($100–$1,000), punitive, attorney's fees.

## Pre-Reporting Steps (FDCPA + CFPB Debt Collection Rule)

Before reporting a consumer debt to a CRA, DRE must:
1. **Contact the consumer** — in person, by phone, mail (~14 day wait), or electronic (~14 day wait)
2. **Send validation notice** — amount, creditor, 30-day dispute right. Sending this satisfies the contact requirement
3. **Wait through the 30-day dispute window** — if consumer disputes in writing within 30 days of validation notice, DRE cannot report until obtaining verification

## Texas Finance Code Requirements

### Scope: Consumer Debts Only
- § 392.001: "Consumer" = individual with consumer debt; "consumer debt" = primarily personal/family/household
- **Not applicable to B2B debts** (corporate debtors)

### § 392.101 — Surety Bond
- $10,000 bond on file with Texas SOS **before** engaging in debt collection
- Verify at: https://texas-sos.appianportalsgov.com/tpdc-public-search-portal

### § 392.202 — Dispute & Correction
When an individual disputes an item in DRE's files:

| Trigger | DRE's Obligation |
|---------|-----------------|
| Dispute received, DRE does NOT report to CRA | Cease collection until investigation done |
| Dispute received, DRE DOES report to CRA | Investigate + cease collection until investigation done |

**Response deadline:** Within 30 days → deny, admit, or request more time
**If more time needed:** Provisionally correct the file + send corrected reports + cease collection
**If admitting inaccuracy:** Correct within 5 business days + cease collection + notify prior recipients

### Penalties
| Violation | Penalty |
|-----------|---------|
| Ch. 392 violation | Misdemeanor ($100–$500); actual damages + $100 minimum per viol. + attorney's fees |
| Ch. 392 violation = DTPA violation | Treble damages available under TX Bus. & Com. Code § 17 |
| No surety bond | Criminal offense (§ 392.402) + bond claim from consumer |

## Business Credit Bureaus (for B2B debts)

| Bureau | Key Product | How to Submit |
|--------|------------|--------------|
| **Dun & Bradstreet** | PAYDEX® Score (1–100) | Global Trade Exchange — free to join, requires D-U-N-S Number |
| **Experian Business** | Intelliscore Plus (1–100) | Data Furnisher Agreement |
| **Equifax Business** | Business Credit Risk Score | Data Furnisher Agreement |

**Benefits:** No FCRA/FDCPA restrictions, no 7-year limit, industry standard for B2B.

## Key Risk Areas

1. **Pre-reporting contact failure** — FDCPA violation (consumer debts only)
2. **Reporting before dispute resolved** — FDCPA "cease collection" includes credit reporting (CFPB interpretation)
3. **Inaccurate data without investigation** — FCRA § 1681s-2(b) private right of action
4. **Dispute investigation timeout** — 30 days from CRA notice; failure to investigate = lawsuit
5. **Texas Ch. 392 mismatch** — must follow both FCRA AND Texas parallel procedures. Texas has shorter timelines for correction (5 business days vs. 30 days under FCRA)
6. **Personal guarantee not documented** — no written guarantee = no permissible purpose to report against individual
7. **B2B debt reported to consumer CRA** — violates CRA contract + possible FCRA claim if individual's PII is attached without basis

## Citations

- 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(c) — "consumer" defined as individual
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d) — "consumer report" defined
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2 — Furnisher responsibilities
- 15 U.S.C. § 1692g — FDCPA validation notice
- 12 CFR Part 1006 — CFPB Debt Collection Rule
- Tex. Fin. Code § 392.001 — Definitions
- Tex. Fin. Code § 392.101 — Surety bond
- Tex. Fin. Code § 392.202 — File correction
- Tex. Fin. Code § 392.403 — Civil remedies
- Tex. Fin. Code § 392.404 — DTPA remedy
- FTC Advisory Opinion to Tatelbaum (2001) — Personal guarantor = permissible purpose

**Full report:** `/root/.hermes/references/dre-credit-reporting.md` (25.7KB, 10 sections)
