,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dadd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #ai1 #bjbf,mr4 ,coons 7for himself and ,ms4 ,murkowski7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act to add additional protections against harmful practices within the credit repair organization industry1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,ending ,scam ,credit ,repair ,act or the ,,escra ,act4 #b4 ,credit ,repair ,organization definition ,section #djc7c7 of the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afgi;a7#c77-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by inserting 7not including anything received in return for representing a consumer in preparation for or during litigation7 after consideration2 and 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,b7-- 7,a7 in the matter preceding clause 7i71 by inserting an entity or individual that is1 in good faith and not for the purpose of evading this title after include2 7,b7 in clause 7ii71 by striking or at the end2 7,c7 in clause 7iii71 by striking the period and inserting 2 or2 and 7,d7 by adding at the end the following3 7iv7 any attorney that provides legal services rendered or to be rendered to a consumer in contemplation of or in connection with a case filed1 or to be filed within #ab months1 under title #aa1 ,united ,states ,code1 or the ,consumer ,credit ,protection ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afja et seq471 by an attorney within the same law firm4 4 #c4 ,prohibited practices 7a7 ,untrue or misleading statements 7#a7 ,in general ,section #djd7;a77#a7 of the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afgi;b7a77#a77 is amended-- 7,a7 in the matter preceding subparagraph 7,a71 by inserting knowingly before make any statement1 or2 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking or at the end2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7,c7 the ,bureau of ,consumer ,financial ,protection directly or through an online portal established to receive complaints1 disputes1 or reports of fraud2 7,d7 the ,federal ,trade ,commission directly or through an online portal established to receive complaints1 disputes1 or reports of fraud2 or 7,e7 any ,federal1 ,state1 local1 or ,tribal law enforcement agency directly or through an online portal established to receive complaints1 disputes1 or reports of fraud2 4 7#b7 ,finding ,the ,congress finds that it is unlawful1 as of the date of enactment of this ,act1 to make materially false1 fictitious1 or fraudulent statements or representations to the ,bureau of ,consumer ,financial ,protection4 7b7 ,additional prohibited practices ,section #djd of the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afgi;b7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a77#b7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,b77ii71 by striking the semicolon and inserting 2 or2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,c7 the ,bureau of ,consumer ,financial ,protection or the ,federal ,trade ,commission2 2 7#b7 by amending subsection 7b7 to read as follows3 7b7 ,payment in ,advance 7#a7 ,in general ,no credit repair organization may request or receive payment of any fee or consideration from a consumer for services represented to remove derogatory or inaccurate information from1 or improve1 the credit history of such consumer's credit history1 credit record1 or credit rating1 or services related to such a representation1 until the credit repair organization has provided such consumer with documentation in the form of a consumer report1 issued not earlier than #ahj days after the date on such service is rendered1 from a consumer reporting agency that demonstrates that such representation has been achieved4 7#b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this subsection shall be construed to alter the permissible purposes of furnishing a consumer report described in section #fjd of the ,fair ,credit ,reporting ,act4 2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7c7 ,jamming ,a credit repair organization may not submit multiple disputes described in section #faa of the ,fair ,credit ,reporting ,act of the same information unless all of the following are true3 7#a7 ,the consumer reporting agency or data furnisher has had the time permitted under the ,fair ,credit ,reporting ,act to conduct a reasonable investigation on the prior dispute4 7#b7 ,the consumer reporting agency or data furnisher has returned the results of its investigation to the consumer with respect to such dispute1 unless there are material changes to the information submitted with the dispute4 7#c7 ,the credit repair organization includes with the resubmitted dispute a specific description of what information is inaccurate4 4 #d4 ,disclosures ,section #dje of the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afgi;c7 is amended-- 7#a7 in the written statement in subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 in the second undesignated paragraph1 by inserting ,credit repair organizations do not provide any services that you cannot do yourself for free4 after the period at the end of the fourth sentence2 7,b7 in the eighth undesignated paragraph1 by striking regulates and inserting and the ,bureau of ,consumer ,financial ,protection regulate2 and 7,c7 by inserting ,the ,bureau of ,consumer ,financial ,protection #agjj ,g ,st4 ,,nw1 ,washington1 ,,dc #bjeeb ,tel3 #hee-daa-bcgb ,,tty_/,,ttd3 #hee-gbi-bcgb after #bjehj2 and 7#b7 in subsection 7c7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by inserting and any recordings of telephone communications with the consumer before the period at the end2 and 7,b7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7i7 in the heading1 by striking #b and inserting #e2 7ii7 by inserting and any telephone recordings with the consumer after consumer's statement2 7iii7 by striking #b and inserting #e2 and 7iv7 by striking statement is signed by the consumer and inserting statement or the telephone recordings are created4 #e4 ,consumer contract required ,section #djg of the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afgi;e7 is amended by striking subsection 7c7 and inserting the following3 7c7 ,consumer copy of contract and communications required 7#a7 ,contract ,any consumer who enters into any contract with any credit repair organization shall be given1 by the organization-- 7,a7 a copy of the completed contract and the disclosure statement required under section #dje2 and 7,b7 a copy of any other document the credit repair organization requires the consumer to sign1 at the time the contract or the other document is signed4 7#b7 ,communications ,any consumer described in paragraph 7#a7 shall be given1 by the organization copies of all communications sent on behalf of the consumer1 at the time the communication is sent4 4 #f4 ,noncompliance ,section #djh of the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afgi;f7 is amended by adding at the end following3 7d7 ,legal services within credit repair organizations ,a credit repair organization shall be subject to this title regardless of whether the organization is1 or employs1 an attorney who also provides legal services to a consumer1 except if such attorney is an attorney described in section #djc7c77;,b77iv74 7e7 ,credit repair organizations without a ,state license ,on or after ,january #a1 #bjbf1 no person may act as a credit repair organization unless such person is licensed by a ,state4 4 #g4 ,credit repair organization communications with furnishers of information 7a7 ,in general ,the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afgi et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #djh the following3 #djh;,a4 ,credit repair organization communications with furnishers of information ,disputes submitted to a person who furnishes information to a consumer reporting agency by or on behalf of a credit repair organization shall meet the following requirements3 7#a7 ,if sent by mail1 the dispute shall be transmitted by first class mail and list on the envelope the-- 7,a7 name of the credit repair organization2 and 7,b7 ,state license number of the credit repair organization1 if applicable4 7#b7 ,the dispute shall list the-- 7,a7 name of the credit repair organization2 7,b7 ,state license number of the credit repair organization1 if applicable2 and 7,c7 name of the consumer on whose behalf the dispute is submitted4 7#c7 ,in the case of any additional communication after an initial dispute1 the additional communication shall clearly and conspicuously identify any material changes to the information provided in the initial written dispute and include the information described in paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b74 7#d7 ,in the case where a credit repair organization sells or otherwise provides an online or paper blank dispute form to be completed and filed by the consumer1 such form must contain the-- 7,a7 name and address of such credit repair organization2 and 7,b7 ,state license number of such credit repair organization1 if applicable4 7#e7 ,in the case where the person responds to a dispute submitted by a credit repair organization seeking clarifying information1 verifying if the customer has actually engaged with the credit repair organization1 or denying the accuracy of the underlying claim1 the credit repair organization shall respond in writing within #ae business days4 7#f7 ,in the case where the credit repair organization is an attorney1 the attorney shall certify that any communication is consistent with any information or documentation provided by the consumer1 confirmed based upon methods or means proven to be historically reliable and accurate4 7#g7 ,a credit repair organization1 when sending a dispute1 shall disclose the fact that it is a credit repair organization by placing the following disclosure on the dispute letter3 ,this communication was submitted or prepared on behalf of the consumer by a credit repair organization1 as defined in section #djc of the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afgi;a74 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents for the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #djh the following3 #djh;,a4 ,credit repair organization communications with furnishers of information4 4 #h4 ,civil liability ,section #dji7;a77#a7 of the ,credit ,repair ,organizations ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afgi;g7a77#a77 is amended-- 7#a7 in the heading1 by striking ,actual damages and inserting ,damages2 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking or at the end2 7#c7 in subparagraph 7,b71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 or2 and 7#d7 by adding at the end the following3 7,c7 damages of #ejj for each violation of this title4 4