ICS giving me the run-around again

PAE · Oct 15, 2002

Thier response to my last letter:

LAKESIDE INFORMATION RESOURCES

955 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60173

October 10, 2002

PAE

Re:

LIR# xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear Mr. E:

We received your letter dated September 28, 2002. Thank you for the opportunity to further clarify the ICS consumer reporting process. If this letter does not fully address your concern, please call us to discuss it. We are available at (800) 995-2590 Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Central Time.

You asked in your letter that we explain the FCRA provision requiring ICS to verify an active relationship between an issuer and a consumer before it may release consumer information to that issuer. You queried, "What section or paragraph of the FCRA are you referring to that gives ICS Lakeside the right to view my consumer report without a permissible purpose?" In order to address your question, it will first be necessary to clarify the difference between ICS and Lakeside.

As we explained in our previous letter, ICS (Issuers' Clearinghouse Service) was developed to assist issuers of Visa and MasterCard bankcards in analyzing bankcard applications and accounts. It enables this analysis by tracking and reporting consumer bankcard-related data submitted to it by those issuers and from selected public records, such as bankruptcy filings. ICS, while considered a consumer reporting agency, is a software application. It receives, stores, and disperses the consumer data submitted to it; it does not "view" consumer reports.

Lakeside (Lakeside Information Resources) is the consumer reporting agency that works with consumers regarding matters arising from the issuers' use of ICS data. Lakeside is not in the ICS data processing loop.it gains access to the consumer data tracked and reported by ICS only when it produces an ICS consumer report, which, as we indicated in our previous letter, it may not and does not produce unless directed to do so by the consumer.

The "ICS Lakeside Info Resour" inquiry in question on your Experian credit bureau report is related to ICS data processing, not to Lakeside. You may recall from our previous letter that FCRA sections 604(a)(3)(A) and 604(a)(3)(F)(ii) give bankcard issuers the right to view the consumer information provided by ICS for the following permissible purposes: extension of credit as a result of an application from a consumer; review or collection of a consumer's account; or review of a consumer's account to determine whether the consumer continues to meet the terms of the account. (Please bear in mind that "permissible purpose" does not require that an inquiry be initiated by the consumer.) However, pursuant to FCRA section 607(a), ICS is required to take reasonable steps to ensure that, prior to providing the information, the users of the data will use it only for those permissible purposes. Section 607(a) of the FCRA states:

Every consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to avoid violations of Section 605 and to limit the furnishing of consumer reports to the purposes listed under Section 604. These procedures shall require that prospective users of the information identify themselves, certify purposes for which the information is sought, and certify that the information will be used for no other purpose. Every consumer reporting agency shall make a reasonable effort to verify the identity of a new prospective user and the uses certified by such prospective user prior to furnishing such user a consumer report. No consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report to any person if it has reasonable grounds for believing that the consumer report will not be used for a purpose listed in Section 604.

Among the "reasonable procedures" that ICS follows in order to comply with this provision is to ensure that an active relationship exists between the consumer and the bankcard issuer, which is required for the issuer's permissible purpose for using the data. As explained in our previous letter, when intending to report bankruptcy data ICS does this by submitting social security numbers (SSNs) from publicly available bankruptcy filings to a credit bureau to identify any active MasterCard or Visa bankcard accounts associated with the SSN s. If an account relationship between a consumer and a bankcard issuer is identified, the account issuer information is returned to ICS. ICS receives no other consumer credit information from the credit bureau. The issuer information tells ICS which issuers are eligible to receive the bankruptcy information. This electronic exchange results in an inquiry such as that which appears on your Experian credit bureau report.

It seems likely that a bankruptcy filing is attached to your SSN. If you did not file bankruptcy, then your SSN may have been used erroneously in a filing. Based on our experience, this is possible for one of two reasons: the wrong SSN was used in the filing, or the Social Security Administration assigned the same SSN to two individuals. The only way we can verify this is by reviewing your ICS consumer report. However, we can not produce your report without an explicit request from you, which you have not provided. As a result, We can go no further on the investigation of your dispute.

As the above-facts show, Lakeside is in full compliance with the FCRA. However, if you would like us to pursue this matter, please provide a written request for your ICS consumer report, your SSN, and verification of your SSN in the form of one of the following documents imprinted with your name and full SSN: a W-2 form, a Federal or State Income Tax Return, a Medicare health insurance card, or a NUMI form (Third Party Disclosure) signed and dated by your local Social Security Administration office. Please feel free to blank out any financial information shown on the document. Your social security card is not acceptable for verification.

If you would like to discuss the matter further, please do not hesitate to call us.

enclosure: A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting A.
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ideas? (there is a nagging doubt in my head wondering if they DID have a PP like they say.....)

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