The State of California, at Cal. Civil Code § 1785.20.3(f), requires a creditor – whom a consumer informs that they are the victim of identity theft – to provide certain information to that consumer in response to that disclosure. A creditor must disclose to the consumer their rights that are provided by the California Civil Code, specifically section 1785.16(k).
A consumer’s rights include the requirement for a consumer reporting agency to “promptly and permanently block” reporting of any information the consumer alleges appears on their consumer report that is related to the commission of an identity theft crime, as codified by California state law. In order to invoke this requirement, a consumer must provide a valid police report, or a valid investigative report made by a Department of Motor Vehicles investigator with peace officer status. Additionally, the consumer reporting agency must advise furnishers of this blocked information that it is blocked as a result of the report.
Furnishers of information and the consumer reporting agency may unblock the listing of this subject information only upon a preponderance of evidence of:
- Material misrepresentation of fact by the consumer or fraud in reporting the information to be blocked,
- Agreement by the consumer that the information was blocked in error, or
- That the consumer obtained possession of goods, services or money as a result of the blocked information, or reasonably should have known he/she did obtain such benefits.
If the information is unblocked, the agency must promptly notify the consumer.
The disclosure of the consumer’s rights should also include that prior inclusion of the information is not evidence that the consumer did or should have known they did obtain goods, services or money as a result of the blocked information.
While it is more likely that this information would be disclosed to a creditor by a consumer during the servicing of their transaction, a consumer could also disclose this situation during origination, so DocMagic is adding a new form to our library which users may choose from the Forms List. The new form is titled California Identity Theft Notice (CAITN.MSC) and will be available as of March 10, 2022.
