Glossary of Terms

Adverse Action. An action which may result in a negative impact on a consumer’s ability to secure housing, credit or employment.

The term "adverse action" has the same meaning as in section 701(d)(6) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act; and means a denial or cancellation of, an increase in the terms of coverage or amount of, any insurance, existing or applied for, in connection with the underwriting of insurance; a denial of employment or any other decision for employment purposes that adversely affects any current or prospective employee; a denial or cancellation of, an increase in any charge for, or any other adverse or unfavorable change in the terms of, any license or benefit described in section 604(a)(3)(D) [15 U.S.C. §1681b] of the FCRA; and any action taken or determination that is made in connection with an application that was made by, or a transaction that was initiated by, any consumer, or in connection with a review of an account under section 604(a)(3) (F)(ii) [15 U.S.C. §1681b] of the FCRA and adverse to the interests of the consumer.

Adverse Action Notice. If any person, individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, government, governmental subdivision, agency or other entity takes any adverse action with respect to any consumer that is based in whole or in part on any information contained in a consumer report, they are required under the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to provide verbal, written, or electronic notice of the adverse action to the consumer. This notice must include:

• The name, address, and toll-free telephone number of the Consumer Reporting Agency that furnished the report
• A statement that the consumer reporting agency did not make the adverse decision
• Notice of the consumer's right to obtain a free copy of a consumer report from the CRA that provided the consumer request within 60 days of the adverse action
• The consumer's right to dispute with the CRA the accuracy or completeness of any information in the consumer file

Consumer File. A file that contains all information that a consumer reporting agency (CRA) maintains about a consumer and that may be reported on the consumer in the future.

Consumer Disclosure Request Form. The consumer's written request to receive or discuss information in his or her consumer file. A downloadable First Advantage SafeRent Consumer Disclosure Request Form is available on our forms page.

Consumer Report. The information Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) provide creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses.

Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). A consumer reporting agency is any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative association, government or governmental subdivision or agency, or other entity which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports.

Credit Bureau. A national consumer reporting agency. The three major credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Credit History. A record of a consumer's past performance in paying credit accounts.

Credit Report. A report indicating a consumer's credit history and/or standing. It includes debt and payment information such as the consumer's credit cards and loans.

Debt-to-Income Ratio. The ratio of a consumer's income compared to the debt owed.

Defendant. A person who is the subject of legal action initiated by a plaintiff.

Disclosure. The action of providing the consumer with information maintained in his or her consumer file.

Dispute. The consumer has the right to challenge information which he/she believes is inaccurate or incomplete. A consumer who disputes specific information contained in his or her consumer file may request a reinvestigation of his or her consumer file. A downloadable First Advantage SafeRent Reinvestigation Form is available on our forms page in order to expedite the First Advantage SafeRent Reinvestigation process.

End-user. A business that receives a consumer file and uses it to make housing or employment decisions based on the information contained in the file.

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA). See the Fair Credit Reporting Act below.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Federal legislation enforced by the Federal Trade Commission to promote accuracy and ensure the privacy of information used in consumer reports. The FCRA also provides regulations for consumer reporting agencies to follow with regards to consumers' files.

Amendments made to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) require Consumer Reporting Agencies to adhere to additional regulations to help consumers gain access to the information in the consumer file as well as promote greater accuracy of the information in the file. In addition, FACTA provides special provisions to help consumers who become the victim of identity theft.

Identity Fraud or Theft. A crime that occurs when a person uses someone else's personal information to obtain credit or goods and services using another person's identity. For more information on Identity Fraud or Theft, visit the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Inquiry. A customer request for a consumer report. An inquiry may only be obtained under permissible purposes as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Permissible Purpose. Legally allowable purposes for inquiring about a consumer's personal information. These purposes include legitimate business needs such as housing or employment applications of the consumer, credit transactions, court orders and subpoenas.

Personal Statement. Up to 100-word statement that may be added to a consumer's file disputing information or providing an explanation of circumstances that might have affected the consumer's rental or credit history.

Plaintiff. A person who brings legal action against another person.

Public Record Data. Any records that can be accessed by the general public, such as civil lawsuits and judgments as they relate to a consumer's obligations.

RegistySCOREX^SM. A statistical model used to predict a potential resident's ability and willingness to pay rent according to lease terms and conditions. RegistrySCOREX^SM takes into account a variety of factors, including a consumer's credit and court history.

Reseller. A consumer reporting agency that assembles and merges information contained in the database of another consumer reporting agency and does not maintain a database of the assembled and merged information to produce new reports.

Scoring (credit). A numerical system used to determine the risk a consumer might pose to a potential creditor and/or consumer report user. The scoring system takes into account many factors, including credit history and debt-to-income ratio. It also factors in whether a consumer pays bills on time or has outstanding balances on existing credit accounts. For additional information on scoring, visit the Federal Trade Commission's Web site at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre24.htm.