§1080a. Reports to credit bureaus and institutions of higher education

(a) Agreements to exchange information

For the purpose of promoting responsible repayment of loans covered by Federal loan insurance pursuant to this part or covered by a guaranty agreement pursuant to section 1078 of this title, the Secretary, each guaranty agency, eligible lender, and subsequent holder shall enter into agreements with credit bureau organizations to exchange information concerning student borrowers, in accordance with the requirements of this section. For the purpose of assisting such organizations in complying with the Fair Credit Reporting Act [15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.], such agreements may provide for timely response by the Secretary (concerning loans covered by Federal loan insurance), by a guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder (concerning loans covered by a guaranty agreement), or to requests from such organizations for responses to objections raised by borrowers. Subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of this section, such agreements shall require the Secretary, the guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder, as appropriate, to disclose to such organizations, with respect to any loan under this part that has not been repaid by the borrower-

(1) the total amount of loans made to any borrower under this part and the remaining balance of the loans;

(2) information concerning the date of any default on the loan and the collection of the loan, including information concerning the repayment status of any defaulted loan on which the Secretary has made a payment pursuant to section 1080(a) of this title or the guaranty agency has made a payment to the previous holder of the loan; and

(3) the date of cancellation of the note upon completion of repayment by the borrower of the loan or payment by the Secretary pursuant to section 1087 of this title.

(b) Additional information

Such agreements may also provide for the disclosure by such organizations to the Secretary or a guaranty agency, whichever insures or guarantees a loan, upon receipt of a notice under subsection (a)(2) of this section that such a loan is in default, of information concerning the borrower's location or other information which may assist the Secretary, the guaranty agency, the eligible lender, or the subsequent holder in collecting the loan.

(c) Contents of agreements

Agreements entered into pursuant to this section shall contain such provisions as may be necessary to ensure that-

(1) no information is disclosed by the Secretary or the guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder unless its accuracy and completeness have been verified and the Secretary or the guaranty agency has determined that disclosure would accomplish the purpose of this section;

(2) as to any information so disclosed, such organizations will be promptly notified of, and will promptly record, any change submitted by the Secretary, the guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder with respect to such information, or any objections by the borrower with respect to any such information, as required by section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i);

(3) no use will be made of any such information which would result in the use of collection practices with respect to such a borrower that are not fair and reasonable or that involve harassment, intimidation, false or misleading representations, or unnecessary communication concerning the existence of such loan or concerning any such information; and

(4) with regard to notices of default under subsection (a)(2) of this section, except for disclosures made to obtain the borrower's location, the Secretary, or the guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder whichever is applicable (A) shall not disclose any such information until the borrower has been notified that such information will be disclosed to credit bureau organizations unless the borrower enters into repayment of his or her loan, but (B) shall, if the borrower has not entered into repayment within a reasonable period of time, but not less than 30 days, from the date such notice has been sent to the borrower, disclose the information required by this subsection.

(d) Contractor status of participants

A guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder or credit bureau organization which discloses or receives information under this section shall not be considered a Government contractor within the meaning of section 552a of title 5.

(e) Disclosure to institutions

The Secretary and each guaranty agency, eligible lender, and subsequent holder of a loan are authorized to disclose information described in subsections (a) and (b) of this section concerning student borrowers to the eligible institutions such borrowers attend or previously attended. To further the purpose of this section, an eligible institution may enter into an arrangement with any or all of the holders of delinquent loans made to borrowers who attend or previously attended such institution for the purpose of providing current information regarding the borrower's location or employment or for the purpose of assisting the holder in contacting and influencing borrowers to avoid default.

(f) Duration of authority

Notwithstanding paragraphs (4) and (6) ¹ of subsection (a) of section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(4), (a)(6)), a consumer reporting agency may make a report containing information received from the Secretary or a guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder regarding the status of a borrower's defaulted account on a loan guaranteed under this part until-

(1) 7 years from the date on which the Secretary or the agency paid a claim to the holder on the guaranty;

(2) 7 years from the date the Secretary, guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder first reported the account to the consumer reporting agency; or

(3) in the case of a borrower who reenters repayment after defaulting on a loan and subsequently goes into default on such loan, 7 years from the date the loan entered default such subsequent time.

(Pub. L. 89–329, title IV, §430A, as added Pub. L. 99–498, title IV, §402(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1398 ; amended Pub. L. 100–50, §10(v), June 3, 1987, 101 Stat. 346 ; Pub. L. 102–325, title IV, §424, July 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 543 ; Pub. L. 103–208, §2(c)(52), Dec. 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 2467 .)

References in Text

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is title VI of Pub. L. 90–321, as added by Pub. L. 91–508, title VI, §601, Oct. 26, 1970, 84 Stat. 1127 , as amended, which is classified generally to subchapter III (§1681 et seq.) of chapter 41 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of Title 15 and Tables.

Paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, referred to in subsec. (f), was redesignated paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of section 605 of the Act by Pub. L. 105–347, §5(4), Nov. 2, 1998, 112 Stat. 3211 .

Prior Provisions

A prior section 1080a, Pub. L. 89–329, title IV, §430A, as added Pub. L. 99–272, title XVI, §16023, Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 349 ; amended Pub. L. 99–320, §2(c), May 23, 1986, 100 Stat. 491 , related to reports to credit bureaus and institutions of higher education, prior to the general revision of this part by Pub. L. 99–498.

Amendments

1993-Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 103–208 substituted a semicolon for the comma at end.

1992-Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 102–325 struck out "or" at end of par. (1), added pars. (2) and (3), and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: "with regard to an account on a loan on which the Secretary or the guaranty agency has paid a claim but not reported the account to a consumer reporting agency on or before October 1, 1985, 7 years from that date."

1987-Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–50 inserted sentence at end permitting an eligible institution to enter into arrangements with holders of delinquent loans made to borrowers for purpose of providing current information on borrower's location or employment or to assist holder in contacting and influencing borrower to avoid default.

Effective Date of 1993 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 103–208 effective as if included in the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, Pub. L. 102–325, except as otherwise provided, see section 5(a) of Pub. L. 103–208, set out as a note under section 1051 of this title.

Effective Date of 1987 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 100–50 effective as if enacted as part of the Higher Education Amendments of 1986, Pub. L. 99–498, see section 27 of Pub. L. 100–50, set out as a note under section 1001 of this title.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 1077, 1078–3, 1087cc of this title.

¹ See References in Text note below.