Rhode Island § 19-9-35 - Community Obligations and Banking Offenses

§ 19-9-35. Consumer privacy in mortgage applications.

(a) For purposes of this section, “mortgage trigger lead” means a consumer report obtained pursuant to section 604(c)(1)(B) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681b, where the issuance of the report is triggered by an inquiry made with a consumer reporting agency in response to an application for credit. “Mortgage trigger lead” does not include a consumer report obtained by a lender or servicer that holds or services existing indebtedness of the applicant who is the subject of the report.

(b) With regard to a solicitation of a consumer for a residential mortgage loan, as defined in § 19-14.10-3, which solicitation is based, in whole or in part, on information contained in a mortgage trigger lead, the following shall be deemed to be a prohibited act or practice for purposes of §§ 19-4-12, 19-14-26 and 19-14.10-17:

(1) The failure to clearly and conspicuously state in the initial phase of the solicitation that the solicitor is not affiliated with the lender or broker with which the consumer initially applied;

(2) The failure to clearly and conspicuously state in the initial phase of the solicitation that the solicitation is based on personal information about the consumer that was purchased, directly or indirectly, from a consumer reporting agency without the knowledge or permission of the lender or broker with which the consumer initially applied;

(3) The failure, in the initial solicitation, to comply with the provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act relating to prescreening solicitations that use consumer reports, including the requirement to make a firm offer of credit to the consumer; or

(4) Knowingly or negligently using information from a mortgage trigger lead:

(i) To solicit consumers who have opted out of prescreened offers of credit under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act; or

(ii) To place telephone calls to consumers who have placed their contact information on a federal or state “do-not-call” list.

(c) In addition to any other remedy provided by law, any lender or broker aggrieved by a prohibited act or practice under this section may bring an action in the superior court in which venue the lender or broker has an office to enjoin an act in violation of this section and recover damages. The court shall award damages in the amount of actual damages or one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation, whichever is greater. In any successful action for injunctive relief or for damages, the court shall award the lender or broker attorneys’ fees and costs, including court costs.

(d) The director, or the director’s designee, may adopt reasonable rules and regulations for the implementation of the provisions of this section.