Definition - What does consumer report mean?
A Consumer Report is a record of a person’s criminal, credit, and employment history. It contains factual information that is sourced and compiled by consumer reporting agencies and sold to other organizations. A consumer report is usually requested to assist an organization in making a decision regarding accepting or declining an application. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer report can also be called an investigative consumer report.
SureHire explains consumer report
The type of information that the consumer report may contain includes criminal background checks, financial history, public records, and employment history and behavior. Before requesting and using such a report to make a decision, the organization must obtain the applicant’s consent and inform them of their intent to use this information for the purposes of making a decision.
Consumer reports in the United States are regulated through the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is a federal law that falls under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jurisdiction.
