Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 44 > Chapter 11 > Article 6 - Consumer Reporting Agencies and Fair Credit Reporting

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Consumer: means an individual. See Arizona Laws 44-1691
• Consumer report: means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected to be used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for (a) credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, or (b) employment purposes, or (c) other purposes authorized under section 44-1692. See Arizona Laws 44-1691
• Consumer reporting agency: means any person 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 on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties. See Arizona Laws 44-1691
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. ^{Source: OCC}
• Credit Score: A number, roughly between 300 and 800, that measures an individual's credit worthiness. The most well-known type of credit score is the FICO score. This score represents the answer from a mathematical formula that assigns numerical values to various pieces of information in your credit report. ^{Source: OCC}
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Employment purposes: when used in connection with a consumer report means a report used for the purpose of evaluating a consumer for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention as an employee. See Arizona Laws 44-1691
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• File: when used in connection with information on any consumer, means all of the information on that consumer recorded and retained by a consumer reporting agency regardless of how the information is stored. See Arizona Laws 44-1691
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fraud Alert: A key provision of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 is the consumer's ability to place a fraud alert on their credit record. A consumer would use this option if they believe they were a victim of identity theft. ^{Source: OCC}
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Issuer: means any person who issues or proposes to issue any security, except:

  (a) With respect to certificates of deposit, voting-trust certificates, collateral-trust certificates, certificates of interest or shares in an unincorporated investment trust, whether or not of the fixed, restricted management or unit type, issuer means the person or persons performing the acts and assuming the duties of depositor or manager pursuant to the provisions of the trust or other agreement or instrument under which such securities are issued. See Arizona Laws 44-1801

• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Open-end credit: A credit agreement (typically a credit card) that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved credit line when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due. (Also called a charge account or revolving credit.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or any other entity of whatever kind or nature. See Arizona Laws 44-1691
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• subscription: includes a mark, if a person cannot write, with the person's name written near it and witnessed by a person who writes the person's own name as witness. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Wilfully: means , with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that the person's conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215