A consumer can bring a court action or, with both parties’ agreement and after required dispute steps and notice, submit the dispute to binding arbitration.
Sec. 20.08. CONSUMER'S RIGHT TO FILE ACTION IN COURT OR ARBITRATE DISPUTES. (a) An action to enforce an obligation of a consumer reporting agency to a consumer under this chapter may be brought in any court as provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.), as amended, or, if agreed to by both parties, may be submitted to binding arbitration after the consumer has followed all dispute procedures in Section 20.06 and has received the notice specified in Section 20.06(f) in the manner provided by the rules of the American Arbitration Association. (b) A decision rendered by an arbitrator under this section does not affect the validity of an obligation or debt owed by the consumer to any party. (c) A prevailing party in an action or arbitration proceeding brought under this section shall be compensated for the party's attorney fees and costs of the proceeding as determined by the court or arbitration. (d) A consumer may not submit to arbitration more than one action against a particular consumer reporting agency during any 120-day period. (e) The results of an arbitration action brought against a consumer reporting agency doing business in this state shall be communicated in a timely manner to other consumer reporting agencies doing business in this state. (f) If a determination is made in favor of a consumer after submission of a dispute to arbitration, the disputed adverse information in the consumer's file or record shall be removed or stricken in a timely manner. If the adverse information is not removed or stricken, the consumer may bring an action against the noncomplying agency under this section regardless of the 120-day waiting period required under this section. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1396, Sec. 33(a), eff. Oct. 1, 1997. Assigned by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 64 (S.B. 60), Sec. 5, eff. January 1, 2014.