According to an announcement posted on the Military Lending Act (“MLA”) Website,
“[b]etween February 9, 2017 and February 15, 2017 there was a problem with MLA Multiple Record Requests that prevented 149 request files from processing.” The Defense Manpower Data Center advises any creditor who, during the time period in question, submitted a Multiple Record Request file that failed to process submit the file again for processing.
Under the Department of Defense (“DoD”) final rule, using information obtained directly or indirectly from the DoD’s MLA Website is one of the safe-harbor methods for conclusively determining whether a credit applicant is a covered borrower eligible for MLA protections. (A safe harbor is also available to a creditor that uses a consumer report from a nationwide consumer reporting agency.) Users of the MLA Website can retrieve information on one individual via a Single Record Request or on multiple individuals (or multiple dates for a single individual) via a Multiple Record Request, or “batch” request.
The MLA Website is an important compliance resource for creditors, who face serious penalties and remedies for MLA violations. As a practical matter, to protect against file generation failures, creditors might wish to consider establishing backup arrangements with a consumer reporting agency to determine covered-borrower status for MLA purposes.