AppFolio Consumer Relations Team (Customer Webinar)
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The Consumer Relations team is dedicated to helping all needs regarding AppFolio screening services and reports. For consumers we help provide copies of screening reports and answer questions about the data, and if needed, will help with disputes to ensure the most accurate reports possible. For our customers we help answer questions about screening functionality, the source data, and uses of screening reports.
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AppFolio Consumer Relations Team (Customer Webinar)
- 1. 1 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. AppFolio Consumer Relations
- 2. 2 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Presentation Details Team: Dianne Krahenbuhl, Caitlin Jasper, Isabelle Meyer Stapf, Todd Smith Duration: ~1 Hour Recording: Webinar is Recorded, You will Receive Link Follow-Up: Email will be Sent within 48 Hours
- 3. 3 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Agenda ā¢ Introduction ā AppFolio Consumer Relations ā¢ The Role of Consumer Relations in the Leasing Flow ā¢ Letās Look at a Screening Report ā¢ How to File a Dispute / Investigation ā¢ Best Practices ā Communication & Compliance ā¢ Questions
- 4. 4 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Ask Questionsā¦.Please :-) Send Your Questions in the āQuestionsā Pane of the GoToWebinar Panel on the Right Side of the Desktop
- 5. 5 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. FAQās Is this being recorded, can I access this information later? ā¢ Yes, it is being recorded and you will receive a follow up email with link to recording and presentation within a two days ā¢ You can also access information in the help file
- 6. 6 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Understanding Consumer Relations
- 7. 7 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. AppFolio Consumer Relations Why are We Here, What do We Do? ā¢ CRA = Consumer Reporting Agency ā¢ FCRA = Fair Credit Reporting Act: ā¢ Disclose screening reports to consumers upon request with consent ā¢ Investigate disputed information ā¢ Correct or delete inaccurate information ā¢ Provide general guidance and help on information reported AppFolio Consumer Relations is here to help the consumer (applicants) and our property manager customers (you) with these situations.
- 8. 8 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Consumer Relations in the Leasing Flow Consumer Wants Copy Consumer Dispute Property Manager Has Questions On Report
- 9. 9 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Why do Consumers Contact AppFolio? AppFolio is the provider of the information in the screening report
- 10. 10 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Consumer Relations: Common Reasons to Contact ā¢ Request a copy of a screening report ā¢ Dispute information related to: ā¢ Credit ā¢ Rental History ā¢ Criminal ā¢ Eviction ā¢ General inquiries: ā¢ Permissible Purpose (i.e. signed rental application) ā¢ Clarify where information is on the credit report ā¢ Understand why a credit score was not found
- 11. 11 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Consumer Relations: Notes ā¢ AppFolio will respond to a consumer request within 5 days ā¢ Most requests are resolved within 7 to 10 days ā we are required to have a resolution within 30 days ā¢ Statute of limitations exists for information provided in reports
- 12. 12 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Please contact us anytime at: consumer.relations@appfolio.com (866) 359-3630 www.appfolio.com/consumer
- 13. 13 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Screening Report Overview
- 14. 14 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Screening Report Overview ā¢ Completely built into your AppFolio account ā¢ Instant results ā¢ No phoning, faxing, waiting ā¢ Designed to be easy to read ā¢ Retained as part of tenant record
- 15. 15 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Screening Report Overview, Cont. ā¢ Two main sections: ā¢ Summary section at top with high level overview of results ā¢ Details section down the page with in-depth details separated into sub- sections
- 16. 16 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Screening Report: Areas of Possible Dispute ā¢ Consumer may want to dispute or inquire about the following sections, which is why they call Consumer Relations: 1. Credit Summary 2. Rental Payment Summary 3. Eviction History 4. Criminal History 1 2 3 4
- 17. 17 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Screening Report: Applicant Information ā¢ IMPORTANT: The information on the tenant Rental Application and supporting documents (personal ID, etc.) need to match what is in the Applicant Information section of the screening report to ensure an accurate match
- 18. 18 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Screening Report: Credit Section ā¢ Summary & details sections ā¢ FICO score ā reading and interpretation ā¢ How to view trade lines ā¢ AppFolio report also highlights negative trade line items in Summary section ā¢ A note on updating this section after a dispute
- 19. 19 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Screening Report: Rental History ā¢ Pulls data from Experian RentBureau database ā helpful to inform rental decision ā¢ Provides insight into applicantsā past rental payment history ā¢ Does not negatively impact credit, but can help if rent paid on time ā¢ help.appfolio.com ā RentBureau Webinar ā¢ screening@appfolio.com
- 20. 20 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Screening Report: Eviction History ā¢ Based on addresses and names ā¢ Consider reasons for duplicate listings
- 21. 21 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Screening Report: Criminal History ā¢ Based on name, DOB, address, aliases (no SSN) ā¢ Each court may independently decide what to report and how
- 22. 22 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Best Practices
- 23. 23 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Best Practice: File Disputes Quickly www.appfolio.com/consumer consumer.relations@appfolio.com (866) 359-3630 We will ask for: 1. Copy of ID 2. Signed explanation of request 3. Full name 4. Current address 5. DOB 6. SSN 7. Phone Number 8. Email address Note: No PII over unsecured email
- 24. 24 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Best Practice: Communicate ā¢ The best way to avoid conflicts and confusion is with communication ā¢ Be sure to understand your responsibilities regarding FCRA ā¢ Follow up verbal communications with written summary for confirmation of understanding ā¢ Engage AppFolio to assist
- 25. 25 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Best Practice: Stay In Compliance ā¢ Requirements for āDue Diligenceā ā¢ Requirements for getting ācredentialedā for credit data ā¢ Screening guidelines ā āre- screening,ā employees, etc. ā¢ Getting a signed rental application: permissible purpose ā¢ Requirements for keeping documents on file: 6 years ā¢ Checking ID: data matches on application?
- 26. 26 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. FAQās
- 27. 27 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. FAQās Where does AppFolio obtain information for screening reports? ā¢ AppFolio obtains credit information from the credit bureau Experian. Criminal and eviction data is pulled from hundreds of national, state and county courts across the United States.
- 28. 28 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. FAQās Is is a hard or soft inquiry on a credit file? ā¢ It is a hard inquiry
- 29. 29 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. FAQās How are the criminal records matched? ā¢ They are matched using a combination of the following items: ā¢ First name, last name, DOB (if provided by the courts), any aliases used and areas where the applicant has resided. ā¢ Criminal records are not matched using a SSN.
- 30. 30 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. FAQās What if criminal and/or eviction information is omitted from the report? ā¢ Every court jurisdiction in the United States can independently decide if they are going to electronically report criminal/eviction data to a bulk data base, from where we can buy the information. ā¢ The courts can also independently decide how much of the data they will report. ā¢ If a criminal or eviction record is omitted from the report there is a good reason for it. We can file an investigation with the court data providers to determine why the information was omitted from the report.
- 31. 31 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. FAQās How can an applicant obtain a copy of their resident screening report from AppFolio? ā¢ To receive a copy of their screening report, please have them contact AppFolio's Consumer Relations at 866 359-3630 or connsumer.relations@appfolio.com. ā¢ Weāll mail a copy of their screening report via regular US Postal mail and they can expect to receive it within 10 business days of their request.
- 32. 32 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. FAQās What if the information that appears on a screening report is incorrect? ā¢ AppFolio is dedicated to providing accurate, up-to-date credit and background information. If you believe information on the screening report is incorrect, we encourage you to take the necessary steps to file an investigation with our Consumer relations team.
- 33. 33 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Summary
- 34. 34 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Summary ā¢ Introduction ā AppFolio Consumer Relations ā¢ The Role of Consumer Relations in the Leasing Flow ā¢ Letās Look at a Screening Report ā¢ How to File a Dispute ā¢ Best Practices ā Communication & Compliance ā¢ Questions
- 35. 35 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Action Checklist Action Who When ļ¾ Review Your Current Consumer Relations Practices You Today ā Identify Any Areas for Changes / Improvements You Tomorrow ā Contact Us with Any Questions, Anytime! You Thursday ā
- 36. 36 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Questions Please contact us anytime at: www.appfolio.com/consumer consumer.relations@appfolio.com (866) 359-3630 Thank you ā we look forward to hearing from you!
- 37. 37 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. AppFolioās 3rd Annual Conference www.AppFolio.com/conference
- 38. 38 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Itās a Great Time to be In Property Management We Look Forward to Working With You to Achieve Success
- 39. 39 2015 Ā© AppFolio, Inc. Confidential. Thank You
Editor's Notes
- AppFolio has a Consumer Relations team! Many APM clients donāt know about this team ā itās unfortunately one of our best kept secrets, and weāre looking to get the word out. As a provider of screening reports, AppFolio is considered a consumer reporting agency ā a CRA. Thatās because we take information from various sources and put them all together in a screening report so that our property managers can make great decisions about potential applicants. Because we are a CRA, we also follow the guidelines presented by the the Fair Credit Reporting Act ā also known as the FCRA ā which is something Iām sure many of you have heard all about. The FCRA restricts who has access to consumersā sensitive credit information and how that information can be used. It requires consumer reporting agencies (like AppFolio) to: Get consumer consent before providing consumer credit information ā we call that permissible purpose, like a signed rental application Disclose consumer credit files to consumer upon request Investigate disputed information Correct or delete inaccurate information Consumer Relations is here to support consumers with these requirements, as well as the PMās they are applying to ā as we are facilitating that exchanged.
- Consumer Relations is involved during the application decision phase, after an applicant is screened. Let me take you through the flow ā first step, as you might know, is to show the property. Assuming applicants are interested, they apply online. For our property managers who have screening enabled, they then have the option to screen applicants right in the application online. This step is where CR may get involved ā when a screening report is generated and actions are taken based on the information in the report: Consumer wants copy of report (PM can give copy of report to consumer, but they can also direct the applicant to AppFolio CR for this) Consumer is denied, wants details on what was included in a report. PM has general questions on information contained in a report. Letās take a quick step back. What would prompt a consumer to contact Consumer Relations?
- Just like you are required to have a permissible purpose to screen an applicant ā for example, a signed rental application ā youāre also required to tell an applicant when and why they have been denied. Those of you who are currently using AppFolio screening might remember that when you first went live with AppFolioās Resident Screening, you received a sample adverse action letter ā this is the letter you MUST provide to an applicant if you are denying their rental application based on a consumer report. AppFolio provides a sample template for this ā youāll see it here on your screen. It basically provides the applicant confirmation that they have been denied, the reasons why, and states that the decision was made based on information provided by AppFolio, along with our contact information if consumers have a question. I want to make clear that AppFolio welcomes the opportunity to speak with your applicants if they need a copy of the report, or want to dispute the information in it. We canāt speak to why the decision was made to decline an applicant ā and we try to make that very clear ā but we are happy to help get consumers the information they need. We also know that in many cases, while property managers COULD provide applicants with a copy of their screening report, they may prefer to have AppFolio provide it ā and weāre available for that. By the way, we always share this letter with new screening customers ā if you are interested in getting a copy, let us know.
- So, with that said, letās talk about the most common types of calls Consumer Relations receives. These include: Getting a copy of a report Disputing information related to any of the sections in the report General questions: Why did I get a hit to my credit score? Clarify what is used to match different sections Why don't I have a FICO score? We can help with any of theseā¦one general rule of thumb that we use: there is ALWAYS a reason/explanation for why something is showing up on a report. Even if itās not immediately obvious ā we can help find out whatās going on. Iāll get into examples shortly, but before going there, I wanted to remind you of a few thingsā¦
- First ā per FCRA guidelines, AppFolio will always respond to a consumer request within 5 days. That doesnāt mean that weāll always be able to resolve a request within 5 days ā but weāll confirm receipt and get the process started. We legally have 30 days to resolve a dispute, or close out a request ā but on average weāll get them closed out within 7-10 days. For copies of reports, we can usually turn those around very quickly, a matter of minutes, as long as we can verify the consumer who is calling is who he or she says they are. We donāt ever want to give out confidential information to someone who should not be getting it. For disputes, it can take longer. Thatās because we work with various data furnishers to get the best information out there. So when a dispute comes in ā say someone is disputing an eviction or a negative tradeline on a credit reportā¦we collect all of the information from the consumer and do some research on our own, then we may need to escalate to our data furnishers who may need to contact/physically go to a court to āinvestigateā the record. At the end of the day, weāre at the mercy of the court to get the information back and the dispute resolved, but weāll do it within the 30 day timeframe. Also note ā if a report is updated based on a dispute, AppFolio will email the Property Manager letting them know. Another thing to keep in mind ā there is a statute of limitations on the information that can be reported. In general, vast majority of states, criminal and eviction hits beyond 7 years ago cannot be reported. There are a few exceptions ā in Oregon for example, evictions older than 5 years cannot be reported. Legally we cannot provide these records on a report. Another exception is sex offender registry records. Those are reported for life ā there is no statute of limitations. Iām going to take you through a screening report overview now ā but before we go there, just a quick reminder.
- Our Consumer Relations team is here to help ā contact us anytime ā here.
- The way a screening report is generated starts with the rental application. The information from Rental Application is used to ālook upā the prospective tenant once a user hits the Screen Now button. Itās important to input information correctly and Iāll tell you why. What happens is that our system connects to Experianās Database and looks up the information on that prospective application ā therefore all of the information that you see at the top right of this screening report should match what is on the rental application. There are a few important things I want to point out here. First, the name should match between rental app and report. At times it may not match based on maiden name, alias, etc. AppFolio will display an error if the SSN does not match the name. Second - at the top of this example, you can see that there is a āCHECKMARKā noting that the name has been āverifiedā meaning it matches the SSN on file. At times, you could see a red, "not verifiedā message up here instead. This could be because there is no file of person's name and SSN within credit bureau database with matching the name, SSN, DOB and address as entered, which happens sometimes if the applicant doesnāt have a file, is new to the US, or is too young. It also could be because a number has been inverted/does not match ā the SSN, DOB, address are not matching in Experian DB. When this happens, this does not mean that it is not a valid SSN - just that there is no record of that name with that social on file! Also, the DOB should match what's on ID! We have run across situations where an applicant either mistypes their DOB or intentionally enters it wrong. This will cause issues ā we recommend that PMs check this with a valid ID when applicant applies to a property. Another important piece of information. The current and previous addresses come from a lookup from Experian. Youāll note that in your rental application, you may ask for current and previous address. AppFolio will also look up previous address history to help with eviction history matches. Weāll obtain up to 10 addresses including what's in the application, in order to supplement where possible and ensure coverage. This is a recent addition to the product, we used to only look up 3 addresses. All of this information is then used to provide the credit, rental, eviction and criminal history. Just to reiterate ā it is imperative that the information submitted in the rental application is verified and correct. If not, the repercussions could be significant ā i.e. if a name is spelled wrong, or a DOB is entered incorrectly, the resulting information displayed could be āwrong.ā