ATTENTION EQUIFAX USERS! This version of Easy Access now supports the new  Equifax ACRO Cloud connection. Before updating, make sure that your Equifax representative sets you up with the new ACRO Cloud connection. They will assign you a new username and password. You will need to update these in your Equifax Bureau Setup.

See this page for a complete list of revisions (all released updates).

All updates are available for download on your Company’s Account Page.

ATTENTION EQUIFAX USERS! This version of Easy Access now supports the new  Equifax ACRO Cloud connection. Before updating, make sure that your Equifax representative sets you up with the new ACRO Cloud connection. They will assign you a new username and password. You will need to update these in your Equifax Bureau Setup.

See this page for a complete list of revisions (all released updates).

Normally all updates are available for download on your Company’s Account Page but a complete update installation is not yet available. Please email real solutions software at your earliest convenience, helpdesk@realsol.com, and we will email you a download link along with instructions for updating your software to 6.7.

Version 6.7.0.0 Changes (released 6/30/2021)

From what we can figure from our multiple conference calls with Experian and their partners, the company handling Experian’s firewall had some sort of ‘Robot Script’ that flagged Easy Access as a robot and began to block the application. Rather than the script blocking the IP, it started blocking all Easy Access attempts, thinking Easy Access was just one application. So, that was blocking Everyone. Experian has now placed a flag on their site not to flag any Easy Access posts.

I personally wanted to thank everyone involved in reporting this incident to Experian. I have had issues with credit bureau connections in the past, and the bureaus have always pointed the blame at Easy Access, even though we knew we were sending inquiries from different locations, environments, and from different versions of the software. But, with everyone calling in and being added to the same Experian Support ticket, believe it or not, this went fairly smooth once the right people were involved.

And for the Experian representatives who follow this blog, I wanted to personally thank Steve Hester, Bobby Helms, and especially Stuart Potter for getting all the right folks together in one place to brainstorm the problem. And while I realize Real Solutions is by far not your largest vendor, it is nice being treated like one.

While we currently have no ETA on the official fix, to keep the software from receiving and displaying this error, turn off all Email Notification in Easy Access’s Setup Options (File Menu > Setup Options > Notification). This error, most likely, is being caused by the website and will be corrected without the need to update the software.

I will update this notification in the comments section below once resolved.

Version 6.6.0.0 needs to be updated using the complete download so it can update the necessary files. So, in short, distribute the complete download to your other locations that run Easy Access; otherwise, if Easy Access even runs, it won’t support many of the changes that 6.6.0.0 brings to the table, like TransUnion’s new SHA2 certificate and Experian’s new upcoming requirement for Easy Access to connect using TLS ver 1.2.

The Final Rule:

• Extends MLA protections, including the 36 percent Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR) cap, to a wider range of credit products, including credit cards.
• Modifies the MAPR to include fees for credit-related ancillary products sold in connection with the credit transaction, finance charges associated with consumer credit, and certain application and participation fees. Also, for credit cards, the MAPR excludes certain fees if bona fide and reasonable.
• Provides a safe harbor for creditors ascertaining whether a consumer is covered by the final rule’s protections.
• Modifies the existing prohibition on rolling over, renewing, or refinancing consumer credit.
• Subjects creditors to civil liability and administrative enforcement for MLA violations.

What you should know:

Lenders will need to identify if the Consumer is covered by MLA protections at the point of origination in order to be extended to Safe Harbor.  To determine a consumer MLA-covered borrower status, the lender must obtain this information directly or indirectly from the Department of Defense’s DMDC database.  A search of the DMDC database requires the following: full legal name, social security number, and date of birth. There will be multiple options to select the MLA Covered Borrower status on a credit report.

Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion have 2 different methods to obtain MLA data.

1. You can have the credit bureau set up your subscriber number to have the MLA Status returned automatically by default on each credit report that you receive.
2. You can have Easy Access request the MLA status as an add-on to the credit report or as a standalone report by sending special keywords to the credit bureau.

While the easiest thing for Real Solutions to do would tell their customers to contact their credit bureau and just have it added to their subscriber number, so they always get the MLA Data. However, there may be an additional fee for obtaining MLA data, so Real Solutions and the credit bureaus decided to offer customers the ability to request this additional data only when the customer requests it.

Many companies pre-qualify their customers in many different ways, like pulling credit reports. But why spend more on this option if the customer won’t qualify for your product anyhow? Some customers don’t even pull credit reports but hold on to some sort of collateral (like bail bonds companies, pawnshops, and many others). But if these companies eventually are going to charge interest, they need to have an MLA report on file. Thus the reason for adding MLA by request.

Whether you choose to get MLA data using either option #1 or #2, you will need to:

1. Contact your legal or compliance department(s) to determine if your company needs the report to include MLA data to adhere to regulatory and compliance policies.
2. If so, let them know if you want it returned all of the time you pull a report or if you would rather have Easy Access request the report as either a standalone product or an add-on using keywords.
3. Sign the required documents to be able to receive the reports with MLA data included.

Special note for Equifax customers: The MLA stand-alone or add-on reports are formatted differently when requesting a standard Plain Text report. Even if you elect to have Equifax return the MLA report automatically, you will still need to select the keywords in Easy Access so Easy Access can format the text report correctly.

Special note for TransUnion customers:  TransUnion offer’s an MLA add-on service by default or by request but currently does not have an MLA Standalone report as of the date this blog entry was written. Although, you are able to get the MLA report status by running a Model Report (08000) within Easy Access. If you decide not to have the MLA service returned on all of your credit reports, make sure TransUnion sets up a subscriber number to allow you to request the MLA service per transaction (also referred to as “keyword-driven.”).

Special note for Profession and Enterprise customers. Since you integrate a process with Easy Access for pulling reports, if you decide not to have the MLA data returned automatically and want to use Easy Access to request it from the credit bureaus, you will need to set up an additional Department in Easy Access that defaults to the MLA keywords you want to be sent. For more info on Departments, Login and  see this page in our online help file. For defaulting to certain products within departments Login and , see this page.

Version 6.6.0.0 Changes:

Please see the special notes before updating to version 6.6.0.0

• Added TLS ver 1.2 support for Experian’s Demo and Production connections. This will be required for all Experian customers connecting to their Demo site or Production site in the next coming months.
• Added support for installing TransUnios’s SHA2 Certificates. This version will install either the older SHA1 or the SHA2 certificate just in case TransUnion changes their requirements. Note: This will be a mandatory requirement for all TransUnion customers receiving their reports from TransUnion over the Internet by 2017.
• Added support for the Military Lending Act, both as an add-on to the credit report or as a standalone product. Even though Easy Access supports MLA you will need to contact your credit bureau before you will be able to receive either MLA report. See this page for details.
• Added additional Experian Risk Models:
  • Experian’s Fair, Isaac Auto V3 (RM-AB)
  • Experian’s Fair, Isaac Auto V8 (RM-AG)
  • Experian’s Fair, Isaac Auto V9 (RM-FE)
  • Experian’s Fair, Isaac V8 (RM-AF)
  • Experian’s Fair, Isaac V9 (RM-F9)
    Note: While Experian’s FICO^® Score 9 suite now can be requested from Easy Access, clients must work with their Experian sales representatives to ensure signed agreements are in place prior to any implementation.
• Equifax Print Image Changes. Now displays Equifax’s Acrofile Plus Print Image and the regular Print Image’s Headers and Page numbers. This is only for the human readable text reports.
• Experian’s ‘auto’ 130 segment request. Certain Experian Risk Models (when requesting an ARF or Parallel Profile “Both” report) required that Segment 130 be requested also to receive the Risk Model. The customer would have to know which risk models required the 130 segment request and have to select it manually in Easy Access otherwise they would receive an error or just not get the Risk Model. Easy Access now does this for these new Risk Models.
• New Debugging in Easy Access. Totally rewrote the Debug Log logic (that hopefully no-one will ever have to use). Now, not only can you open a visible Debug Log (Tools Menu > Debug > Debug Log) but you also now have the option to record the log while Easy Access is running. This way if Easy Access locks up for any reason you will still be able to view the Debug Log text file to help diagnose the problem. Also, when you setup the debug to automatically save to a file, this option is also used if you have the Enterprise version running as an NT Service. This will make debugging NT Service problems much easier than scrolling through Windows Service Messages. NOTE: When using the logging function it does use more system resources and thus should slow down the software (though not noticeable). Even more when recording to a file. So, the Debug Log really should only be used when debugging possible problems that you might be experiencing in Easy Access.
• Simplified Debug Menu. Removed some Debug Menu options now that they really are obsolete when using the new Debug Log option.
• Fixed: Now sending our correct Vendor ID with TransUnion Inquires.
• Fixed: When Easy Access was originally written back in 1993, it used modems to dial up to the credit bureaus to return reports. Now sending over the Internet is the only way Easy Access will transmit inquiries. But, in some circumstances, when the credit bureau returns an HTTP error, Easy Access would still check to see if it could dial up instead and return a ‘Dialup Error’ to the user.
• Fixed: Occasionally, a ‘List Index Out Of Bounds’ error that would occur in the RulesWizard.
• Fixed: In certain circumstances, when sending multiple inquiries using different Departments that have different Output types, Easy Access wouldn’t always display the report correctly when viewing in the software (this did not affect the export file if you were exporting). Since this has never been reported as an error it must be a very unusual error.

As of 10/1/2016, Annual Support/Update extensions are still optional but more expensive if you let your support expire.  Your support covers email and phone support, the ability to download recent updates through the year, and the ability to see most support pages on our website. Most all of our customers have always paid for their annual support/update extensions, and I thank you for that. It is what keeps Easy Access alive with continued updates covering new credit bureau products and security features, along with trying to make these changes as easy to use as possible in this limited specialty market. What happens if your support expires? If you never need support or updates again, Easy Access will continue to run. It will not stop running, so don’t worry about that. But the longer you let your support stay past due, the more expensive it will be to renew your license.

As most of you know, I now am a one-man show and take Easy Access very seriously. Not only do I offer phone and email support during business hours, but as most of you know, I continue doing email support both before and after-hours, along with weekends when I can. I have been writing Easy Access for more than 24 years now, but that is what makes it the best. But I want everyone running the latest version of the software. I never like to see a company down because the credit bureau has made changes, but they have not stayed up to date on their software. In many cases, Easy Access plays a big role in your company’s day-to-day operations.

Also, when the credit bureaus force changes, it’s not our fault. I have had many discussions with many customers over the years because they had to renew their support to be able to get updates because of bureau changes. That is not the relationship that I want with my customers. But at the same time, I don’t think it is fair to my customers who have been paying their annual support every year to just allow other customers to let their support expire and just renew when needed. So, as of 10/1/2016, I am making changes for companies that let their support expire and later decide to renew it.

What happens if you let your support expire? Once your annual support expires, you will be given a 90 day grace period to renew your support at the same renewal price. After your grace period, your support renewal will slightly increase every month until paid. After 1 year, if your support/updated extension is still past due, you will need to purchase a new license of Easy Access, but we will though offer this license to you at a 50% discount off our current license price. After it has been expired for more than 2 years, you would need to purchase the software, but at a 30% discount off our current license price. After 3 years expired, you will have to purchase the software at the current pricing with these exceptions:

• I am offering a one-time-only exception for currently unsupported customers through 10/1/2016 whose support has been expired past your grace period, we will let you update your support at a calculated update price depending on your license, how many licenses you currently are running Easy Access at one location or how many licenses you are running at multiple locations, and the length of time your support has been expired. This is a one-time offer, and you will need to contact us for pricing.
• As always, if you own multiple licenses of Easy Access at the same location, we will support those additional licenses at a considerable discount based on how many licenses you use at that location.
• If you have more than 2 locations and if your support is current at all of those locations, we can now offer you a considerable discount for all of your locations. You will need to contact us in those situations.

On a personal note, Easy Access was originally written back in 1993 because, at the time, I couldn’t afford credit software working with my Dad in his property management business. Once written, the local sales rep with Experian wanted to offer it to his customers. So I then offered it to the public. Little did I realize at the time, Real Solutions Software would be my full-time job within 6 months of its public release. It helped me raise three wonderful boys (one who is now the youngest team department leader that Google has ever had) and overall great life. I just wanted to thank all of my customers for their support. While I don’t personally use Easy Access any longer and write other software, Easy Access has always been my pride and joy, and I want to thank you for that.

Sincerely,

Robert “Bob” Griffin