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RELEVANT LINKS: League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 6/22/2016 Securing Payment of Utility Charges Page 34 • Windows or entrances to the premises are boarded up or closed off, or multiple windowpanes are broken and unrepaired. • Doors to the premises are smashed through, broken off, unhinged, or continuously unlocked. • Gas, electric, or water service to the premises has been terminated. • Rubbish, trash, or debris has accumulated on the mortgaged premises. • The police or sheriff’s office has received at least two reports of trespassers on the premises, or of vandalism or other illegal acts being committed on the premises. • The premises are deteriorating and are either below or are in imminent danger of falling below minimum community standards for public safety and sanitation. • A defendant’s failure to appear at the court hearing; this is conclusive evidence of abandonment by the defendant. Where property is abandoned it is to a city’s advantage (and city utilities) to work with mortgage holders to speed up the foreclosure proceedings. The sooner abandoned property is restored to use, the more likely that city taxes and utility charges will be paid. Minn. Stat. § 580.22. Cities, and city utilities, may wish to keep a record of properties that have charges certified against them to inform buyers that those liens must also be paid once the property changes hands. However, it is the buyer’s responsibility to find any duly recorded liens or judgments attached to the property. XIII. Federal red flags rule 15 U.S.C.A. 1681 et seq. FACT Act § 114. FCRA § 615(e). Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010; 15 U.S.C. 1681(m) (e) (4). The Federal Trade Commission originally developed “red flags” rules to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft. Enforcement of the rule was delayed numerous times. In December of 2010, Congress amended the red flags rule, narrowing the application of the law to fewer entities. Then, as of January 1, 2011, enforcement of the rule began. Cities need to examine all their practices to determine if the rule applies. Currently, the new law covers creditors who regularly, and in the ordinary course of business, meet one of three general criteria. They must: Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010. 15 U.S.C. 1681(m) (e) (4). • Obtain or use consumer reports in connection with a credit transaction. • Furnish information to consumer reporting agencies in connection with a credit transaction. • Or advance funds to -- or on behalf of -- someone, except for funds for expenses incidental to a service provided by the creditor to that person.