Utility bills and rent payments may be on your credit report. It depends on what type of consumer you are. Until recently, roughly 53 million consumers did not have access to the mainstream credit system because they had no credit. FICO's new scoring system uses rent, utility, cell phone, and cable payments to score consumers who previously had little to no credit, or no FICO score.
The Federal Trade Commission announced a significant update to the one-stop website, IdentityTheft.gov. The update comes as a response to President Obama's 2014 executive order directing federal agencies to create a consolidated site to aid consumers.
IdentityTheft.gov now guides consumers through filing a complaint with the FTC and then provides a personalized recovery plan designed to address the specific identity theft complaint at hand.
On Monday, November 9th, attorney G. John Cento will speak about FCRA compliance at a seminar hosted by the National Business Institute. The seminar, Collection Law from Start to Finish, will provide attendees the legal framework to collect consumer debt. To register, or to purchase a recording of the seminar click here.
The CFPB has ordered two of the largest employment background screening providers (General Information Services and its affiliate, e-Background-checks.com, Inc.) to pay $10.5 million in relief to consumers and pay $2.5 million in civil penalties for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) resulting from the reporting of “serious inaccuracies.”
Resellers are consumer reporting agencies who purchase consumer credit information from Trans Union, Equifax and Experian and then resell that information. Often resellers combine all three credit files into one report - commonly known as a “tri-merge” credit report. Recent court opinions have addressed whether these resellers are liable under Section 1681e(b) if one agency reports inaccurate information but the other two do not and the reseller subsequently reports all three files.
Cento Lane has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a former business owner who used First Data Global Leasing merchant services. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act against First Data. The lawsuit alleges that even though the former business owner never signed a personal guaranty for First Data's services, First Data reported the account to Trans Union, Equifax and Experian
Step 1: Obtain your free credit reports
Obtaining your credit report is the first step in disputing any inaccurate or wrong information which may appear on it. Federal law requires the three national credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union, to provide you with a free credit report every year. Most likely, each of these credit reporting agencies has a credit file on you. Get all three of your credit reports.
2015 is a big year for the credit reporting industry. Major changes are underway. Earlier this year, Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union announced that they would change the way they handle credit disputes and unpaid medical bills. Credit experts say the announcement marks the biggest reform for the credit reporting industry in more than a decade. Most importantly, these changes will help millions qualify for better interest rates on student, home, and auto loans.
Plaintiff in a class action lawsuit filed against Equifax in Virginia has successfully obtained class certification of her claims. The lawsuit alleges that Equifax misreported the status of certain state court judgments. The certified class consists of consumers who told Equifax of a disposed state court judgment before Equifax published an inaccurate report between February 2008 and February 2013.
Cento Law is currently investigating Duke Energy for potential violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Last week, the US's largest electric power holding company, Duke Energy, issued a press release notifying customers of a payment reporting error. The inaccurate reporting dates back to 2010. Approximately 500,000 Duke Energy customers in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky have been affected.
On July 2, 2013, a Indiana consumer filed suit in federal court against Experian and Green Tree Servicing, LLC for neglect and willful violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The case is currently in the discovery stage. During the discovery stage, each side is allowed to conduct depositions, request relevant documents, ask interrogatories, and/or serve admissions. In this case, as the discovery was unraveling, Plaintiff requested specific documents from Experian their native format. Experian objected and drove Plaintiff to file a Motion to Compel with the Court.
Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, has introduced the Stop Errors in Credit Use and Reporting (SECURE) Act to ensure that all have accurate information on their credit report to ensure they are being treated fairly.
According to the article published by Senator Brown, "[t]he SECURE Act would require credit reporting agencies to improve their processes for collecting
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will be holding a Consumer Advisory Board Meeting on February 27, 2014 in Washington, D.C. The agenda for the meeting indicates an open session to the public (RSVP's required) on Protecting Consumer Credit Profiles. CFPB Director, Richard Cordray is scheduled to speak about the consumer experience in the credit reporting market.
Federal Law Aids Consumers in Fixing Credit Reports Due to Identity Theft
When an identity is stolen, the theft usually leads to the fraudulent use of personal identifying information. The use of stolen information such as name, Social Security number, and date of birth fall victim to identity theft when used to obtain electricity, gas, open a checking account, and even attain employment.
When new accounts are open, thieves usually don't stick around to see their financial obligations through. In turn, furnishers start reporting negative information to the credit reporting agencies. The new information gets assigned to a credit file that matches the name, Social Security number, and date of birth of an innocent, now victimized, consumer.
Furnishers Are Required to Review Documentation from Credit Reporting Agencies
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) has issued a Bulletin, dated September 4, 2013, to companies that furnish information to consumer reporting agencies (“CRAs”) regarding furnisher obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the “FCRA”). The Bulletin is intended to deal specifically with the FCRA requirement that furnishers are required to “review all relevant information” when investigating a consumer dispute. The CFPB Bulletin provides a warning to furnishers that the CFPB maintains supervisory and enforcement authority which it will use to address furnisher violations.
Federal Agency to Oversee Credit Reporting Agencies
In July of 2011, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) became the first federal agency to oversee credit reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. The CFPB receives complaints directly from consumers relating to credit reporting, mortgages, bank accounts and services, private student loans, consumer loans, and money transfers. In July 2013, the CFPB released a report which provides a snapshot of the complaint process and a analysis of the complaints they received. The report states that between the July 21, 2011 through June 20, 2013; 14,200 credit reporting complaints where received by consumers in the marketplace.
Equifax Slammed with $18.6 Million Jury Verdict for Violations of the FCRA
A federal jury recently awarded Julie Miller of Oregon with $18.6 Million.
In 2009, Julie Miller applied for credit and was denied. The denial was a result of credit information belonging to a different Julie Miller being mixed with the credit report of the applicant. The inaccuracies consisted of:
The mixed credit report resulted in a lost opportunity to obtain credit.
Cento Law, LLC attorney G. John Cento filed a lawsuit against Experian Information Solutions, Inc. and Green Tree Servicing, LLC alleging numerous violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In the suit, Plaintiff alleges Experian and Green Tree inaccurately reported his mortgage account which had been included in bankruptcy but which survived the bankruptcy as a “ride through.”
What is a Consumer Reporting Agency?
The term "consumer reporting agencies" is a statutory term defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the "FCRA"). Consumer reporting agencies are often referred to as "credit bureaus" or "credit reporting agencies." Under the FCRA, a consumer reporting agency is a company that collects information and provide reports on consumers that are most often used to decide whether to provide consumers credit, insurance or employment. The following is a list of companies that identify themselves as consumer reporting agencies:
National Consumer Reporting Agencies
