On January 7, 2025, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against Experian alleging that Experian violated FCRA by failing to properly conduct reinvestigations of disputed information in consumer credit files; failing to delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverified information in consumer credit files; failing to provide adequate written notice to consumers of the results of its reinvestigations; failing to prevent the improper reinsertion of previously deleted information from consumer credit files; and failing to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the credit information Experian reports on consumers. In addition, the complaint alleges that Experian committed unfair acts or practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 by (1) failing to convey consumers’ disputes to furnishers fully and accurately, and instead distorting, truncating, and mischaracterizing consumers’ disputes; (2) relying excessively on furnishers to resolve disputes, routinely doing nothing more than sending the dispute to a furnisher and implementing the furnisher’s response, despite having evidence of that furnisher’s unreliability; and (3) improperly reinserting tradelines into consumer credit reports due to its practice of failing to adequately match newly reported tradelines to tradelines that were previously deleted as a result of a dispute if the subsequent furnishing was from a new furnisher. The Bureau seeks, among other things, to bring Experian into compliance with the law, consumer redress, and the imposition of civil money penalties.
Understanding the FCRA - Credit Reporting Law
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.
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.
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
In a study released this month by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFPB found that there are specific limitations on the e-OSCAR system; the electronic system used by the national consumer reporting agencies (Trans Union, Experian and Equifax) (CRAs) to process consumer disputes of the accuracy of their credit reports. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the CRAs are required to send data furnishers a notice of a consumer dispute that includes “all relevant information regarding the dispute that the agency has received from the consumer.”
At any given time, the national consumer reporting agencies maintain hundreds of millions of consumer "credit files" in their databases. According to some estimates these files relate to approximately 250 million credit active consumers across the United States. This means that many consumers have more than one file in a consumer reporting agency's system. Having more than one file on any one consumer serves as a catalyst to incomplete and inaccurate data being relied upon in the creation of a consumer report (commonly known as a “credit report”).
Numerous credit files may exists on a single consumer for the following reasons:
Earlier this week, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), Richard Cordray, spoke at a field hearing were he discussed the CFPB’s new authority to supervise consumer reporting agencies. Starting this September, the CFPB will have the authority to supervise 94% of the credit reporting industry. Until now, consumer reporting agencies (commonly referred to as “credit reporting agencies” or “credit bureaus”), the largest of which are Equifax (including credit files owned by CSC Credit Services), Experian, and Trans Union, have never been subject to like supervision. From conducting on-site examinations to seeking better comprehension of policies and procedures, the CFPB’s supervisory authority will seek to ensure that the consumer financial laws are being followed.
The creation of the consumer bureau, the CFPB, was done so in response to the recent financial crisis experienced by the United States.
In order to effectively protect your credit history, you must first understand how credit information is reported to the consumer reporting agencies. The consumer reporting agencies (Trans Union, Experian, Equifax and CSC Credit Services) receive credit related information and store that information in sophisticated databases. Those that provide credit information to the agencies are known as "furnishers." Furnishers are typically lenders (such as those that provide revolving credit lines, mortgages, student loans and the like) but may also include others like public information venders that collect and provide public record information (such as judgments and bankruptcies) to the consumer reporting agencies.
One common misconception is that when furnishers report your credit information that information posts directly to your "credit report" which in turn is provided to potential creditors when you apply for new credit. This misconception is wrong for many reasons all of which relate to how the agencies collect, sort and then disseminate credit information.
Consumer reporting agencies (commonly known as "credit reporting agencies" or "credit bureaus") provide consumer reports (commonly known as "credit reports") to subscribers who use the information to make credit granting decisions. In order to obtain a consumer report, the agencies require their subscribers (i.e. banks, department stores, insurance companies and others) to furnish the name and address for the person on whom they are inquiring. Some agencies, such as Trans Union, also encourage subscribers to provide a consumer's social security number as well. At any given time, the national consumer reporting agencies maintain hundreds of millions of "credit files" in their databases. A credit file contains indicative information (such as name, address, former address, social security number and other information) and individual trade lines (such as account number, credit terms, payment history and other items) belonging to the consumer. These files relate to the credit active consumers across the United States of which there are approximately 250 million, meaning that many consumers have more than one file in a consumer reporting agency's system.
Most people know there are three national consumer reporting agencies - Trans Union, Equifax and Experian. However, if you are a resident of Indiana, then your "Equifax" credit report is actually a report compiled from a credit file owned by a company called CSC Credit Services. CSC owns, manages and controls the file and all information within that file but stores the file on Equifax's database and reports the file through the Equifax reporting system. If you discover inaccuracies on a credit report prepared by Equifax and you reside in Indiana, you should dispute those inaccuracies directly with CSC which you can do by clicking the following link: CSC Credit Report Disputes. Note, CSC owns credit files for residents in fifteen (15) mid-western and central states.
