On September 21, 2023, with limited time to digest the comments received by September 11, 2023 from the request for information regarding medical payment products, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) started the FCRA rulemaking process. The press release describes a “rulemaking process to remove medical bills from Americans’ credit reports.”… Continue Reading
Credit Reports
RFI Industry Commenters Urge CFPB to Stay in its Lane on Medical Debt Payments
By Kristen E. Larson on
American Bankers Association (ABA), Association of Credit and Collection Professionals (ACA International), U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber), Synchrony Bank (Synchrony), and National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) submitted comment letters in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s request for information, about medical credit cards and other lending products used to pay for health care expenses.… Continue Reading
Seventh Circuit Holds FTC Act Does not Allow Disgorgement to U.S. Treasury
By Elliot Johnson on
In FTC v. Credit Bureau Center, LLC, the Seventh Circuit recently held that Section 19 of the Federal Trade Commission Act does not allow the FTC to deposit excess funds awarded as restitution under Section 19 in the U.S. Treasury as disgorgement.
In the underlying action, the FTC alleged Credit Bureau Center, LLC (“CBC”) used “negative option features” on its websites which offered visitors a free credit report but automatically enrolled them in a $29.94 monthly membership subscription.… Continue Reading
CBA weighs in on the CFPB’s proposed expansion of what constitutes a credit report
By Elanor A. Mulhern on
The Consumer Bankers Association (“CBA”) recently published a letter it sent to the CFPB describing the information that banks typically use for identity verification and fraud prevention and addressing the impact of subjecting such information to the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).
The letter is a response to CFPB Director Chopra’s recent remarks detailing proposed changes to the FCRA.… Continue Reading
This week’s podcast episode: Responding to direct and indirect identity theft disputes under the FCRA: What are the differences?
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
Posted in Credit Reports
We first review the Fair Credit Reporting Act provisions that establish the different requirements for how a creditor or other furnisher of information to a credit bureau must respond to direct and indirect identify theft disputes involving credit report information reported by the furnisher to a credit bureau. A direct dispute is one made directly by the consumer to the furnisher and an indirect dispute is one made by the consumer to the credit bureau and then submitted to the furnisher by the credit bureau.… Continue Reading
CFPB announces plans to propose rule regulating data brokers under the FCRA
In remarks delivered yesterday at a roundtable convened by the White House on protecting Americans from harmful data broker practices, CFPB Director Chopra announced that the CFPB plans to propose a rule under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to address the practices of data brokers. In connection with Director Chopra’s announcement, the CFPB issued FAQs about its rulemaking plans. … Continue Reading
FTC recommends use of written adverse action notices by housing providers
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
A new FTC blog post titled “Tenant background check reports: Put it in writing” reminds landlords, property managers, and other housing providers of their obligation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide notice of adverse action when information in a consumer report leads them to deny housing to an applicant or require the applicant to pay a deposit that other applicants would not be required to pay. … Continue Reading
Second Circuit rules whether alleged inaccuracy is “factual” or “legal” does not determine if claim is actionable under the FCRA
By Joel E. Tasca & John L. Culhane, Jr. on
Posted in Credit Reports, Litigation and Court Decisions
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that because “there is no bright-line rule that only purely factual or transcription errors are actionable under the [Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)],” the FCRA does not contemplate a threshold inquiry by the court as to whether an alleged inaccuracy is “legal” for purposes of determining whether the plaintiff has stated a cognizable claim under the FCRA. … Continue Reading
CFPB Publishes Data Point on Positive Impacts of Removing Medical Debt Tradelines
By Kristen E. Larson on
On April 11, 2023, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion announced that they removed unpaid medical collections under $500 from consumer credit reports. The three companies, in July 2022, previously removed paid medical collections from credit reports, and extended the delay in medical collection reporting from sixth months after the first delinquency to one year after the first delinquency.… Continue Reading
CFPB Consumer Response Annual Report highlights increasing complaints about credit reporting and student loans
By Elanor A. Mulhern on
The CFPB has issued its “Consumer Response Annual Report,” which analyzes patterns and trends in the approximately 1,287,000 consumer complaints submitted to the Bureau in 2022. The annual report is required by the Consumer Financial Protection Act.
The CFPB indicated that the largest increase in complaints, accounting for more than 75% of all consumer complaints, was related to dissatisfaction with credit reporting, including inaccurate information on credit reports and improper use of reports. … Continue Reading