The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission issued a request for information (RFI) yesterday seeking comment on “background screening issues affecting individuals who seek rental housing in the United States, including how the use of criminal and eviction records and algorithms affect tenant screening decisions and may be driving discriminatory outcomes.” … Continue Reading
Credit Reports
CFPB issues findings on “suppression” of actual payment data by major credit card issuers
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
In May 2022, the CFPB sent letters to the chief executive officers of six major credit card issuers regarding their companies’ payment furnishing practices. On February 16, the CFPB published a blog post about its key findings based on the issuers’ responses to those letters and released the letter it sent to the issuers summarizing its key findings.… Continue Reading
Ninth Circuit holds mortgage servicer’s reporting of Covid-19 forbearance plan complied with FCRA and CARES Act
By Matthew A. Morr on
Posted in Credit Reports, Litigation and Court Decisions
In a win for Ballard Spahr client Specialized Loan Servicing LLC (SLS), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that SLS, a mortgage servicer, properly reported a Covid-19 forbearance plan under the CARES Act amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The amendments require furnishers to “report [a consumer’s] credit obligation or account as current” if the furnisher agreed to provide forbearance or other relief on a consumer’s loan.… Continue Reading
White House issues Blueprint for Renters Bill of Rights: Will the CFPB and FTC stay in their lanes?
Last week, the Biden Administration released a “Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights” (Blueprint), which sets forth five principles intended to “create a shared baseline for fairness for renters in the housing market” and directs various federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to take various actions to further those principles. … Continue Reading
Second Circuit holds inclusion on credit report of student loan debt alleged to have been discharged in bankruptcy did not make report inaccurate under FCRA
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
Posted in Credit Reports, Litigation and Court Decisions
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently ruled that a plaintiff who alleged that Experian had violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by including a discharged student loan debt on his credit report had not alleged an inaccuracy for purposes of the FCRA requirement that consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) follow reasonable procedures to assure the accuracy of information included in consumer reports. … Continue Reading
CFPB annual report on consumer complaints about “Big 3” consumer reporting agencies flags concerns with use of automated processes
By John L. Culhane, Jr. & Michael Gordon on
The CFPB has issued its “Annual report of credit and consumer reporting complaints” that reports on consumer complaints submitted to the CFPB regarding the three largest nationwide consumer reporting agencies (NCRAs)—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The annual report is required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The CFPB’s press release about the report includes a statement from Director Chopra indicating that the CFPB “will be exploring new rules to ensure that the [NCRAs] are following the law, rather than cutting corners to fuel their profit model.” … Continue Reading
CFPB highlights accuracy problems in two reports on tenant background screening reports
By Michael Gordon & John L. Culhane, Jr. on
Posted in CFPB, Credit Reports
The CFPB recently released two reports concerning tenant background checks. One report, “Consumer Snapshot: Tenant Background Checks,” discusses consumer complaints received by the CFPB that relate to tenant screening by landlords. The other report, “Tenant Background Checks Market,” looks at the practices of the tenant screening industry.… Continue Reading
CFPB issues circular on investigation of consumer reporting disputes
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
The CFPB has issued a circular (2022-07) to address “shoddy investigation practices” and “affirm that neither consumer reporting companies nor information furnishers can skirt dispute investigation requirements.”
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires both consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) and furnishers of information to CRAs to conduct a reasonable investigation when properly notified of a dispute about information furnished in a consumer report. … Continue Reading
CFPB Addresses “Junk Data” in Credit Reports
By Kiira Weber on
The CFPB recently issued an advisory opinion to consumer reporting companies about their obligation to prevent obviously false “junk data” from appearing on consumers’ credit reports. The opinion states that companies must take steps to reliably detect and remove logically inconsistent data from consumers’ credit reports such as information that is obviously impossible.… Continue Reading
CFPB releases report and issues circular on nursing home debt collection
By John L. Culhane, Jr. & Abigail S. Pressler on
If you’re collecting debt for nursing home care, you might want to double check who is responsible for payment. Last week, in conjunction with a field hearing, the CFPB issued a new Consumer Financial Protection Circular and an Issue Spotlight on Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violations in connection with nursing home debt. … Continue Reading