Credit Reports

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We take a close look at the CDIA code options available for direct and indirect consumer disputes, their relationship to FCRA compliance, CFPB scrutiny of code use in FCRA compliance exams of furnishers, and court decisions involving alleged improper coding of disputed accounts.  We also share our thoughts on best practices for furnishers in coding disputed accounts.… Continue Reading

On May 26, 2021, the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing, “Consumer Credit Reporting: Assessing Accuracy and Compliance.” The witnesses include representatives from the “big three” consumer reporting agencies and the National Consumer Law Center.  Based on the Committee memorandum, lawmakers are likely to focus on consumer report accuracy and the dispute resolution process.… Continue Reading

On May 6, 2021, the CFPB’s Office of Servicemember Affairs issued its eighth annual report summarizing its activities from January 1 through December 31, 2020.  The report discussed the Office’s consumer outreach and educational efforts, servicemember complaint trends, and priorities for 2021.

The Office’s educational outreach focused on specific economic challenges and resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including forbearance programs and emergency grants.… Continue Reading

Subscribers to each service will receive weekly emails and have the opportunity to discuss developments in each area during a monthly call.  Additionally, subscribers will be enrolled in an interactive, searchable, online database that enables subscribers to have 24-hour access to our information and analysis.

To further educate our current subscribers and anyone else interested in subscribing to the trackers about how to maximize the online database, we will be offering preview sessions to provide training on the various tools available through the dashboard, such as the interactive map and the search functions that will allow information to be sorted by topic, jurisdiction, date, and for the FCRA tracker, by federal court and counsel for plaintiffs.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a report titled “Payment Amount Furnishing & Consumer Reporting” that highlights changes since 2012 in the furnishing of actual payment data to consumer reporting agencies.

The report indicates that:

  • Since 2012, the share of auto, student loan, and mortgage tradelines with actual payment data has generally trended upward. 
… Continue Reading

For our financial services clients interested in monitoring important federal and state legal developments, Ballard Spahr has launched a comprehensive, national tracking service designed to serve the needs of specific segments of the consumer financial services industry.

Beginning January 2, 2021, Ballard is pleased to offer three new federal and state trackers, which are available as a package or individually, depending on your financial institution’s needs:

  • Collections Tracker – providing expanded coverage of relevant federal and state legislative and regulatory developments impacting consumer collection activities; this will still include our current COVID-19-related coverage, but the tracker will be expanded to include new and evolving federal and state collection legislative and regulatory initiatives.
… Continue Reading

The CFPB announced that it has entered into a settlement with Afni, Inc. to address its alleged FCRA violations in furnishing consumer information to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs).  Afni is a debt collector specializing in the collection of debts on behalf of telecommunications companies.  The consent order imposes a $500,000 civil money penalty.… Continue Reading

Topics discussed include: CFPB plans to conduct a new study on credit reporting accuracy; FTC efforts to address unlawful practices by credit repair companies and abuse of identity theft reports; FTC focus on FCRA Red Flags Rule enforcement and how companies can avoid FTC scrutiny; considerations for companies in approaching CARES Act compliance through suppression or reporting accounts in accommodation; and assessment of rationales for creating a public credit bureau.… Continue Reading

A Maine federal district court ruled that that two 2019 amendments to Maine’s credit reporting law are preempted by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and granted the motion for judgment filed by the plaintiff, the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA).

One of the amendments prohibited a consumer reporting agency (CRA) from reporting medical debt on a consumer’s credit report until a delinquency was at least 180 days old. … Continue Reading

We review the following findings and discuss their compliance implications: FCRA violations based on obtaining credit reports without a permissible purpose, incorrectly reporting the date of first delinquency, failing to conduct reasonable dispute investigations; Reg. E violations based on waivers of consumers’ dispute rights, use of incorrect date to determine timeliness of error notices, providing inadequate notices of error investigation results; and Reg.… Continue Reading