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About one in five consumers buying a credit score from a credit bureau receives a "meaningfully" different score than their lender would, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
September 25 -
A final rule places credit reporting agencies under the bureau's nonbank supervision program as part of its "larger participant" powers.
July 16
WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday it will now accept complaints on consumer reporting agencies, the agency's latest step in a coordinated effort to scrutinize such firms.
Credit bureaus, as they are popularly known,
"Credit reporting companies exert great influence over the lives of consumers," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a press release. "They help determine eligibility for loans, housing, and sometimes jobs. Consumers need an avenue of recourse when they feel they have been wronged."
This is the first time consumers will have individual-level complaint assistance at the federal level.
The agency said there are important consumer financial laws that may be "best preserved" by going through the credit bureau's complaint process first. They urged consumers to file a dispute with the credit bureau and wait for a response before lodging a complaint with CFPB.
Consumers may come to the agency for assistance if they have issues with incorrect information on a credit report, a credit bureau's investigation, improper use of a credit report, being unable to get a copy of a credit score or file, and problems with credit monitoring or identity protection services.
Under the rule finalized in July, the agency has the authority to supervise consumer reporting agencies with more than $7 million in annual receipts, which includes about 30 companies that make up 94% of the market's annual receipts.
The largest firms issue more than three billion reports a year, and keep files on more than 200 million Americans, according to CFPB.
The move expands the bureau's complaint portal, which is now taking complaints on mortgages, credit cards, private student loans, consumer loans and bank accounts and services.
