Credit Bureau Settles Charges

Equifax Inc. agreed to pay $250,000 to settle charges it didn't do enough to resolve calls from consumers inquiring about false credit information it was disseminating, the Federal Trade Commisison said.

The FTC accused the credit bureau of violating a previous settlement that imposed certain standards on how the company resolves credit disputes. In 2000 the company and two other credit bureaus agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle FTC charges that they blocked calls from more than a million consumers who wanted to discuss their credit reports.