Having a good credit score can really make a difference in your family’s budget. For example, the higher your score, the less interest you’ll pay on a loan.
Monday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent government agency, announced two big actions relating to our credit reports.
CFPB Sues Experian
The CFPB sued Experian, accusing the credit reporting bureau of violating “The Fair Credit Reporting Act” by not taking the proper steps to process, investigate and notify consumers about disputes.
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For example, the CFPB said when Experian asked creditors about disputes, they accepted responses that were improbable or illogical.
Experian is also accused of re-inserting inaccurate information on credit reports.
If the court agrees with the CFPB, Experian could face civil penalties and be ordered to pay consumers who were harmed.
NBC 7 Responds
Experian sent the following statement to NBC 7 Responds:
This lawsuit relates to matters that as an industry we have been collectively discussing with the CFPB. We have operated in good faith with the CFPB throughout. Despite our constructive engagement and long track record of working alongside the CFPB to ensure consumers can easily dispute potentially inaccurate information, the CFPB chose to file a lawsuit with no communication, and no response to our outstanding communications with them.
The lawsuit is completely without merit. It is contrary to longstanding regulatory and judicial precedent and is another example of irresponsible overreach by the CFPB. Our legal position is strong, we will defend it vigorously and are confident we will prevail. We do not expect this to have any material impact on our business.
We take our commitment to meeting the needs of consumers and adhering to all our regulatory obligations seriously. We take great steps to ensure we investigate every consumer dispute thoroughly and go above and beyond the requirements of the law. We take strong exception to the substance and the tone of the CFPB’s accusations.
CFPB finalizes rule removing medical debt from credit reports
Also on Monday, the CFPB finalized a rule that bans medical bills on credit reports and prohibits creditors from considering medical information when making lending decisions.
The CFPB says this will impact the credit reports of about 15 million Americans.
The new federal protections will go into effect in a couple of months.
As of Jan. 1, Californians already had some of these protections in place. A new state law just went into effect that prohibits health providers and debt collectors from reporting medical debt to credit reporting agencies.
However, one expectation to the law is if you use a medical or general credit card.
You can check your credit report for free once a week with each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. It’s also wise to use the free credit freezes so no one else can open accounts in your name.
