Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Reporting Results For 2020/2021
Over 350,000 Consumer Complaints with Credit Reporting Agencies
In January 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report that was an analysis of credit dispute complaint responses by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The report summarized complaint responses from information obtained by the CFPB related to the three major national consumer credit reporting agencies. The complaints totaled over 700,000 from January 2020 to September 2021 regarding Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, which amounted to 50% of all complaints received in 2020 and 60% in 2021.
Typical Problems
Among the complaints addressed by the CFPB, the typical problems included: 1) consumers caught in an automated system that did not allow for the problem to be solved in a timely fashion; 2) consumers spending time, energy, and money in an effort to remove inaccurate credit information; 3) consumers dealing with furnishers of inaccurate information blaming the credit reporting agencies while those agencies in turn blamed the furnisher of the information. According to the report, disputing the inaccurate information with the CFPB only resulted in a 2% success rate in 2021. If you have disputed inaccurate information on your credit report that has not been removed, you should contact us.
Non Responsive Agencies
Consumers also may have received no response at all to their previous credit report disputes. The credit reporting agencies do not feel obligated to respond to credit report disputes sent in by third parties that are not the consumer which results in a failure to respond to many legitimate disputes. Among the suggestions for a good consumer credit dispute letter, the consumer should provide complete identification information, describe why the disputed information is inaccurate, include supporting documentation, sign the letter, and mail it via certified mail return receipt requested so that there is proof that the credit reporting agency received the dispute. The CFPB report stated that the national credit reporting agencies do not respond when they suspect that a third party issued the dispute. Our firm has experience dealing with cases in which the credit reporting agency sends a letter to a consumer deeming the dispute “frivolous” or “suspicious.” If your legitimate credit dispute was handled in this fashion, you should contact our office immediately for a consultation.
If you have an error on your credit report and need legal help getting it corrected contact the Virginia Credit report error lawyers at Blankingship & Christiano, P.C. (571) 207-8331 or fill out our contact form to discuss your case.
