Category Archives: Debt Collection and Harassment

How Debt Collectors Furnish Data to Credit Bureaus (Part Two)

If you haven’t yet, read part 1! Though tradelines—reports of outstanding debts—can considerably impact a consumer’s credit report and credit score, a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reveals that debt collection reporting is uneven and suspect. Updating the information on a credit report often does not depend on the debt resolution. Instead, […]

How Debt Collectors Furnish Data to Credit Bureaus (Part One)

According to a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), debt collectors provide vast amounts of data to the three national credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The bureaus then use the debt collectors’ data in calculating the credit reports (and credit scores) of 220 million consumers. And concerningly, the CFPB has identified critical issues […]

Common Customer Complaints about Credit Reporting Bureaus (Part 2)

In our last post (click here to read part 1), we looked at the dramatic increase in consumers’ complaints against the national credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. But, of course, we need to do more than know the number of complaints we need to pay attention to. We also want to examine the types […]

Common Customer Complaints about Credit Reporting Bureaus (Part 1)

By law, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issues an annual report analyzing consumers’ complaints made to CFPB. The number of complaints has exploded in recent years, and it’s just a tiny fraction of the complaints made directly to the relevant companies. And it’s worth looking at some of the findings relating to those complaints. […]

What Should You Do If You Have Medical Debt on Your Credit Report? (Part 2)

In our last post —if you haven’t read it yet click here for part 1—, we discussed the credit bureaus’ announcement that they are changing how they will include medical debt on consumers’ credit reports. Industry watchers estimate that these changes will eliminate 70% of medical debt reports. But let’s talk about steps you can […]

What Should You Do If You Have Medical Debt on Your Credit Report? (Part 1)

According to a recent report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), almost one-out-of-every-five consumers has information relating to their medical debt on a credit report. And while medical debt is the most common type of collection information on a consumer’s credit report, medical debts aren’t a good indicator of creditworthiness. Medical debt is usually […]

Credit Bureaus Will No Longer Report Most Medical Debt

In mid-March, all three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—announced they would no longer include most medical collection debt on people’s credit reports. This is a major change that should have everyone checking their credit reports. According to the Washington Post, the credit bureaus will be taking steps to change how they report medical debt […]

Study: CFPB complaints shattered records in 2020, exposing how the COVID-19 pandemic battered consumer finances

Credit Report Errors Attorney - COVID-19 Finance Study

Confirmation of President Biden’s nominee Rohit Chopra will pivot agency back to only job: protecting consumers WASHINGTON — Consumer complaints about problems with financial companies such as banks, credit bureaus and debt collectors rose by more than 50 percent in 2020 and set new records for each month of the year, according to a new […]

Consumer Bureau Moves to Cap Debt Collectors’ Calls, and Allow Texts and Emails

Debt Collection Paperwork

The new rules would bar collectors from making more than seven attempts a week to reach a debtor by phone. Once they make contact, collectors would have to wait a week before calling again. The new rules also grant debt collectors a concession they have long wanted: allowing the use of email and text messages […]