Category Archives: FCRA

Equifax exposed 150 million Americans’ personal data. Now it will pay up to $700 million

Equifax Data Breach

Data breaches place almost everyone at risk for credit report mistakes.  That Equifax — a company charged by law with protecting victims of identity theft and ensuring data integrity — failed to prevent this breach is a bitter irony.   Consumers should regularly check their credit reports for inaccurate information.  The Fair Credit Reporting Act enshrines […]

New Bill Would Amend FCRA by Delaying Reporting of Medical Debt

Medical Debt

Senate Bill 1581, introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley [D-Ore.] and co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal [D-Conn.], Sen. Elizabeth Warren [D-Mass.], Sen. Bob Menendez [D-N.J.], and Sen. Dick Durbin [D-Ill.], would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act by delaying reporting of an individual’s medical debt to credit reporting agencies for one year.  It would also require the […]

Rubio, Kennedy Introduce Bill To Protect Small Businesses From Security Breaches

Today, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Small Business Credit Protection Act, legislation that would require credit bureaus to inform small businesses, within 30 days, of a nonpublic personal data breach. The bill would also prohibit credit bureaus from charging small businesses for a credit report within 180 days following a breach. In […]

FCRA Developments: Updated Summary of Rights & “Stand-Alone” Disclosure Need Not Be Separate In Time

Job applicants have important federal rights regarding their background checks.  That includes being provided with a copy of a summary of those rights.  It also includes important rights concerning inaccurate information on a background check report.   https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/fcra-developments-updated-summary-of-77049/   More information can be found here

FTC Testifies Before Senate Banking Committee on Fair Credit Reporting Act

Testifying on behalf of the Commission at a hearing on credit bureaus and the FCRA, Maneesha Mithal, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, noted that the Commission has played a key role in the implementation, enforcement, and interpretation of the FCRA since its enactment in 1970. The FCRA requires consumer […]

Consumers Should Have More Control Over Credit Reports. We Agree.

Senator Jack Reed

Last month, Senator Jack Reed (D) of Rhode Island proposed legislation which would give consumers discretion over who sees their all-important credit information. The Control Your Personal Credit Information Act would require credit bureaus to request permission from consumers in order to share their highly personal credit-information with third-parties. Senator Reed states: “under existing law, […]

Equifax interim CEO pens apology after data breach

Equifax and Stock Prices

Dominick Tavella, of Diversified Financial Consultants, suggests that consumers sign up for credit alerts in order to protect against unwarranted issuances of credit, resulting from the Equifax breach. Tavella cautions consumers about Equifax’s offer to provide credit monitoring free for a year, as the information gained through the data breach may not be used (or […]

The real problem with credit reporting is the astounding number of errors

Credit Report as a Computer Key

The Big Three credit agencies are juggling roughly 2.6 billion data entries apiece, at any given time. With over 1 billion modifications to those entries each month, “[s]peed and volume are favored over accuracy.” Aaron Klein of the Brookings Institute writes, the “costs of correcting the data outweigh benefits,” leading to millions of errors on […]