Category Archives: News

The Impact of Identity Theft on Consumer Credit Reports (Part One)

Each year, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) issues a report on how identity theft impacts consumers. ITRC’s report is always illuminating, and its new report, just released in September, is no exception. Through robust data and stories, ITRC’s report shows that identity theft can have life-changing consequences for its victims. And most of this […]

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 […]

Incidence and Types of Collection Tradelines on Credit Reports

Many consumers don’t even know what a “collection tradeline” is, but the reality is that collection tradelines may impact your life daily. A “collection tradeline” is the term for when a creditor or collection agency report of a delinquent debt appears on your credit report. Having a collections tradeline on your report influences your credit […]

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. […]

Data Breaches and Protecting Against Identity Theft

On August 17th 2021 the mobile phone company T-Mobile revealed that they had discovered a cyberattack had exposed certain personal information of around 7.8 million current customers, and information about around 40 million former customers to bad actors. The data included names, dates of birth, social security, and driver’s license or identification information. Financial, credit […]

Can You Tell the Difference Between Identity Theft and Mixed Files?

You may be familiar with the problem of identity theft. But can you tell apart identity theft, and a “mixed file” issue where a credit reporting agency (“CRA”) mixes up the credit history of two or more people? Making the distinction can be very important for deciding how to respond. How Can I Tell if […]

Consumer Reporting Complaints (Part 2)

Read part 1 by clicking here! From January 2020 to September 2021, CFPB received more than 700,000 consumer complaints about Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—the national credit reporting agencies (NCRAs). But the number of successfully resolved complaints dropped to just 5%. Why? According to a recent report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), one reason […]

Consumer Reporting Complaints (Part 1)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is required to gather information relating to the credit reporting industry and submit an annual report to Congress about its findings. In years past, the CFPB included this information in another larger report. But the number of complaints against Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—the national credit reporting agencies (NCRAs)—skyrocketed in […]