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 […]
Category Archives: News
Read part 1 by clicking here! While the prevalence and impact of collection debts on credit reports are clear, what’s even more of a concern is how often mistakes are made. And this flawed reporting is having an impact on consumers’ lives. Currently, there are no accepted or enforceable standards for when or why debt […]
An estimated 220 million U.S. consumers have at least one credit report maintained by the major credit bureaus of Expedia, Equifax, and TransUnion. And of these millions of consumers, one out of three have what’s known as a “collections tradeline” included in their reports. Yet most Americans may not even know what a tradeline is, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
This past January, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an annual report analyzing more than 700,000 consumers’ complaints about the three national credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. According to the report, “In 2021, the NCRAs reported relief in less than 2% of complaints down from nearly 25% of complaints in 2019.” The unfortunate […]
Last summer, Consumer Reports asked 5,858 volunteers to ask for their credit report and examine it for any errors. And more than one-third of them did indeed find at least one error on their credit report. And this wasn’t the only time Consumer Reports and others have found such damaging results. And those errors matter; […]
In 2017, credit bureau Equifax was hacked, and the records of approximately 147 million people were compromised. Unsurprisingly, lawsuits were filed, and, as part of a court settlement, those impacted by the breach were ultimately offered a choice between a one-time payment of $125 or four years of free credit monitoring. It may seem like […]
Perhaps you had gone to court and successfully had a prior arrest or conviction expunged from your record. Or perhaps you were eligible for an automatic expungement—as is the case for many New Yorkers convicted of misdemeanor charges for marijuana possession. You were thrilled you could apply for a new job or an apartment, knowing […]