Bureau Gives Voice to Consumer Complaints

Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its monthly consumer complaint snapshot, highlighting credit reporting complaints. For the first four months of 2016, the bureau received nearly 900,000 complaints from consumers about incorrect information on their credit reports and continued difficulty having errors resolved.

“Credit reports are the foundation of consumers’ financial lives” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Consumers continue to express their frustration about inaccurate information on their credit reports and difficulty in getting these errors fixed. We will continue to work to ensure that credit report disputes are investigated, errors are fixed, and consumers are treated fairly.”

According to CFPB's monthly report, many complaints concern a debt collection item that has been paid but appears as an unpaid debt on the report, a debt that is not recognized by the consumer, or a debt that is no longer due because it has passed the point of being enforceable in court. Consumers also reported difficulties disputing inaccuracies on their credit report as well as long delays or negative customer service experiences in dealing with representatives at consumer reporting companies.

While CFPB tracks complaints, the agency also encourages consumers to make decisions to avoid future disputes and negative attention. To get and keep a good credit score, the bureau suggests:

• Pay all your loans on time.

• Make sure information in your credit report is correct.

• Don’t use too much of the credit that is available to you.

Consumers can obtain a free credit report from annualcreditreport.com. Transformance also offers one-on-one credit counseling as well as free online webinars throughout the year.