Americans' credit scores are an important piece of information that banks use to determine if you can get a mortgage or not. As such, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the companies that provide such details about Americans' credit histories require more scrutiny.
The consumer watchdog group announced Monday it will provide greater oversight of the industry, including the big three credit agency firms: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Consumers often complain about inaccurate information on their credit reports, but many are unsuccessful in getting the credit reporting agencies to correct the information. The credit scores from the credit agencies are an important piece that lenders use to decide if a borrower should be issued a mortgage or other type of loan or credit cards. The three major credit reporting agency have files of the credit history and financial information of more than 200 million Americans.
The CFPB may soon clarify what the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires of credit bureaus, including investigations when a borrower calls into question information on their credit report, Jon Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com, told The Associated Press. For example, when a consumer challenges their credit score, what constitutes a reasonable investigation as dictated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
Typically, Ulzheimer says that credit bureaus double-check their number, but “there’s really no quote-unquote ‘investigation.’”
CFPB will officially begin regulating the industry on Sept. 30.
Source: “Consumer Bureau to Police Credit Reporting Bureaus,” The Associated Press (July 16, 2012)
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