InfoBytes Blog
CFPB will not alter credit reporting guidance deadline relief
On November 9, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger sent a letter to the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) stating that the Bureau is not planning to make any changes to the guidance it issued in April (covered by InfoBytes here), which informed furnishers that the Bureau will refrain from taking enforcement actions and citing during exams in certain situations as long as furnishers make “good faith efforts” to investigate consumer disputes as quickly as possible. The letter was sent in response to a request made by the NCLC and several other consumer advocacy groups in September, which urged the Bureau to revoke the policy based on an alleged rise in consumer complaints received by the Bureau about dispute investigation delays. The advocacy groups claimed that the significant increase was “likely as a result of the CFPB guidance,” and requested that—at a minimum—the Bureau “limit the extra time provided to the CRAs and furnishers to 15 days, or at most 30 days beyond the FCRA-mandated 30-day deadline for investigation disputes.”
“I want to make clear that all companies continue to remain responsible for FCRA compliance with dispute resolutions in a timely fashion,” Kraninger responded. “However, during the extraordinary times in which we find ourselves, the Bureau does not intend to cite in an examination or bring an enforcement action against firms who exceed the deadlines to investigate such disputes—but only as long as efforts are made in good faith to do so as quickly as possible.” (Emphasis in the original.)