Democratic senators ask CFPB to reconsider the credit reporting process

Federal Issues CFPB Credit Report Credit Reporting Agency U.S. Senate Consumer Finance

On November 10, seven democratic senators sent a letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra requesting that the Bureau reform the credit reporting industry by improving credit reporting accuracy and updating the process on dispute resolutions, among other things. The senators recommended that the Bureau examine persistent errors in credit reporting “and how CRAs [(credit reporting agencies)] consistently fail to resolve these errors, especially by failing to devote sufficient personnel and resources for dispute resolution—a shortcoming the CFPB could use its supervisory authority to remedy.” Among other things, the senators requested that the Bureau (i) establish an ombudsperson position to facilitate the dispute resolution process; (ii) require nationwide CRAs to match an individual’s full Social Security number; (iii) consider requiring nationwide CRAs to perform accuracy audits on information furnishers periodically; and (iv) “codify provisions of the nationwide CRAs’ settlement with state attorneys general that delayed reporting of medical debt for six months and removed debts paid by insurance.” The senators noted that their requests were not exhaustive, and asked for immediate action to be taken to protect consumers and establish “much-needed accountability into the credit reporting system.”