Category Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

How Debt Collectors Furnish Data to Credit Bureaus (Part Two)

If you haven’t yet, read part 1! Though tradelines—reports of outstanding debts—can considerably impact a consumer’s credit report and credit score, a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reveals that debt collection reporting is uneven and suspect. Updating the information on a credit report often does not depend on the debt resolution. Instead, […]

How Debt Collectors Furnish Data to Credit Bureaus (Part One)

According to a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), debt collectors provide vast amounts of data to the three national credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The bureaus then use the debt collectors’ data in calculating the credit reports (and credit scores) of 220 million consumers. And concerningly, the CFPB has identified critical issues […]

Incidence and Types of Collection Tradelines on Credit Reports

Many consumers don’t even know what a “collection tradeline” is, but the reality is that collection tradelines may impact your life daily. A “collection tradeline” is the term for when a creditor or collection agency report of a delinquent debt appears on your credit report. Having a collections tradeline on your report influences your credit […]

Understanding Section 611(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act

If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of American consumers frustrated by problems with their credit reports—maintained by one of the nation’s three largest credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—you may wonder if there’s anything you can do. But there are ways to repair your credit. Let’s briefly look at one such tool: Section […]

Common Customer Complaints about Credit Reporting Bureaus (Part 2)

In our last post (click here to read part 1), we looked at the dramatic increase in consumers’ complaints against the national credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. But, of course, we need to do more than know the number of complaints we need to pay attention to. We also want to examine the types […]

Common Customer Complaints about Credit Reporting Bureaus (Part 1)

By law, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issues an annual report analyzing consumers’ complaints made to CFPB. The number of complaints has exploded in recent years, and it’s just a tiny fraction of the complaints made directly to the relevant companies. And it’s worth looking at some of the findings relating to those complaints. […]

Consumer Reporting Complaints (Part 1)

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 […]

Reporting of Collections Tradelines (Part 2)

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 […]

Reporting of Collections Tradelines (Part 1)

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, […]

What Should You Do If You Have Medical Debt on Your Credit Report? (Part 2)

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 […]