Category Archives: Legislation

Wells Fargo Fake Accounts Plague Consumers

In 2016, Wells Fargo made headlines when it paid $110 million to settle a class action lawsuit and another $185 million in fines relating to allegations that the bank had created as many as 2 million accounts for customers without getting their permission to do so. Then, in December 2022, it paid a whopping $3.7 […]

What If My Child Has Debt on Their Credit Report?

There’s no law or policy that establishes that children must reach a minimum age before the national credit bureaus begin compiling a credit file on them. (That’s why children can be the victims of identity theft—because fraudsters can use their identities to open bank accounts and credit cards in their names.) So what if a […]

Government Investigating Equifax Compliance with Reporting Requirements

Consumers are used to Equifax scrutinizing their credit activity and using the information to generate credit reports and credit scores that impact so much of their lives—from the interest rates credit card companies charge to the ability to get a job. And studies by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that, unfortunately, many consumers […]

How Will the End of Student Loan Forbearance Impact Debtors’ Credit

At the height of the Covid pandemic, the Department of Education gave all those who held federal student loans an automatic forbearance. Debtors were not charged interest on their loans and were not required to repay them during the pandemic. However, interest on student loans will begin to accumulate again, starting September 1, 2023, and […]

Popular English Surnames Can Lead to Credit Report Problems

What’s the most common last name in the United States? If you guessed Smith, you are correct. Nearly three million people in the country have that surname. The name of Smith originated in England, where over 600,000 people bear that moniker today. Other common English last names include Jones, Taylor, Brown, Williams, Wilson, Johnson, Davies, […]

Credit Bureaus Removing Some Medical Debt from Credit Reports

In May 2022, the three national credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, removed unpaid medical debts of less than $500 from American consumers’ reports. According to the government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), this move will impact approximately 22.8 million consumers. While more needs to be done, this is a major step in the right direction. […]

A Record Year of Complaints for the Three National Credit Bureaus

Credit Bureaus are the worst. That isn’t just hyperbole. That’s the finding from a new U.S. PIRG Education Fund analysis. Confirming what you already knew, PIRG reviewed complaints made to U.S. financial firms—regarding everything from student loans to credit cards. And PIRG concluded that the “Big 3” credit bureaus received more complaints than any other […]

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. […]

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 […]