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September 05, 2013

CFPB bulletin out on credit report complaints

The CFPB, in a bulletin Wednesday, outlined the responsibilities of credit report information furnishers to follow up on report complaints and review "all relevant information" forwarded by consumer reporting agencies.

The bulletin (2013-09) is applicable to depository institutions that have $10 billion or more in assets, including the four largest federally insured credit unions. It also tracks with requirements for other institutions under rules of their prudential regulators, including NCUA.

"The CFPB expects furnishers to have reasonable systems and technology in place to receive and process notices of disputes and information regarding disputes, including relevant documentation, forwarded to them by CRAs," the bulletin states.

The requirement to undertake the review is set under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Briefly, furnishers that receive a CRA-forwarded complaint should:

  • investigate the disputed information by reviewing "all relevant information" forwarded by the CRA plus the furnisher's own data related to the dispute;
  • report investigation results to the CRA;
  • provide corrected information to every nationwide CRA that received the information, if it was inaccurate or incomplete; and
  • modify or delete the disputed information, or permanently block its distribution, if it is incomplete, inaccurate or cannot be verified.