The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently released a list of the most complained-about financial services companies. While companies like Bank of America and Wells Fargo appear in the top five, the rest of the top five is dominated by credit reporting agencies ("CRAs"). In fact, Equifax, one of the three major CRAs, takes the number one spot on the CFPB's list with a montlhy average of 950 complaints, according to CNBC. Experian fills the number two slot and TransUnion sits at number four. JPMorgan Chase, Citimortgage, Ocwen, Nationstar Mortgage, and Capital One round out the top ten.
While it may be surprising that the CRAs dominate the top five, it isn't that shocking. Many complaints about inaccurate credit reporting relate to debts that have been paid off or discharged in a bankruptcy. Continued debt collection efforts on those debts often include inaccurate credit reporting. Even if a consumer gets a debt collector to cease sending letters and placing phone calls, cleaning up credit reporting can be an arduous and frustrating task.
We have seen a significant uptick in cases that we file against the CRAs. This is due in large part to a dispute process that often results in partially corrected trade lines—generally some data is fixed, but most of it remains inaccurate, further harming a consumer's credit score. Given that consumer credit scores determine the cost of credit, homeowner's insurance, and car insurance, among others, it is very important that credit reports are accurate.
People experiencing difficulty correcting their credit reports should seek the assistance of a consumer defense attorney that has experience with Fair Credit Reporting Act cases.