CFPB Monthly Complaint Report for February Highlights Complaints about Credit Reports

Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released the Monthly Complaint Report for February 2017 that highlights consumer complaints about credit reports and shows how consumers continue to report struggling to resolve errors on their credit reports. The report is at http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/201702_cfpb_Monthly-Complaint-Report.pdf.

The credit reports produced by credit reporting companies that track the credit history and other information about consumers are used to judge a consumer’s eligibility to take out a mortgage, buy a car, and even get a job in some instances. As of February 1, 2017, the CFPB had handled approximately 185,700 credit reporting complaints. Some of the findings in the report include:

• Consumers report problems disputing complaints on their credit reports and continue to experience difficulties when submitting disputes to credit reporting companies.
• Consumers complain about inaccurate personal information on their credit reports and frequently state that incorrect or unrecognized names and addresses appear on their credit reports.
• Consumers report confusion about the variety of credit scores and scoring “factors” that accompany varying credit information they receive from different credit reporting agencies.

“Credit reports provide the means for consumers everywhere to take important steps in their financial lives,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray stated in an article on the CFPB website. “The Bureau will continue to work to ensure that credit reports are accurate and when disputed issues arise on credit reports consumers are able to resolve them quickly and with little hassle.”

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which created the CFPB, established consumer complaint handling as an integral part of the CFPB’s work. As of February 1, 2017, the CFPB had handled approximately 1,110,100 consumer complaints across all products nationally. For more information about the CFPB, visit www.consumerfinance.gov.

The CFPB launched its Consumer Complaint Database, which is the nation’s largest public collection of consumer financial complaints, in June 2012. When consumers submit a complaint they have the option to share publicly their explanation of what happened. For more complaint data and to read consumer experiences, visit www.consumerfinance.gov/complaintdatabase/.

More Information about Credit Reports from ESR

Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) is a global provider of background check solutions that is accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®). ESR offers employers information about states with laws regulating credit reports for employment and blogs about credit reports. For more information about ESR, visit www.esrcheck.com.

NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.

© 2017 Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – Making copies or using of any part of the ESR News Blog or ESR website for any purpose other than your own personal use is prohibited unless written authorization is first obtained from ESR.