WASHINGTON—Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, is calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to take action on problems related to credit reports and credit scores, including the challenges consumers face in correcting errors in their reports.
The CFPB has already called on the nation’s largest credit card companies to provide consumers with free access to credit scores used by lenders, and earlier in December held a field hearing in Oklahoma on the issue of medical debt, which can linger on credit reports after it has been paid or settled, and which can have a significant impact on a consumer’s credit scores and ability to access credit.
In its January 2015 edition, Consumer Reports will be exploring the issue of credit reports from the consumer perspective.
Meanwhile, a recent survey of 3,112 participants by Consumer Reports’ National Research Center found:
- 20% of respondents who checked their credit reports found errors that could negatively affect their credit scores, such as incorrect account information, accounts that were not theirs, and information about the wrong people.
- Two-thirds of credit report consumers who found one or more errors tried to correct them. Approximately 58% of those who tried to resolve a credit report error ran into challenges (e.g. were ignored, confused, rejected, or lied to) with credit reporting agencies or data furnishers in their pursuit to resolve credit report errors.
- Only 53% of respondents said they have ever received their credit reports from one or more of the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
- Most Americans (85%) feel that they should receive a free credit score with their annual free credit report.
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