Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: FTC issues final report on credit report accuracy, (Jan 22, 2015)

By Charles A. Menke, J.D.

The majority of consumers who have previously reported an unresolved error on one of their three major credit reports believe that at least one piece of disputed information on their report is still inaccurate, according to the FTC’s recently released final report on credit report accuracy. The final report is a follow-up study to the agency’s 2012 study, which found that one in five consumers had an error that was corrected by a credit reporting agency (CRA) after it was disputed on at least one of their three credit reports.

Findings. The final study targeted 121 consumers who had at least one unresolved dispute from the 2012 study. In the follow-up, 37 of these consumers—31 percent—stated they accepted the original disputed information on their reports as correct. However, 84 consumers, nearly 70 percent, still believe that at least some part of the disputed information is inaccurate with 38 of them planning to continue their dispute while 42 plan on giving up, and four are undecided. The final study also found two instances where disputed information that was previously removed subsequently reappeared.

Recommendations. The final study recommended that CRAs review and improve their processes for notifying consumers about the results of dispute investigations. The study also recommended that CRAs continue to explore efforts to educate consumers regarding their rights to review their credit reports and dispute inaccurate information.

In an accompanying statement, FTC Commissioner Julie Brill additionally recommended that CRAs provide consumers with more meaningful information to help them understand the effects of correcting disputed items. Brill further recommended that regulators consider examining whether CRAs are adequately complying with current law requiring that they provide consumers with information in writing about the results of their reinvestigation. She said regulators should also examine whether the rules governing a CRA’s duty to notify consumers about the results of reinvestigations should be more robust, so that consumers receive more meaningful information.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews