The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires credit report furnishers to investigate potential inaccuracies in consumer credit reports.
CFPB View: In a new blog post on a joint friend-of-the-court brief filed with the Federal Trade Commission, the CFPB said furnishers are required to investigate any dispute forwarded to it by a credit reporting company. Furnishers can’t avoid this obligation by claiming a dispute is “frivolous,” the agency said.
ICBA Efforts: ICBA and other groups last month issued joint amicus briefs in related court cases centering on the CFPB’s theory that furnishers and credit bureaus are required to resolve legal disputes between debtors and creditors. The groups said FCRA requires data furnishers and credit bureaus to guard against factual inaccuracies—not to resolve legal disputes.
Background: The FCRA defines and establishes guidelines for credit reports and the process for consumers to dispute information in their credit files.
