25 CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU
matter raised in the complaints.
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In other responses, NCRAs closed complaints by noting that a
dispute would be filed on the consumer’s behalf, but failed to provide any details about the
ultimate determinations they made with respect to the subject matter raised in the complaints.
As part of its ongoing complaint monitoring efforts, Consumer Response asked Equifax,
Experian, and TransUnion to review procedures and processes to ensure that complaints are
closed in accordance with the Bureau’s guidelines.
Section 611e of the Fair Credit Reporting Act directs the Bureau to submit an annual report
regarding complaints submitted about the NCRAs that are related to incomplete or inaccurate
information on the consumers’ credit reports.
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The Bureau typically fulfills this reporting
requirement by including the relevant information it gathers in the Consumer Response Annual
Report. This year, the Bureau received approximately 246,100 complaints about the three
largest NCRAs (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). Due in part to the increase in complaint
volume, the Bureau will issue a separate report later this year to provide a more robust analysis
of these complaints and responses.
The Bureau continues to accept credit reporting complaints about other consumer and credit
reporting agencies, as well as furnishers of information. Although the NCRAs experienced the
largest increase in complaint volume this year, both furnishers and smaller credit reporting
agencies also received a greater volume of consumer and credit reporting complaints in 2020.
The Bureau accepts complaints about a number of different types of consumer reports,
including employment, tenant, check and bank screening, as well as reports for specific
industries (e.g., insurance companies and utilities). These complaints frequently involve
disputes of information on consumers’ reports, including personal information, account details,
and public records. Consumers submit furnishing complaints about a variety of different types
of accounts, including credit cards, vehicle loans, mortgages, student loans, as well as debt
collection accounts. The majority of these complaints involve claims of inaccurate account
information (e.g., the date the account was opened or the balance due) and errors in the
consumers’ payment history. In response to these complaints, companies typically responded by
providing a response that included details of actions they took to address consumers’ claims.
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The Bureau takes steps to identify third parties who may be misusing the Bureau’s complaint process and, when
appropriate, discontinues processing future complaint submissions from those sources. The Bureau expects
companies to authenticate consumers who submit complaints. When a company is unable to authenticate a third
party, they may use administrative response options and describe the steps they took to attempt to authenticate the
third party. Companies also have the ability to respond directly to consumers while securely providing the Bureau
with a copy of their response to the consumer in lieu of using an administrative response. In 2020, none of the
NCRAs availed themselves of this option.
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Fair Credit Reporting Act Section 611(e), 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(e).