CFPB to oversee credit reporting agencies
Jeff Horwich: Have you ever checked your credit score, and become horrified that they messed up: they missed a bill you actually paid, or they confused you for someone else? Well: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said this morning it will assume oversight of the credit reporting industry.
From Washington, here’s Marketplace’s Scott Tong.
Scott Tong: The consumer protection agency plans to visit the credit reporting bureaus, and focus on their accuracy. A small error matters, because the credit industry issues three billion credit reports every year.
Chi Chi Wu is with the National Consumer Law Center.
Chi Chi Wu: Credit reports stand as the gatekeeper to whether a consumer gets affordable credit, getting a job, or getting insurance or an apartment.
Here’s the problem: Many think the system allows Joe Schmo to get mixed up with Joel Schmo.
Evan Hendricks is author of “Credit Scores and Credit Reports.”
Evan Hendricks: You can have six of the same nine digits in a social security number and have similarities in your first name. And that can cause a mixed file.
He says it’s also hard to fix a report. Say you’ve paid a bill and tell the hospital or debt collector, they decide what to tell the credit bureau, because the credit bureau pays them.
In Washington, I’m Scott Tong for Marketplace.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
