House Select Committee Asks for Answers from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis has opened proceedings into the responsiveness of the major credit reporting agencies to disputes from consumers. In its letter to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, the Committee noted that recent reports had shown a significant decrease in their responsiveness to consumer complaints and disputes regarding errors in consumer credit reports. The committee specifically cited to errors arising from creditors’ agreements to pause payments under the CARES act during the pandemic. The CARES act provided procedures for consumers to request and receive pauses in their payment schedules without impact to their credit reports. While many banks and financial institutions offered these payment pauses, many failed to stop credit reporting as required by the CARES act. The Committee noted that only 4.1% of all complaints in 20221 received a correction, down from 25% in 2019.