These Are Credit Reporting Agencies You Can Hold Accountable
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has just released this list of consumer reporting companies that can be held accountable.
The list identifies dozens of specialty reporting companies that collect and sell access to people’s data, including individuals’ finances, employment, check writing histories, or rental history records, often without their knowledge. Using the list, people can exercise their right to see what information these firms have, dispute inaccuracies, and file lawsuits if the firms are violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The included credit reporting companies in the list are below. Contact information can be found here.
Nationwide Consumer Reporting Companies
Equifax
Transunion
Experian
Employment Screening
Accurate Background
ADP Screening & Selection Services
Asurint
BackgroundChecks.com
CCC Verify
Checkr
Cisive
DISA Global Solutions
EmpInfo
First Advantage
General Information Services
HireRight
Info Cubic
Intelli Corp
OPENonline
Pre-Employ.com
Social Intelligence
Sterling
The Work Number
Truework
uConfirm
Universal Background Screening
Tenant Screening
AmRent
AppFolio
Contemporary Information Corp
Experian RentBureau
First Advantage Resident Solutions
Real Page
RentGrow
SafeRent Solutions
Screening Reports
TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions
TransUnion SmartMove
Check and Bank Screening
Certegy Check Services
ChexSystems
CrossCheck
Early Warning Services
Global Payments Check Services
TeleCheck Services
Personal Property Insurance
A-PLUS Property
Drivers History
Insurance Information Exchange
LexisNexis CLUE
Teletrack
Medical
MIB
Milliman IntelliScript
Low-Income and Subprime
Clarity Services
DataX
FactorTrust
MicroBit Connect
Supplementary Reports
The companies listed in this section sell data primarily to help entities manage credit and fraud risk.
CoreLogic Credco
Innovis
LexisNexis Risk Solutions
SageStream
Utilities
National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange
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Retail Returns
The Retail Equation
Gaming
National Cred-A-Chek
VIP Preferred
“Many companies assemble and sell detailed dossiers about us that can determine whether we can get a loan, job, or an apartment,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Americans have limited legal rights they can use to keep tabs on these surveillance companies and hold them accountable when they violate the law.”
In the United States, the majority of landlords and employers rely on tenant screeners and employment background checks in the course of deciding whether to accept a rental application or offer someone a job. As families recover from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking new jobs or places to live, errors in these databases can severely harm their financial lives.
While the three nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian — allow people to check their reports for free once a week through December 2022, many of the specialty companies charge people a fee to access this data. The list published today allows people to see which companies provide this information for free, as well as search for those that provide specialized reporting by specific markets, including employment, tenant, insurance, and medical.
People are frequently in the best position to know if their information is accurate. If an individual finds information in their consumer reports that appears to be inaccurate, they have the right to file a dispute, and the consumer reporting company is required to conduct a reasonable investigation.
The CFPB has previously highlighted problems that consumers have reported about the three nationwide reporting companies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, not adequately responding to consumer complaints about errors. The CFPB also issued an advisory opinion in November 2021 affirming that all consumer reporting companies, including tenant and employment screening companies, have an obligation to use reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy.
Originally published at https://getoutofdebt.org on January 27, 2022.
