April 29, 2020
Carson
City, NV – Amid the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic, Nevada Attorney
General Aaron D. Ford sent a letter to the nation’s three Consumer Reporting
Agencies (CRAs) that they he will not hesitate to enforce safeguards set in
place to ensure consumers’ credit is properly protected and their credit
reports are fairly and accurately reported. AG Ford is joined by a coalition of
21 attorneys general in this letter.
In a letter to
Experian Information Solutions, Inc.; Equifax Information Services, LLC; and
TransUnion LCC, the attorneys general outline their commitment to enforcing the
consumer credit protections outlined in the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
Act passed last month, as well as in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA),
despite the federal government’s failureto commit to enforcing these
protections. The letter emphasizes that the coalition will continue to
actively monitor and enforce compliance during the COVID-19 crisis and will
hold the CRAs accountable for failure to meet their obligations.
“As Nevadans continue to
struggle from the economic fallout of this public health crisis, protecting
their credit is critical,” said AG Ford. “It is more important than ever
that credit reporting agencies protect consumers against incorrect information
in their credit reports that could prevent them from conducting activities they
would be able to do before the pandemic began, like renting or buying a home
and purchasing a car.”
In March 2020, Congress
enacted the CARES Act to extend relief to struggling consumers and amend the
FCRA to enable consumers to obtain CARES Act relief without incurring lasting
harm to their credit scores. To prevent such harm, the CARES Act requires
furnishers to report a credit obligation as “current” if the obligation was
current prior to the grant of a CARES Act accommodation. The FCRA also protects
consumers by requiring CRAs to promptly investigate when consumers dispute the
accuracy of information on their credit report. But, the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau under the Trump Administration’s leadership recently issued
guidance that suggests it will not enforce certain requirements of the FCRA
during the COVID-19 crisis.
The attorneys general warn the
three CRAs that while the federal government refuses to protect consumers, each
state will enforce the requirements of the FCRA and agreements between CRAs and
states to conduct meaningful and timely investigations of consumer disputes of
credit information.
Today’s letter follows a letter the
coalition sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on April 13, urging the agency to rescind
its announcement that it would not enforce certain provisions of the CARES Act
and the FCRA.
In addition to Nevada, other
states that participated in the letter include: California, Colorado, Delaware,
the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
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