April 13, 2020
Las Vegas, NV –Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford joined a coalition of
23 attorneys general urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to enforce
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and require
credit reporting agencies to follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) during
the COVID-19 crisis. The CFPB’s recent announcement that they would not enforce
the law would leave consumers at the mercy of unresponsive credit agencies at a
critical time.
“Businesses are closed and tens of
thousands of Nevadans have filed for unemployment,” said AG Ford. “To
best position our state for economic recovery, Nevadans must have immediate
access to their credit reports and be protected from fraud. We are counting on
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to do its job to protect consumers.”
The letter was written in response to an
announcement by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that the CFPB would
not enforce an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that requires lenders
to report as current any loans that are affected by a COVID-19-related
accommodation. Additionally, the CFPB announced that it would not take action
against consumer reporting agencies that violate the FCRA’s 30-day deadline to
investigate consumer disputes.
In their letter, the attorneys general
outlined their opposition to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s
announcement in three major points:
- The CFPB’s announcement
that it will not enforce the CARES Act’s requirements could discourage
consumers from taking advantage of the accommodations that lenders are required
to offer under the CARES Act or those that they are offering voluntarily;
- The CFPB’s announcement
it will not require consumer reporting agencies to investigate consumer
disputes within 30 days puts consumers at risk;
- Consumer reporting
agencies must be vigilant about accurately reporting consumer credit, which can
only be done by following the requirements established by the FCRA as amended
by the CARES Act.
In addition to Nevada, other states
participating in this letter include: California,
Colorado, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
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