The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) joined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an amicus brief with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, asking the appellate tribunal to overturn a lower court ruling that could make it more difficult for consumers to challenge inaccuracies in their credit reports.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case was filed by a consumer who asked Comcast Communications to remove an account from his credit report that was listed as delinquent, but was really the result of identity theft. Comcast rejected the claim, asserting that the consumer failed to submit proof of the identity theft and subsequently referred the matter to a debt collector.
A judge from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sided with the debt collector, finding that a credit furnisher is only obligated to investigate “bona fide” disputes and may, in its discretion, decline to investigate contests it deems frivolous.
The agencies said that the decision threatens consumers’ right to challenge inaccurate information and have their claim investigated. Further, the brief rejected the notion that there are instances when credit furnishers do have to follow the law as it claimed the FCRA is unambiguous.
From a policy perspective, the CFPB and FTC said consumers would be “left in the dark.” If permitted to stand, the district court’s ruling would curtail a remedy crucial to allowing consumers to dispute and correct inaccurate information on their credit reports, a metric vital to consumers’ financial operability, the brief reasoned.