News ReleasesFilter
Rutledge Announces $6 Million Multi-State Settlement with Credit Reporting Agencies
Thu, May 21, 2015LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, with 30 other state attorneys general, have announced a major settlement with three national credit reporting agencies – Equifax Information Systems LLC, Experian Information Solutions Inc. and TransUnion LLC. The settlement is a result of a multistate investigation initiated in 2012 by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.
Under the terms of the settlement, the credit reporting agencies have agreed to pay the participating states a total $6 million, of which Arkansas will receive $113,876.33, and make a number of changes to their business practices to benefit consumers.
The investigation that began in 2012 focused on consumer disputes about credit report errors, monitoring and disciplining data furnishers (providers of credit reporting information), accuracy in consumer credit reports and the marketing of credit monitoring products to consumers who call the credit reporting agencies to dispute information on their credit report.
“Arkansas consumers should be able to trust that they will receive a fair and accurate representation of their credit from any reporting agency,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “These three agencies broke that trust and are being held accountable for their actions. This settlement will ensure proper safeguards are in place so that consumers are not provided with errors and misinformation about their credit.”
A violation of the settlement by any of the credit reporting agencies may be enforced by the states, according to individual state laws.
Under the settlement, the credit reporting agencies have agreed to increase monitoring of data furnishers, to require additional information from furnishers of certain types of data, to limit direct-to-consumer marketing, to provide greater protections for consumers who dispute information on their credit reports, to limit certain information that can be added to a credit report, to provide additional consumer education, and to comply with state and federal laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The following are key provisions of the settlement.
Higher standards for data furnishers:
- The credit reporting agencies must maintain information about problem data furnishers and provide a list of those furnishers to the states upon request.
- The credit reporting agencies and data furnishers must use a better, more detailed system to share data.
Limits to direct-to-consumer marketing:
- The credit reporting agencies cannot market credit monitoring services to a consumer during a dispute phone call until the dispute portion of the call has ended.
- The credit reporting agencies must tell consumers that purchasing a product is not a requirement for disputing information on their credit reports.
Added protections for consumers who dispute credit reporting information:
- The credit reporting agencies must implement an escalation process for handling complicated disputes, such as those involving identity theft, fraud, or mixed files — where one consumer’s information is mixed with another’s.
- Each credit reporting agency must notify the other agencies if it finds that one consumer’s information has been mixed with another consumer.
- The credit reporting agencies must send a consumer’s supporting documents to the data furnisher.
- Consumers may obtain one additional free credit report in a 12-month period if they dispute information on their credit report and a change is made as a result of the dispute.
Limits to certain information that can be added to a consumer’s credit report:
- The credit reporting agencies are generally prohibited from adding information about fines and tickets to credit reports.
- The credit reporting agencies cannot place medical debt on a credit report until 180 days after the account is reported to the credit reporting agency, which gives consumers time to work out issues with their insurance companies.
- The credit reporting agencies must require debt collectors to provide the original creditor’s name and information about the debt before the debt information can be added to a credit report.
Additional consumer education:
- The credit reporting agencies must tell consumers how they can further dispute the outcome of an investigation, such as by filing a complaint with other agencies.
- Each credit reporting agency must provide a link to its online dispute website on annualcreditreport.com, and the credit reporting agency’s dispute website must be free of ads and any marketing offers.
The changes required under the settlement will be implemented in three phases to allow the credit reporting agencies to update their IT systems and procedures with data furnishers. All changes must be completed by three years and 90 days following the settlement’s effective date.
Participating in the settlement are the attorneys general from: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
MORE
Rutledge and Google Host Internet Safety Event for Lonoke Youth
Tue, May 19, 2015LONOKE – Today, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Google representatives paid a visit to Lonoke to deliver the Online Safety Roadshow, an online safety assembly developed by Google for middle school students.
Two Google employees delivered the 45 minute presentation, which focused on five tips for staying safe and being smart online. They covered topics including: thinking before you share, setting strong passwords, using settings, identifying online scams and being positive online.
Attorney General Rutledge participated in today’s presentation at the Gina Cox Center. She opened the assembly by expressing the benefits of technology but also the importance of online safety to the students.
“Technological advances bring both exciting opportunities and greater risk to our children as they use computers, smartphones and tablets,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “I am committed to making Arkansas a leader in online safety by teaching our students how to safely use the Internet. I am proud to bring Google to Arkansas to advance our mutual goal of keeping our children safe online.”
“With students increasingly having access to the Internet through cell phones and other devices, it is important that they learn to use these tools responsibly,” said Sana Rahman, a Google spokesperson. “The Online Safety Roadshow teaches how to be smart and safe online through a fun and interactive assembly.”
The Online Safety Roadshow is designed to educate parents and students on how to be more successful and safe online. The presentation teaches students how to be smart about the content they share online.
For more tips about how to keep yourself and your family safe online, visit google.com/safetycenter.