What is a credit bureau?
A Credit Bureau is a company that collects information from various sources including credit furnishers and third-parties and provides credit information on individual consumers for a variety of uses. It is an organization providing information on individuals’ past and present borrowing and bill-paying habits. Credit bureaus are sometimes referred to as Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA).
Most consumer credit information is collected and kept by the four major national credit reporting agencies: Experian (formerly TRW Information Systems & Services and the CCN Group), Equifax, TransUnion, and Innovis (which was purchased from First Data Corporation in 1999 by CBC Companies).
These organizations are for-profit businesses and possess no government affiliation. Though they are competitors, they have formed a trade organization called the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) to establish reporting standards and lobby on behalf of their industry issues in Washington.
What is a credit furnisher?
Data furnishers are entities such as creditors, lenders, utilities, debt collection agencies, etc…, that report a consumer’s repayment/debt history to the credit bureaus. Data furnishers are subject to the compliance of the FACTA, FCRA, FDCPA, FCBA, and HIPAA laws and reporting 100% accurate information.
What Laws govern the Credit Bureaus and Credit Furnishers?
The laws that govern the credit reporting industry are;
Fair & Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA)
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
Who regulates the credit bureaus and credit furnishers?
The oversight of the credit bureaus and those that furnish data to them are handled by three government entities. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have oversight for the consumer credit bureaus and furnishers. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) charters, regulates and supervises all national banks with regard to the data they furnish credit bureaus.