Published: January 2020

New credit report portal would make resolving errors easier for consumers

Advocates wrote to Congress in support of the Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2019 (H.R. 5332). The bipartisan bill directs the three credit reporting bureaus to work together to create one online portal to provide free and unlimited access to credit reports and scores, the ability to more easily initiate and resolve disputes with a credit bureau and to provide access to see who the bureaus have sold consumer data to in the prior two years. One of the biggest issues facing low-income communities is access to credit. In many cases, inaccurate credit information limits low-income individuals from accessing affordable loan products. This can lead to borrowing from high-cost pay-day lenders, or using high-rate credit facilities. This bill places the burden of resolving inaccurate credit information on the bureaus, instead of on the consumer.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has previously found that one in five consumers have verified errors in their credit reports, and one in twenty consumers have errors so serious they would be denied credit or need to pay more for it. That adds up to 42 million Americans with errors in their credit, and 10 million with errors that can be life altering. Advocates urge Congress to support Rep. Gottheimer’s (N.J.–5) bipartisan “Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2019.” The creation of a new online credit portal will provide access to credit scores, create a process to easily dispute errors, and secure and track consumer credit data. Instead of placing the burden on the consumer, all three credit bureaus will have to work together to help protect consumers’ information and to make the credit report dispute and correction process easier.

Lead Organization

National Consumer Law Center (NCLC)

Other Organizations

Americans for Financial Reform | National Consumer Law Center | (on behalf of its low-income clients) | Consumer Action | Consumer Federation of America | Consumer Reports | National Association of Consumer Advocates | USPIRG | World Privacy Forum

More Information

For more information, please visit NCLC's website.

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New credit report portal would make resolving errors easier for consumers   (2019.12.9-Support-letter-for-Protecting-Your-Credit-Score-Act-Gottheimer_.pdf)