are twice as likely to dispute a mistake on their credit report than people in mostly White neighborhoods, according to federal regulators.
The CFPB “is telling Congress and advocacy groups that it believes racial factors are in play when it comes to credit bureau errors,” Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group, said in a research note.
The result: Consumers from Black neighborhoods had the highest dispute rate at 2.8% for car loans, 2.4% for student loans and 4.7% on credit card accounts.
Whatever the reason, now we know that reducing credit reporting errors isn’t just a matter of fairness and justice.
The major credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — have drawn scrutiny in recent years for their practices, including the frequency of errors and the difficulty consumers report in getting the companies to correct their credit records.
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion did not respond to requests for comment and instead forwarded questions to its trade group — the Consumer Data Industry Association.
Wu favors legislation that forces credit bureaus to ensure people’s reports are accurate.