The Government Has Just Made It Much Harder to Fix Your Credit Report

If you see an error on your credit report, you’ll want to fix it right away. A mistake can cost you a home loan, a new job, or hundreds of dollars in high interest rates.

But getting the three credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—to actually correct their mistakes isn’t always easy.

That’s why millions of Americans have historically turned to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for help. The CFPB is the federal government’s financial regulator. If the bank or credit bureau ignores you, a CFPB complaint will usually get you noticed.

But now, the agency designed to protect you is quietly putting up roadblocks to make complaining more difficult.

Why do the rules change?

Last year, consumers filed nearly 5 million complaints with the CFPB about credit reporting problems. Instead of criticizing the credit bureaus for making so many mistakes, the CFPB is changing its system to reduce the number of complaints it receives.

In January, the Consumer Data Industry Association, a lobbying group for major credit bureaus, sent a letter to the CFPB asking the agency to stem the tide of complaints. They argue that the site is being abused by credit repair bots and third parties.

The CFPB listened. If you go to the CFPB’s complaint portal today, you’re greeted with some harsh new warnings.

1. Mandatory waiting time: You can’t just file a complaint with the CFPB right away. You must legally dispute the error with the credit bureau first.
2. The 45 day rule: After filing your dispute with a credit bureau, you must wait 45 days before the CFPB will allow you to submit a complaint to its portal, unless the credit bureau closes the dispute early.
3. Legal evidence: You must swear under penalty of law to follow these steps. If the credit bureau tells the CFPB that you didn’t contact them first, the government will dismiss your complaint.

What does this mean for your money?

Consumer advocates raised the alarm. The National Consumer Law Center points out that there is nothing in the law that requires you to contact a credit bureau before asking for help from the CFPB.

By forcing you to jump through these new hoops, the government is essentially protecting the credit bureaus from public scrutiny. It’s a classic case of sweeping the problem under the rug instead of fixing the root cause: the high number of errors on consumer credit reports. To find out more about how the agency is shifting its focus to consumers, see Consumer Protection at Risk: What CFPB Budget Cuts Mean for Your Money and 3 Protections Congress Is Trying to Take From You.

If you find an error on your credit report, here’s what you need to do now:

1. Oppose it directly: Don’t wait. File a legal dispute with Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion immediately. Keep copies of everything you send.
2. Start the clock: Mark your calendar for 45 days.
3. File your CFPB complaint: If the credit bureau does not correct the error or ignores you for a month and a half, go directly to the CFPB portal and submit your complaint.

They may make it difficult to get help, but that doesn’t mean you should give up hope. Your credit score is too important to let the credit bureaus get away with sloppy mistakes.