US regulators fine TransUnion $23 million over rental eviction reports, credit freezes

Reuters
Updated ·2 min read
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FILE PHOTO: The seal of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined credit reporting agency TransUnion a total of $23 million over inaccurate rental background checks and poor handling of consumer credit report locks and freezes, the agencies said on Thursday.

TransUnion will pay $15 million and make "significant improvements to how it reports evictions," the CFPB said. Separately, the CFPB is ordering TransUnion to pay $8 million "for lying to consumers" about requested security freezes and locks requested by tens of thousands of consumers.

While telling the consumers their requests had been processed, the company allegedly put them instead into a "yearslong backlog," according to the CFPB.

TransUnion said in a statement that it had not admitted wrongdoing in the settlements reached with the two agencies but had made improvements in recent years to address the concerns.

"Over the past year, we have worked with the CFPB and FTC to enhance our rental screening reporting practices, including making certain changes to how eviction records are reported," the statement said, adding that it had corrected "system issues" involving security freezes and locks in 2020.

THE TAKE

Though the dollar amounts are modest by comparison to other enforcement actions, the joint announcement from the two consumer protection agencies shows regulators' persistent focus on credit bureaus, whose services can be make or break consumers' abilities to buy, rent, borrow and build wealth.

THE CONTEXT

As an election year approaches, the Biden administration has made tackling consumer frustrations and alleged unfair business practices a key focus of its political messaging.

The actions come amid elevated inflation and poor public approval ratings for President Joe Biden's stewardship of the economy.

KEY QUOTE

"Consumers struggling to find housing shouldn't be shut out by tenant screening reports that are ridden with errors and based on data from secret sources," Samuel Levine, head of the consumer protection at the FTC, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Michelle Price; editing by Jonathan Oatis)