In an annual regulatory filing, Equifax stated that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is investigating the company’s process for handling consumer disputes to determine whether Equifax followed the Fair Credit Reporting Act requirement for handling such disputes. Equifax told investors it recently received an administrative subpoena from the CFPB related to their investigation in the company.
As part of CFPB’s investigation, Equifax said it received civil investigation demand (CID) which ask the company to provide CFPB with certain documents and answers to written questions.
“We are cooperating with the CFPB in its investigation and are in discussions with the CFPB regarding our response to the CID,” Equifax said. “At this time, we are unable to predict the outcome of this CFPB investigation, including whether the investigation will result in any action or proceeding against us.”
The statement from Equifax follows a CFPB report which criticized Equifax and other major credit bureaus over their consumer complaint handlings, saying they had often not provided adequate responses to complaints forwarded to them by the agency. The report found the credit bureaus made significant changes in 2020 to the way they field these complaints and have since been closing them faster with less relief for consumers.
This heightened scrutiny of the credit bureau comes following investigations of Equifax’s 2017 data breach which exposed sensitive personal data belonging to over 140 million consumers. Equifax ultimately agreed to pay up to $700 million in relief and penalties as part of a settlement related to the breach.