Sign the petition to Congress: Overhaul the American credit reporting system.
Congress
Credit scores act as indicators of one's financial history and are often a key in determining access to basic necessities. A poor credit score could have disastrous effects on a person's ability to access housing, education, employment, utilities, and more.
But the American credit reporting system is broken.
The American credit reporting system was created to eliminate bias, but it overlooks the decades of discrimination Black communities have faced, and how that discrimination has left Black families struggling. Discrimination in employment, lending practices, debt collection, and criminal prosecution are all contributing factors. In addition, data has shown that creditors are more likely to sue Black communities, and Black borrowers are more likely to lose when in court over their creditors.
In addition to the incredibly racist and discriminatory makeup of our credit reporting system, credit reporting companies are typically callous and not held accountable for their mistakes.
In 2017 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that Equifax and Transunion had been deceiving and taking advantage of borrowers by misrepresenting the scores provided to consumers, telling them that they were receiving the same scores that lenders and businesses received - they were not. The same year, the Equifax data breach compromised the personal data of more than 145 million Americas. And just recently, a class action lawsuit was brought against Equifax after it was revealed that they provided inaccurate credit scores for hundreds of thousands of people who sought loans.
When credit reporting agencies get it wrong, Americans suffer - and they often get it wrong. A study by the Federal Trade Commission found that 1 in 5 people have an error of some kind on their credit report. The recent instance of Equifax misreporting consumer credit reports underscores the need for Congress to pass legislation that addresses the flaws within our credit reporting system.
Sign the petition to Congress: Overhaul the American credit reporting system.
Participating Organizations
Americans for Financial Reform
Blue Future
Daily Kos
More Perfect Union
National Campaign for Justice
OD Action
Rep. Rashida Tlaib
Rise
TakeItBack.Org
But the American credit reporting system is broken.
The American credit reporting system was created to eliminate bias, but it overlooks the decades of discrimination Black communities have faced, and how that discrimination has left Black families struggling. Discrimination in employment, lending practices, debt collection, and criminal prosecution are all contributing factors. In addition, data has shown that creditors are more likely to sue Black communities, and Black borrowers are more likely to lose when in court over their creditors.
In addition to the incredibly racist and discriminatory makeup of our credit reporting system, credit reporting companies are typically callous and not held accountable for their mistakes.
In 2017 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that Equifax and Transunion had been deceiving and taking advantage of borrowers by misrepresenting the scores provided to consumers, telling them that they were receiving the same scores that lenders and businesses received - they were not. The same year, the Equifax data breach compromised the personal data of more than 145 million Americas. And just recently, a class action lawsuit was brought against Equifax after it was revealed that they provided inaccurate credit scores for hundreds of thousands of people who sought loans.
When credit reporting agencies get it wrong, Americans suffer - and they often get it wrong. A study by the Federal Trade Commission found that 1 in 5 people have an error of some kind on their credit report. The recent instance of Equifax misreporting consumer credit reports underscores the need for Congress to pass legislation that addresses the flaws within our credit reporting system.
Sign the petition to Congress: Overhaul the American credit reporting system.
Participating Organizations
Americans for Financial Reform
Blue Future
Daily Kos
More Perfect Union
National Campaign for Justice
OD Action
Rep. Rashida Tlaib
Rise
TakeItBack.Org
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Additional Sponsors
Sioux Falls, SD
Seattle, WA
Washington, DC
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Los Angeles, CA
Washington, DC
To:
Congress
From:
[Your Name]
We need an overhaul of the American credit reporting system. I am calling on you to address the deeply racist and problematic nature of the credit reporting system by: creating a public entity to determine credit scores, enhance consumers’ credit reporting rights, hold private crediting reporting agencies accountable for their previous negligent actions that have harmed consumers, and create transparency over the consumer reporting process.