If a wrong balance, a late payment or an account that isn't yours appears on your credit report, the company that sent it to the credit bureau has duties under federal law. It may not report information it knows or has reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate, and, once a credit bureau notifies it of a dispute, it must investigate and report the results. Breaking those duties may violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act, depending on the facts, and who may enforce a given duty differs, as the remedies section explains.
This page explains what the law expects of that company, how a dispute moves through the system, and what the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) makes potentially available when its rules are not followed.
What a Furnisher Is Under the FCRA
A furnisher is a person or company that sends information about a consumer to a consumer reporting agency. Their duties appear in 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2, titled "Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies."
The CFPB describes furnishers this way: "Credit reporting companies gather information about you from other companies called furnishers. Examples of furnishers include your bank, your landlord, and your credit card company." The statute's duties attach to a "person" that furnishes information to a consumer reporting agency, not only to banks.
A consumer reporting agency is different. The CFPB explains that credit reporting companies, "also known as credit bureaus or consumer reporting agencies, are companies that compile and sell credit reports." The bureau assembles the report; the furnisher supplies the data inside it. That is why fixing an error, in the CFPB's words, "generally means contacting both the credit reporting company and the company that provided the information."
Debt collectors are governed by a separate law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, with its own rules and remedies. A collection company that reports to a bureau also has furnisher duties under the FCRA, but the two laws stay in their own lanes.
The furnisher rules apply to the information reported, whether the account is current, late, charged off or in collections. The CFPB's Regulation V adds a written accuracy-policy requirement in 12 C.F.R. § 1022.42 and rules for direct disputes in 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43. For a fuller picture of the statute itself, see this site's overview of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The Two Core Duties: Accuracy and Reinvestigation
The first duty is accuracy. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(1)(A), "A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate." The statute defines "reasonable cause to believe" as "specific knowledge, other than solely allegations by the consumer, that would cause a reasonable person to have substantial doubts about the accuracy of the information."
A second accuracy rule turns on notice from the consumer. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(1)(B), a furnisher may not report information if it "has been notified by the consumer, at the address specified by the person for such notices, that specific information is inaccurate" and "the information is, in fact, inaccurate." A furnisher that clearly and conspicuously specifies such an address to the consumer is not subject to subparagraph (A), the rule against furnishing information it knows or has reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate, though the statute does not require it to name one.
Two more duties sit in the same subsection. A furnisher that regularly reports and later determines its information is "not complete or accurate" must "promptly notify" the bureau and send corrections. And if a consumer disputes information to the furnisher, it "may not furnish the information to any consumer reporting agency without notice that such information is disputed by the consumer."
The second core duty is investigation. When a consumer disputes an item with a bureau, the bureau generally must finish a "reasonable reinvestigation" within 30 days of receiving the dispute, under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1). It may extend that by up to 15 days if the consumer sends relevant information during the 30 days, unless the item is already found inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable. The furnisher's own investigation happens inside that window, as the dispute section below explains.
What Conduct May Violate the Furnisher's Obligations
Each item below may violate the FCRA, but only where the statute's conditions are met, and whether a particular situation violates the law depends on its facts. Violations of 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a) are enforced by government agencies rather than through 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n and 1681o, as the remedies section explains.
- Reporting what the records do not support. A balance, payment history or status the furnisher has reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate may violate 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a).
- Reporting a resolved account as still owing. Continuing to report a paid or settled debt as open or delinquent, after the furnisher has determined it is not accurate, may conflict with the duty to correct and update.
- Reporting someone else's debt. A mixed credit file, where another person's accounts land in a consumer's file, or an account opened by an identity thief, may raise accuracy issues. 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43(a)(1) lists direct disputes relating to "whether there is or has been identity theft or fraud against the consumer" among those a furnisher must investigate, subject to the exceptions in 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43(b).
- Not marking an account as disputed. Reporting information the consumer has disputed to the furnisher without notice of that dispute may violate 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(3).
- A cursory investigation. 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43(e)(1) requires a furnisher that receives a proper direct dispute notice to "conduct a reasonable investigation with respect to the disputed information," and whether an investigation was reasonable depends on the facts.
- Not fixing what the investigation found. A furnisher that finds information inaccurate and does not correct it may fall short of its duties.
- Bringing deleted information back. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(5)(B)(i), information deleted after a reinvestigation "may not be reinserted in the file by the consumer reporting agency unless the person who furnishes the information certifies that the information is complete and accurate."
This site covers the situation where a bureau keeps an item after a dispute on its page about when a bureau won't remove information.
The FCRA also contains a separate notice rule for some financial institutions that report negative information, meaning information about late payments, delinquencies or defaults, to a nationwide credit bureau. It applies to financial institutions, not to every company that furnishes data.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(7), the notice is given in writing to the customer, prior to or no later than 30 days after the negative information is furnished, and a financial institution is not liable for failure to give it if, at the time, it maintained reasonable policies and procedures to comply or reasonably believed it was prohibited by law from contacting the consumer. Whether a missing notice may violate the FCRA depends on who the furnisher is and the facts of the account.
Separately, the CFPB's summary of FCRA rights states that "Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment – or to take another adverse action against you – must tell you." That adverse action notice comes from the company using the report, not from the furnisher. The FTC adds that a consumer who gets one "must ask for your report within 60 days of getting the notice" to receive the free report it describes.
How the Dispute Process Works: From Consumer to CRA to Furnisher
The usual path starts with the bureau. A consumer who believes a furnisher reported something wrong may dispute it with each bureau showing the error, under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i. The CFPB advises: "Keep copies of your dispute letter and the documents you send with it."
The bureau then passes the dispute to the furnisher. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(2), within 5 business days of receiving the dispute the bureau must notify the furnisher and include "all relevant information regarding the dispute that the agency has received." The FTC describes what follows: the business "must investigate and report the results back to the credit bureau. If the business finds the information they reported is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide credit bureaus so they can correct the information in your file." If the item is found inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable, the bureau must promptly delete or modify it. After receiving that notice, the furnisher must, under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)(1), conduct an investigation, review all relevant information the bureau provides, report the results to the bureau, report incomplete or inaccurate results to the other nationwide bureaus it furnished the information to, and promptly modify, delete or permanently block an item found inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable, all before the end of the bureau's 30-day period under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)(2). This site covers what happens when a bureau falls short in its page on a failed bureau investigation.
A second path goes straight to the furnisher. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(8) and 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43, a furnisher generally must conduct a reasonable investigation of a direct dispute about the consumer's liability for the account, the account's terms, the consumer's payment status or other conduct concerning the account, or other information in a consumer report about the account that bears on creditworthiness. The duty arises only if the consumer sends a dispute notice to an address set out in 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43(c), such as the address the furnisher provided on the consumer report, and the notice includes what 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43(d) lists: enough information to identify the account, the specific information disputed and the basis, and the supporting documentation the furnisher reasonably requires. After receiving a proper notice, the furnisher must review "all relevant information provided by the consumer," report results to the consumer within the same period a bureau would have, and, if the information was inaccurate, promptly notify each bureau it reported to with corrections. The duty does not apply to a dispute about, among other things, the consumer's identifying information (other than liability), past or present employers, inquiries, public-record information, fraud or active duty alerts, or information provided by another furnisher, or to a dispute the furnisher reasonably believes was submitted, prepared or supplied on a form by a credit repair organization (12 C.F.R. § 1022.43(b)). The CFPB says to send direct disputes "in writing, using certified mail," to the address on the report or one the furnisher specifies.
Under 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43(f), a furnisher is not required to investigate a direct dispute it has reasonably determined is frivolous or irrelevant, which includes a dispute without sufficient information to investigate, a dispute substantially the same as one already handled that adds none of the information 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43(d) lists, and a dispute within a 12 C.F.R. § 1022.43(b) exception. It must notify the consumer not later than five business days after making that determination, by mail or, if the consumer authorizes, by other means, with the reasons and identification of any information required to investigate.
What the FCRA Makes Potentially Available When Furnisher Obligations Are Not Met
Two sections set out civil liability, and each depends on a court finding the conditions it names.
For willful noncompliance, 15 U.S.C. § 1681n makes a person "liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of" "any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000"; "such amount of punitive damages as the court may allow"; and, "in the case of any successful action," "the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court."
For negligent noncompliance, 15 U.S.C. § 1681o provides for "any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure" and, in a successful action, costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Under both sections, on a finding that an unsuccessful pleading, motion, or other paper filed in connection with an action was filed "in bad faith or for purposes of harassment," the court shall award the prevailing party attorney's fees reasonable in relation to the work expended in responding to it.
Sections 1681n and 1681o do not reach every furnisher duty. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(c), except as provided in 15 U.S.C. § 1681s(c)(1)(B), which concerns actions by State officials, they do not apply to a violation of subsection (a) of 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2, "including any regulations issued thereunder," and under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(d) those violations are enforced exclusively as 15 U.S.C. § 1681s provides, by the federal agencies and officials and the State officials it identifies. The direct-dispute duties in 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(8) and the regulation under it fall within that subsection. The duties after a furnisher receives notice of a dispute from a consumer reporting agency, in 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b), are not listed in that limit. That is one reason the route a dispute takes matters.
Timing is set by 15 U.S.C. § 1681p. An action must be brought "not later than the earlier of" "2 years after the date of discovery by the plaintiff of the violation" or "5 years after the date on which the violation that is the basis for such liability occurs." Whether any particular situation gives rise to a claim, and what might be available, depends on its specific facts.
Filing a Complaint and Other Official Channels
Government channels exist alongside the dispute process. The CFPB's credit report dispute page includes a section titled "Submit a complaint," and its guidance on wrong information on a credit report disputes notes that when a furnisher finds its information accurate, a consumer "can contact the credit reporting companies again and ask them to include a statement explaining the dispute in your credit reports."
The CFPB's FCRA rights summary adds that "States may enforce the FCRA, and many states have their own consumer reporting laws. In some cases, you may have more rights under state law."
State law can add to the federal rules, and it differs from state to state. California's rule is its own credit reporting law beginning at Cal. Civ. Code § 1785.1, which declares a purpose "to require that consumer credit reporting agencies adopt reasonable procedures" handled "in a manner which is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information." It also states that contract clauses prohibiting any action the law requires "shall be considered unenforceable." For furnishers, Cal. Civ. Code § 1785.25(a) provides that "A person shall not furnish information on a specific transaction or experience to any consumer credit reporting agency if the person knows or should know the information is incomplete or inaccurate," and § 1785.25(g) provides that a person who furnishes information to a consumer credit reporting agency "is liable for failure to comply with this section, unless the furnisher establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the time of the failure to comply with this section, the furnisher maintained reasonable procedures to comply with those provisions." That is California's rule, for California.
If You'd Like a Consumer Rights Case Review
This page covers furnisher duties under the FCRA. It does not cover debt collection conduct itself, bankruptcy or credit repair services.
A consumer looking for a furnisher FCRA attorney may request a consumer rights case review through Federal Consumer Rights.
