Credit Bureau Experian Embroiled In Fraud Lawsuit
Credit agency Experian has been named in a lawsuit in California. The suit is a potential scandal within the credit industry. Experian is one of the three main credit bureaus, along with TransUnion and Equifax, and credit ratings from those bureaus are used in creating a persons’ credit rating. The plaintiffs in the suit, which may become class action, are alleging fraud.
Free credit history online websites may not be helping
There has been a lawsuit filed against Experian by the plaintiffs in California saying the company has defrauded several. They say Experian provides misleading information on the websites where the business sells copies of credit reports, according to MSNBC. The wrong score is given through certain websites, supposedly, by Experian. FreeCreditReport.com and FreeCreditScore.com are these sites. The Experian PLUS score could be found at the online websites when paying a $14.95 a month fee to monitor credit history activity. The score is different when loan companies are looking at it for a personal loan though which is why plaintiffs want a class action lawsuit.
The use of FICO scores when it comes to lending
When loan providers or other parties check a person’s credit rating, they aren’t looking at a score that one credit bureau comes up with. Most lenders just use the scoring system Fair Isaac and Company came up with. This is the FICO score. Fair Isaac scores are calculated by looking at certain data about a person and coming up with a numerical rating of that persons’ credit worthiness. The FICO formula is used by TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. This is the score they all report. The fraud suit is all due to the PLUS score. This score isn’t used by lenders that give out installment loans or employers. As the information being sold was worthless, the suit states customers were misled by Experian. Experian had to be compelled by threat of a Federal Trade Commission suit to advertise the connection to the government site where customers can request the one free report from each bureau that people are allowed by law.
Needs by states
There have been labor rights advocates working hard right now. This is due to the idea that employers can check the credit scores of applicants. At least half of the U.S. isn’t either; 49 bills in 25 states are currently before state legislatures to legally bar employers from checking credit scores of a potential new hires. Though credit agencies that sell the reports to companies, and some companies contend that it can catch a potential problem employee, civil rights and labor advocates insist that it is prying into an area that no employer has a right to.
Citations
MSNBC
redtape.msnbc.com/2011/04/lawsuit-experian-sells-misleading-credit-scores.html
USA Today
usatoday.com/money/workplace/2011-04-07-credit-reports-in-hiring-decisions.htm