MAY 2004

FTC Announces New Complaint Referral Program

The Federal Trade Commission announced on April 23 a new program under which it will refer consumer complaints to the three major national consumer reporting agencies ( CRAs). The FTC will send certain complaints from consumers about disputed inaccuracies or incomplete information in the companies’ files. The CRAs will review complaints, correct the files if necessary, and report the results to the FTC. The program implements a new provision in the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Recent revisions of the CRA provide that each consumer is entitled to receive a free copy of his or her credit report. A complaint by a consumer triggers a reinvestigation by the CRA and the original source of the information, as well as a correction if necessary. For a complete description of the process, follow this link.