Who weighed in on proposed credit reporting reform?

Late last year, some new rules were proposed that would make it easier for consumers to dispute bad data on their credit reports. (Here's the ConsumerAffairs.com story about the proposal.) The report that was published was technical and very long, so it's not something I'd expect everyday consumers to slog through. But people who claim to advocate for you in the sphere of credit reporting should definitely have done so. Indeed, some did.

After the report was published, there was a 60-day period for public comments. Who commented? Mostly, the organizations with the most to lose if the recommended reforms are enacted: The Mortgage Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, Wachovia, HSBC, American Bankers Association, Visa, National Retail Federation, AFSA, Zions Bancorporation, Wells Fargo, MasterCard, CDIA, and so on.

There were a few consumer advocate groups who contributed comments, too: National Consumer Law Center, Consumers Union, World Privacy Forum, etc.

But not the NFCC, as far as I can tell.

When an important regulation is being debated, one that falls squarely in what should be the NFCC's area of expertise, they sit on their hands instead of contributing to the debate. Why is that? Why would the NFCC leadership be more interested in writing threatening letters trying to bully their way into a leadership role in the homeownership counseling arena than contributing to the discussion of credit reporting reforms? Well, the NFCC leadership is under the control or people who want desperately to return to the pockets of the creditors and remain firmly ensconced there. After the NFCC member agencies spent decades fighting for control of the counseling industry, they ended up with leadership that has repeatedly taken steps to return control of the credit counseling to the creditors. And creditors don't want reforms to credit reporting that make them work harder to guarantee the integrity of consumers' credit reports. They want that burden to fall on you. So the NFCC, who knows better than anyone the need for reforms in credit reporting, doesn't say a thing, because they apparently don't want to upset their creditor overlords.

In fact, the only time they get off their butts is when their porcine snouts detect a new money trough to feast from, or a new fiefdom for them to rule. Then they spring into action threatening congressional oversight hearings.

Comments

[Dianne Wilkman]

Excellent points, Jeff! I guffawed out loud when I read the last paragraph. You're a true Midwest farm boy. Considering all of the ramifications emanating out of individuals' credit reports in every direction of life, it's amazing they still try to pass themnselves off as consumer "advocates" when they are clueless - deliberately and shamelessly - on these issues.