skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Missourians Speak Up About Credit Report Issues to New Agency

play audio
Play

Wednesday, November 20, 2013   

ST. LOUIS - Much about life's major financial decisions hinges on the all-important credit report, and a study shows that Missourians are taking advantage of a new tool to help hold credit bureaus accountable.

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created to help resolve problems with financial institutions - and, according to a new report, that's exactly what Missourians are doing.

Alec Sprague, Midwest federal advocate for MoPIRG, the Missouri Public Interest Research Group Foundation, analyzed the data collected by the bureau on credit reporting agencies in the past year. Sprague said Missouri consumers are speaking out and getting results.

"If consumers are not able to actually solve the problem with the credit reporting agency themselves, they can go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and file a complaint," he said. "About one-third of all of those complaints are being resolved."

Missouri ranks 30th in the nation for the number of complaints, with Experian being the agency most complained about. Incorrect information on credit reports accounted for 65 percent of the complaints.

Sprague said the high number of complaints underscores the importance of people carefully reviewing their own credit report, and not just assuming that all the information on it is correct.

"Millions of Americans have serious errors on their credit reports," he said, "and errors can severely impact someone's ability to get a loan, rent an apartment or even find a job."

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers are entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the three main credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

The report is online at mopirgfoundation.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021