Feds fine credit reporting agencies $23M

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined two credit-reporting agencies $23.2 million for misleading consumers about the costs of credit scores, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Equifax will pay a $2.5 million civil fine and $3.8 million to compensate consumers. TransUnion will pay a $3 million civil fine and pay $13.93 million in consumer compensation.

The agencies advertised services that could cost more than $200 per year as no cost or $1.

“Credit scores are central to a consumer’s financial life, and people deserve honest and accurate information about them,” the bureau’s director, Richard Cordray, said in a statement, according to the Times.

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Neither credit agency confirmed or repudiated misconduct.

The watchdog bureau said the credit agencies had violated the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

Equifax and TransUnion will also have to change their marketing techniques by getting consumers’ permission before they agree to services with fees. They will also make it easier for customers to cancel services.