By Dean Seal

Equifax was fined $15 million after the government found that it had failed to properly investigate consumer disputes, an allegation also levied against fellow credit bureau Experian earlier this month.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged Friday that Equifax made it difficult for consumers to fully describe their disputes and ignored evidence submitted with those disputes. It also lacked the systems needed to prevent previously deleted errors from being put back on credit reports, the agency said.

The credit-reporting firm is further accused of issuing confusing and conflicting letters about the results of dispute investigations, and of using a flawed internal software code that miscalculated and shared inaccurate credit scores for hundreds of thousands of consumers.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Equifax has agreed to pay a $15 million civil monetary penalty that will be deposited into the CFPB's victims relief fund. A representative for Equifax didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Equifax has also agreed to bring its dispute resolution processes into compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other government requirements, said the agency.

The CFPB filed a lawsuit in early January asserting similar claims against Experian, saying the firm used faulty intake procedures for disputes and was responsible for inaccurate information being reinserted into credit reports.

Experian has said the lawsuit is without merit and that it was filed with no heads-up from the CFPB.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2025 09:54 ET (14:54 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.