Washington, D.C. – Today, in a letter to President Obama’s new special adviser on consumer protection issues, Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator Mark Udall urged her to make free access to credit scores one of her priorities as she helps set up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Senator Udall is a long-time advocate for pro-consumer measures that help people take greater control of their fiscal health. Legislation he authored and included in the Wall Street Accountability bill, which became law this summer, requires credit card companies and others to provide consumers with a free copy of their score if they are turned down for credit or receive a less-favorable interest rate. The measure is a strong step, but Senator Udall believes consumers should have free access to their credit score. Contrary to the popular ad campaign, consumers still must pay for that information.
“Credit scores are the most important and influential measure of a consumer’s creditworthiness. As such, I ask that you make consumers’ understanding of and access to their credit scores a priority in your effort to establish a strong and independent CFPB,” Senator Udall wrote in his letter to Warren. “… Making free access to consumer credit scores a priority point of emphasis for the CFPB will help level the financial playing field for millions of Americans, improve financial literacy, and ultimately provide greater stability for the nation’s economy as a whole.”
More information about Senator Udall’s work is available HERE.
Please contact Jennifer Talhelm at (202) 224-4334.
Text of the letter to Elizabeth Warren follows:
Dear Ms. Warren,
Congratulations on your recent appointment to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). I applaud the President for selecting you to lead the effort to get the CFPB up and running.
As you may know, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act contains provisions related to consumer credit scores, including a bipartisan provision I authored with Senator Richard Lugar requiring that lenders provide consumers with the credit scores used in making a determination to either deny credit or offer credit on less than favorable terms.
The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act also transfers most regulatory oversight of consumer credit scores from the Federal Trade Commission to the CFPB. In addition, the Act requires the CFPB to conduct a study on the nature, range and size of variations between the credit scores sold to creditors and those advertised and sold to consumers by consumer reporting agencies on misleading websites like www.freescore.com and www.freecreditreport.com.
Credit scores are the most important and influential measure of a consumer’s creditworthiness. As such, I ask that you make consumers’ understanding of and access to their credit scores a priority in your effort to establish a strong and independent CFPB. It is my belief that making free access to consumer credit scores a priority point of emphasis for the CFPB will help level the financial playing field for millions of Americans, improve financial literacy, and ultimately provide greater stability for the nation’s economy as a whole.
Thank you for your leadership in protecting consumers from predatory financial practices, and for your consideration of this important request. I am eager to assist you in establishing an effective consumer financial watchdog and to ensure Americans are given the tools they need to take control of their financial health.
Sincerely,
Mark Udall
