Enforcement
We enforce federal competition and consumer protection laws that prevent anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices.
,
Search or browse
the Legal Library
Find legal resources and guidance to understand your business responsibilities and comply with the law.
,
Take action
- Report an antitrust violation
- File adjudicative documents
- Find banned debt collectors
- View competition guidance
,
Competition Matters,
John Newman & Amy Ritchie, Bureau of Competition,
,
Policy
We work to advance government policies that protect consumers and promote competition.
,
Search or browse
the Legal Library
Find legal resources and guidance to understand your business responsibilities and comply with the law.
,
Take action
,
Technology Blog,
Staff in the Bureau of Competition & Office of Technology,
,
Advice and Guidance
Learn more about your rights as a consumer and how to spot and avoid scams. Find the resources you need to understand how consumer protection law impacts your business.
,
Take action
- Report fraud
- Report identity theft
- Register for Do Not Call
- Sign up for consumer alerts
- Get Business Blog updates
- Get your free credit report
- Find refund cases
- Order bulk publications
,
Consumer Advice
- Shopping and Donating
- Credit, Loans, and Debt
- Jobs and Making Money
- Unwanted Calls, Emails, and Texts
- Identity Theft and Online Security
- Scams
,
Business Guidance
- Advertising and Marketing
- Credit and Finance
- Privacy and Security
- By Industry
- For Small Businesses
- Browse Business Guidance Resources
- Business Blog
,
Servicemembers:
Your tool for financial readiness
,
Get consumer protection basics, plain and simple
,
Learn how the FTC protects free enterprise and consumers
,
Looking for competition guidance?
,
News and Events
,
,
–
,
Follow us on social media
,
About the FTC
Our mission is protecting consumers and competition by preventing anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices through law enforcement, advocacy, and education without unduly burdening legitimate business activity.
,
Looking for legal documents or records? Search the Legal Library instead.
,
Looking for legal documents or records? Search the Legal Library instead.
,
For Release,
,
The Federal Trade Commission has joined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit urging reversal of a district court decision that the agencies say overlooked the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s requirement to delete information disputed by a consumer that cannot be verified by a furnisher of that information.
The case, Suluki v. Credit One Bank, NA, involves a consumer who allegedly disputed with the credit reporting agencies (CRAs) information on her credit report that she said resulted from multiple credit card accounts that her mother opened in her name without her permission or knowledge. The CRAs sent the dispute to the credit card companies for investigation. After Credit One refused to remove the information and purportedly verified the consumer as the accountholder, she sued the company under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires that, upon being notified of a dispute by a CRA, furnishers investigate whether the disputed information can be verified. If such an investigation is inconclusive, the FCRA requires the furnisher to delete from the data that the furnisher submits to CRAs the information that cannot be verified, according to the FTC-CFPB brief.
The consumer appealed after the district court granted Credit One’s request for summary judgment and held that she could not show harm from any failure by Credit One to conduct a reasonable investigation.
In their brief, the FTC and CFPB disputed the district court’s interpretation of the FCRA. They noted that under the FCRA, if a furnisher of credit information cannot determine whether the disputed consumer information is accurate, it must tell the CRAs that the information could not be verified and must delete it from the data that it reports to the CRAs.
Inaccurate information on a consumer report can hamper people’s ability to get housing, employment, and credit. The FTC and CFPB maintain that the lower court’s decision could impact consumers’ rights under the FCRA to dispute the completeness or accuracy of information and have it removed if a furnisher cannot verify that it is accurate.
The Commission voted 3-0 to join the CFPB amicus brief.
,
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and report scams, fraud, and bad business practices online at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.
,
Office of Public Affairs,
202-326-2924
