The consent order is the result of a settlement for FCRA violations addressed by company through remediation already in place and cooperation with the bureau throughout the investigative process.
11/12/2020 16:30
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a settlement Thursday with Afni Inc. for “violations in providing information to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs),” according to a news release from the CFPB.
Afni is a non-bank Illinois-based debt collector that specializes in collecting debt on behalf of telecommunications companies and furnishes information to CRAs about consumers’ credit.
The consent order from the settlement requires Afni to take certain steps to prevent future violations and imposes a $500,000 civil money penalty, according to the news release.
“Prior to entering into a consent order with the CFPB, Afni continually invested in the maintenance and enhancement of our compliance management system,” said Alicia McKeighan, Afni’s chief compliance officer, in a statement provided to ACA International. “The consent order requirements restate remediation which Afni has already pursued after continued cooperation with the CFPB throughout the investigative process. To minimize disruption to our business operations, Afni has chosen to efficiently settle this matter and will focus our efforts on continual improvement of our compliance management system and pursuit of our mission to enable better outcomes through positive and worthwhile engagement with our customers.”
The bureau press release states:
The Bureau found that Afni furnished information to CRAs that it knew or had reasonable cause to believe was inaccurate and failed to report to CRAs an appropriate date of first delinquency on certain accounts. The Bureau also found that Afni failed to conduct reasonable investigations of disputes made by consumers both to Afni and to CRAs about furnished information and failed to conduct investigations of disputes made to Afni in a timely manner. In addition, the Bureau found that Anfi [sic] failed to send required notices to consumers about the results of such investigations and failed to establish, implement, and update its policies and procedures regarding its furnishing of consumer information to CRAs. Afni’s conduct violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and its implementing rule, Regulation V and, by engaging in these violations of the FCRA and Regulation V, Afni violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act.
The terms of the consent order require Afni to “take certain steps to improve and ensure the accuracy of its furnishing of consumer information to CRAs and its policies and procedures relating to credit reporting and dispute investigation.”
In addition, the steps outlined in the consent order include “monthly reviews of account information to assess the accuracy and integrity of information it furnishes,” according to the bureau’s press release. Afni must also conduct monthly reviews of consumer disputes and responses to assess whether its handling of consumer disputes complies with the FCRA, Regulation V, and its own policies and procedures, and it must retain an independent consultant to review of the company’s activities, policies, and procedures relating to furnishing information and credit reporting.