The key points of the CFPB’s guidance are discussed below.

Furnishing Consumer Information

In the statement, the CFPB reiterated its prior guidance, which urged lenders to meet customers’ financial needs during COVID-19, and encouraged lenders to continue reporting accurate customer information, notwithstanding these accommodations.

The CFPB emphasized that it expects all lenders to comply with section 4021 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). This section of the CARES Act amends the FCRA to require that, if furnishers make an accommodation on a credit obligation or account of a consumer and the consumer meets their new obligation, the furnisher must report the credit obligation or account as current. The CFPB also signaled that it would work with furnishers as needed to achieve compliance with this new provision.

The CFPB also reiterated its support for lenders’ voluntary efforts to provide payment relief, and it indicated that lenders’ continued accommodations to borrowers affected by COVID-19 will avoid the reporting of delinquencies. Importantly, the CFPB stated that “it does not intend to cite in examinations or take enforcement actions against those who furnish information to [CRAs] that accurately reflects the payment relief measures they are employing.”

Some additional clarification may be necessary as section 4021, for accommodations on accounts that are already delinquent, requires the furnisher to “maintain” the delinquency status during the accommodation period. That could pose operational challenges for furnishers because delinquency reporting typically advances the status from 30 to 60 to 90-days delinquent as a delinquent account ages toward charge-off. As a result, some financial institutions may find that they cannot continue to offer certain accommodations to delinquent borrowers if they cannot align their delinquency reporting with the reporting requirements of the CARES Act.

Flexibility in Investigating Disputes

The guidance also indicates that the CFPB will “consider a [CRA] or furnisher’s individual circumstances and does not intend to cite in an examination or bring an enforcement action against a [CRA] or furnisher making good faith efforts to investigate disputes as quickly as possible, even if the dispute investigations take longer than the statutory timeframe.” The FCRA generally requires CRAs and furnishers to investigate disputes within 30 days. In the statement, the CFPB recognized that COVID-19 may cause significant operational disruptions that create difficulties in investigating disputes.

The guidance also encouraged CRAs and furnishers to take advantage of existing regulatory provisions that allow them to forego investigations of disputes from credit repair organizations where the CRA or furnisher determines the dispute to be frivolous or irrelevant. The CFPB stated that it will consider the current COVID-19 pandemic, and resulting difficulties, in determining the reasonability of a CRA or furnisher’s conclusion that a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant.

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Photo of Andrew Soukup Andrew Soukup

Andrew Soukup serves as co-chair of the firm’s Class Action Litigation Practice Group. He specializes in representing heavily regulated businesses in class actions, multidistrict litigation, and other high-stakes disputes.

Praised for achieving “big wins in his class action practice,” Andrew has defeated a…

Andrew Soukup serves as co-chair of the firm’s Class Action Litigation Practice Group. He specializes in representing heavily regulated businesses in class actions, multidistrict litigation, and other high-stakes disputes.

Praised for achieving “big wins in his class action practice,” Andrew has defeated a variety of advertising, consumer protection, privacy, and product defect and safety claims, with exposure ranging from millions to billions of dollars. Based on his “proven record,” Andrew has been recognized as an “attorney you want on your side in a bet-the-company case.”

Andrew’s clients include those in the consumer products, life sciences, financial services, technology, automotive, gaming, and media and communications industries. He has consistently helped his clients prevail in litigation in federal and state courts across the country against putative class representatives, government agencies, state attorneys general, and commercial entities.

With a long history of representing companies subject to extensive federal regulation and oversight, Andrew has a unique ability to help courts understand the complex environment that governs clients’ businesses. Clients turn to Andrew because of his successful outcomes at all stages of litigation, his responsiveness and attention to their matters and his deep understanding of their businesses.

Andrew’s recent successes include:

Leading the successful defense of several of the world’s leading companies and brands in class actions accusing them of engaging in deceptive marketing or selling defective products, including claims brought under state consumer protection and unfair deceptive acts or practices statutes.
Defeating claims against one of the nation’s leading consumer products companies in industry-wide, multidistrict class-action litigation challenging the company’s marketing and advertising of over-the-counter medicine containing allegedly ineffective ingredients, which earned Andrew recognition by American Lawyer as a “Litigator of the Week.”
Delivered wins in multiple nationwide class actions on behalf of leading financial institutions related to fees, disclosures, and other banking practices, including defending several financial institutions accused of violating the Paycheck Protection Program’s implementing laws, which contributed to Covington’s recognition as a “Class Action Group of the Year.”
Represented several consumer product and life sciences companies from lawsuits seeking economic damages arising out of the sale of products that allegedly caused personal injuries.
Helping several of the world’s most prominent companies from ESG-related claims accusing them of misrepresenting their practices.

Andrew has also achieved favorable outcomes for clients in commercial and indemnification disputes involving contracts, fraud, and other business tort claims. He helps companies navigate contractual and indemnification disputes with their business partners. Additionally, he provides guidance on arbitration agreements and has helped numerous clients avoid multi-district and class-action litigation by enforcing their arbitration agreements.

As a recognized thought leader on issues impacting class action litigation, Andrew regularly contributes to the firm’s blog, Inside Class Actions, and was recently featured in an interview with Litigation Daily on class-action litigation issues. In recognition of his achievements, he has been recognized by The American Lawyer as a Lawyer of the Week, and the Daily Journal recently included him on their list of Leading Commercial Litigators (2025).

Watch: Andrew shares insights on class action litigation, as part of our Navigating Class Actions video series.

 

Photo of David Stein David Stein

David Stein advises clients on credit reporting, financial privacy, financial technology, payments, retail financial services, and fair lending issues. He assists a broad range of financial services firms, consumer reporting agencies, financial technology companies, and their vendors with regulatory, compliance, supervision, enforcement, and…

David Stein advises clients on credit reporting, financial privacy, financial technology, payments, retail financial services, and fair lending issues. He assists a broad range of financial services firms, consumer reporting agencies, financial technology companies, and their vendors with regulatory, compliance, supervision, enforcement, and transactional matters.

David has significant experience advising clients on compliance with the FCRA, GLBA, ECOA, EFTA, E-Sign Act, TILA, TISA, FDCPA, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and FTC Act, as well as state financial privacy laws. David is a member of the firm’s fintech and artificial intelligence initiatives and works with clients on issues related to cutting edge technologies, such as blockchain, virtual currencies, big data and data analytics, artificial intelligence, online lending, and payments technology.

David previously served in senior regulatory, policy-making, and management positions at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB). He played a significant role in developing regulations and policy on credit reporting, financial privacy, retail payments systems, consumer credit, fair lending, overdraft services, debit interchange, unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and mortgage origination and servicing. David draws upon his government experience in representing clients before the CFPB, the FRB, and other regulatory agencies and leverages his insights into the regulatory process to provide clients with practical, actionable advice.

Photo of Lucille Bartholomew Lucille Bartholomew

Lucy Bartholomew defends banks, consumer reporting agencies, and other financial services providers and their officers and directors in connection with civil and regulatory enforcement matters and internal investigations. Lucy represents clients throughout all stages of enforcement matters, including civil investigative demand negotiations, document…

Lucy Bartholomew defends banks, consumer reporting agencies, and other financial services providers and their officers and directors in connection with civil and regulatory enforcement matters and internal investigations. Lucy represents clients throughout all stages of enforcement matters, including civil investigative demand negotiations, document collection, response preparation, civil investigational hearings, the NORA/15-day letter process, and resolution. She regularly appears in front of the CFPB, FTC, federal banking agencies, and other federal and state regulators.

Lucy also maintains an active financial services regulatory practice and specializes in UDAAP, credit reporting, fair lending, fees, error resolution, consumer credit, and advertising.