Experian
Experian is one of the three nationwide credit bureaus; its U.S. credit reporting company, Experian Information Solutions, is based in Costa Mesa, California. It must follow reasonable procedures for accuracy and reinvestigate your disputes. In January 2025 the CFPB sued Experian over how it handles disputes; that case is pending, and the allegations are not findings.
An Experian error can cost you a loan, an apartment or a better rate. The FCRA gives you the right to dispute it and requires a real reinvestigation, not a rubber stamp. If the error survives your dispute, that is when the law starts to matter most.
Who Experian is
- What it is. The CFPB lists Experian as "one of the three nationwide providers of consumer reports" (CFPB).
- Where it is. The CFPB describes Experian Information Solutions, Inc. as based in Costa Mesa, California (CFPB).
- Your report. One free report every 12 months through AnnualCreditReport.com, (877) 322-8228 (15 U.S.C. § 1681j(a)(1)).
- Phone. The CFPB's company listing gives Experian's direct number and freeze line as (888) 397-3742 (checked September 29, 2026).
How to get your report and dispute it
- Get the report. Ask Experian for your file; it must disclose the information in it and its sources (15 U.S.C. § 1681g(a)). If a company turned you down based on a report, you are entitled to a free copy within 60 days (§ 1681j(b)).
- Dispute in writing, with proof. Identify each wrong item, say why it is wrong, and attach copies. The agency must reinvestigate within 30 days (§ 1681i(a)(1)).
- Dispute with the source too. After the agency passes on your dispute, the company that furnished the data must investigate and report back (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)).
- Keep everything. The letters you send, the results you get, and any denial letter from a lender, landlord or employer are the evidence in an FCRA case.
Step-by-step help: how to dispute your credit report.
What Experian cannot do
These duties apply to every consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. They describe the law, not what this company has done in your case.
- Skip reasonable accuracy procedures. A consumer reporting agency must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy (15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)). See credit report errors.
- Ignore or rubber-stamp your dispute. It must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation within 30 days, and send your dispute to the company that furnished the data within 5 business days (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)). See failed dispute.
- Mix your file with someone else's. Another person's accounts, name or address on your report is an accuracy problem under § 1681e(b). See mixed files.
- Keep identity-theft accounts on your report. With an identity theft report and proof of identity, it must block the information within 4 business days (15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2(a)). See identity theft on your credit report.
- Report most negative items after seven years, or bankruptcies after ten (15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)). See paid debt still reported.
- Give your report to someone without a permissible purpose (15 U.S.C. § 1681b(f)).
Public record
Only public, sourced facts appear here. Where we quote an agency or a court, the words describe what that agency or court found, alleged or decided.
CFPB complaints, as of September 29, 2026. From September 1, 2025 through September 1, 2026, consumers filed 1,849,764 complaints naming "Experian Information Solutions Inc." in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint database, 1,834,020 of them about credit or consumer reports; 426,372 of the 1,849,764 came from New York, New Jersey and Florida. See the complaints in the CFPB database. Complaints are unverified consumer reports, not findings of wrongdoing.
- CFPB lawsuit, filed January 7, 2025 (pending). The Bureau alleges that Experian did not properly reinvestigate disputes, failed to delete inaccurate or unverifiable information, and allowed deleted items to be reinserted. The court denied Experian's motion to dismiss on October 22, 2025, and the CFPB's case page listed the matter as pending litigation. These are allegations; no court has found them true (CFPB case page).
- CFPB consent order, March 23, 2017. The Bureau found that Experian misrepresented how lenders used the credit scores it sold to consumers, and ordered a $3 million civil penalty (CFPB).
What the law lets you recover
A willful violation of the FCRA allows actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, plus punitive damages (15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a)); a negligent one allows actual damages (§ 1681o(a)). The FCRA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. A claim must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no more than five years after it happened (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). See New York, New Jersey and Florida for state claims that can sit alongside it.
Common questions
How do I dispute an error with Experian?
Dispute online, by phone or by mail, identify the item, explain why it is wrong and attach proof. Experian must reinvestigate within 30 days. Save everything you send and the results letter.
What is the CFPB's lawsuit against Experian about?
The CFPB alleges that Experian did not properly investigate disputes and let deleted errors return. The case was pending when we checked, and the allegations are not findings.
Experian verified an error I disputed. What now?
Ask how it verified the item, dispute again with more proof, and dispute directly with the furnisher. A verified error that is still wrong may support a claim under the FCRA.
Tell us what they did.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which laws the collector or the credit bureau broke, which deadline runs first, and what to save this week. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510The FDCPA and the FCRA require a company found liable to pay the consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Our fee arrangement is confirmed in a written retainer before we begin. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language.