TransUnion and Equifax were fined more than $23 million by U.S. regulators on Tuesday for selling customers credit scores that aren’t used by most lenders.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused TransUnion and Equifax of selling “customers their own in-house scores and improperly implied that those were the scores lenders check,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
The CFPB said the two bureaus promised its customers “free or cheap credit scores to hook consumers into costly monthly credit-monitoring subscriptions.”
“Credit scores are central to a consumer’s financial life, and people deserve honest and accurate information about them,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “TransUnion and Equifax deceived customers about the usefulness of the credit scores they marketed.”
Of the $23 million, TransUnion will use nearly $14 million of the money to reimburse its consumers while also paying a $3 million civil fine, according to Reuters. Equifax will reimburse its consumers nearly $4 million and pay a $2.5 million civil fine.
According to the CFPB, TransUnion’s misconduct had occurred since July 2011. It occurred between July 2011 and March 2014 at Equifax.
Neither TransUnion or Equifax have admitted or denied the allegations, Fortune noted.
TransUnion spokesman David Blumberg and Equifax spokeswoman Ines Gutzmer said their companies believe they’ve followed the laws that have been put in place regarding the matter.
TransUnion and Equifax are among several companies that receive a great deal of consumer complaints, according to the CFPB.
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