USAA put the wrong information on your credit report?

Who USAA is and what it reports

USAA was founded in San Antonio in 1922 by a group of Army officers who had trouble getting auto insurance, and it still serves military members, veterans and their families. Its banking arm, USAA Federal Savings Bank, is a federally chartered savings association headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

USAA members may have credit cards, auto loans, personal loans and deposit accounts with the bank. Credit accounts are reported to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion; deposit account problems can be reported to specialty companies other banks check before letting you open an account. When USAA sends that information, the FCRA treats it as a “furnisher,” with a duty to investigate disputes the bureaus forward to it.

USAA’s record with federal regulators

On January 3, 2019, the CFPB announced a settlement with USAA Federal Savings Bank. The Bureau found that USAA did not properly honor consumers’ requests to stop preauthorized electronic payments, failed to start and complete reasonable error resolution investigations, and reopened deposit accounts that consumers had closed without prior authorization or adequate notice. USAA agreed to provide about $12 million in restitution to consumers who were denied a reasonable error investigation and to pay a $3.5 million civil penalty, without admitting or denying the findings. The CFPB lists that action as expired or terminated.

On October 14, 2020, the OCC assessed an $85 million civil money penalty against USAA Federal Savings Bank for failing to implement and maintain an effective compliance risk management program and for weaknesses in information technology risk governance, which the OCC said led to violations including of the Military Lending Act and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

Neither action is a finding about your credit report. But both describe the kind of process breakdowns, such as stopped payments that still went through or closed accounts that came back to life, that can turn into false late payments and collection entries.

Errors that show up on USAA accounts

• Payment processing problems. An automatic payment you stopped, changed or scheduled didn’t post the way it should have, and the account was reported late.
• Reopened accounts. An account you closed came back open, picked up fees, and was reported as past due.
• Fraud. A credit card or loan opened by an identity thief, or unauthorized charges USAA holds you responsible for.
• Auto loans after the car is gone. A loan paid off by trade-in, refinance or an insurance total loss still showing a balance or late payment.
• Hardship and deployment relief reported as missed payments. Payments deferred or reduced by agreement shown as delinquent.
• Wrong delinquency dates. A charge-off reported with a date of first delinquency that would keep it on your report past the seven-year limit in 15 U.S.C. § 1681c.

How to dispute a USAA account

1. Pull your reports from AnnualCreditReport.com and save dated copies. If a bank turned you down for a checking account, request the screening report it used.
2. Dispute with each bureau reporting the error through Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Describe the problem exactly and attach proof: statements, stop-payment confirmations, account closure letters, payoff or insurance paperwork, or relief agreements.
3. You may also dispute directly with USAA through secure messaging or the contact information on your statement. Keep copies. A direct dispute does not by itself give you a right to sue under the FCRA.
4. For identity theft, file a report at IdentityTheft.gov and ask each bureau to block the fraudulent account under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2. Servicemembers can also place an active duty alert under § 1681c-1(c).
5. Watch the clock. Bureaus generally have 30 days to reinvestigate, and USAA must complete its investigation in that period (§ 1681s-2(b)(2)).

The bureau dispute is the step that counts. There is no private right of action to enforce a furnisher’s general accuracy duties under § 1681s-2(a), including the identity theft duties in § 1681s-2(a)(6). Your claim is under § 1681s-2(b), and it arises after a bureau notifies USAA of your dispute and USAA fails to reasonably investigate and correct the reporting.

Your FCRA rights

• Furnisher investigation (§ 1681s-2(b)). USAA must review the information the bureau sends, report its results and correct, delete or block anything inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable.
• Identity theft blocking (§ 1681c-2). Bureaus generally must block fraudulent information within four business days of a proper request.
• Active duty alerts (§ 1681c-1(c)). An alert that lasts at least 12 months and requires creditors to take extra steps before extending credit in your name.
• Bureau duties (§§ 1681e(b), 1681i). A bureau that keeps reporting USAA’s error after your dispute may face its own claim.

What you may recover

If USAA or a bureau negligently violated the FCRA, you may recover actual damages, such as credit denials, higher rates and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). If a violation was willful, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages as the court allows, and attorney’s fees and costs (§ 1681n).

Get a free case review before your deadline

FCRA claims generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it occurred (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). If USAA is reporting a late payment, a reopened account or a fraud account that a bureau dispute didn’t fix, gather your reports and dispute results and request a free case review. FCRA Attorneys, with offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, files FCRA cases in federal court and works on contingency: no fee unless we win. Learn more about our FCRA lawyers or see our other company guides.

Questions about suing USAA

Can I sue USAA over my credit report?

Possibly. When USAA reports your accounts to the bureaus, it is a furnisher. If you dispute through Equifax, Experian or TransUnion and USAA fails to reasonably investigate and correct inaccurate data after the bureau notifies it, you may have a claim under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b).

I disputed a transaction with USAA. Isn't that enough?

Not for an FCRA claim. A dispute about a bank transaction falls under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and a card billing dispute falls under the Truth in Lending Act. The FCRA claim against USAA as a furnisher arises after you dispute the credit reporting itself with a bureau, and USAA fails to fix it.

Has USAA had problems with error investigations before?

In January 2019 the CFPB found that USAA Federal Savings Bank failed to start and complete reasonable error resolution investigations under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and reopened deposit accounts consumers had closed without authorization. USAA was required to pay about $12 million in restitution and a $3.5 million penalty, without admitting or denying the findings. That order does not decide anything about your account.

What does it cost to hire FCRA Attorneys?

Nothing up front. We handle FCRA cases on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win, and the FCRA shifts reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the company when the consumer prevails (15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n, 1681o).

Sources

• USAA: Our history
• CFPB press release: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Settles with USAA Federal Savings Bank (January 3, 2019)
• CFPB enforcement action: USAA Federal Savings Bank
• OCC news release 2020-135: OCC Assesses $85 Million Civil Money Penalty Against USAA (October 14, 2020)

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.