Mississippi files suit against credit reporting outfit

WASHINGTON - Mississippi's attorney general says sweeping errors by a major credit reporting bureau harmed consumers and violated federal law.

A new federal lawsuit says Experian Information Solutions' lax quality control jeopardizes consumers' ability to get loans, taints their employment background checks and hampers sensitive government security clearances. It says some are even put on a federal terrorism watch list.

Mississippi is the first state to file suit over what it considers a violation of federal laws aimed at protecting consumers' credit. A separate group of states is probing similar allegations involving the credit reporting industry at large.

Experian declined to comment on the complaint.

Consumer advocates have argued that lax quality control, and inadequate investigations of disputes are part of the credit bureaus' business model.