The three biggest credit reporting agencies have agreed to make consumers’ lives easier by tackling the now onerous task of disputing a credit report.
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, which report the credit scores of more than 200 million Americans — agreed to do a better job reviewing disputes in an agreement with New York State Monday that will be applied nationally, reported The Wall Street Journal.
They’ll take a number of obvious “proactive” steps, such as having a trained employee actually review every credit dispute — even if the creditor says the information is correct — and removing unpaid bills that result from late insurance payments.
About half of all debt reported by credit agencies is for medical expenses, reported The WSJ. The new agreement gives consumers 180 days to pay medical bills before it goes on their report, and it requires any bill paid by an insurance company to be removed immediately.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman began investigating the agencies in 2012, after receiving numerous complaints about the long and difficult process consumers go through to fix errors on their credit reports. The deal he reached with the agencies gives them three years to make the changes.
A Federal Trade Commission study found about one in 20 consumers had significant errors on their credit report in 2013, reported the Los Angeles Times.
“[The agreement] is a good sign that the reporting agencies are finally willing to step up their game and respond to the needs of hardworking consumers and their families,” Schneiderman told The WSJ.
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