Big changes coming for credit reports
Experian, Equifax and Trans-Union are the three main agencies that track consumer credit. According to a settlement announced Monday by the New York Attorney General, these credit agencies have agreed to follow new guidelines to handle disputes on consumer credit reports.
Credit-reporting firms will now be required to use trained employees to respond when a consumer flags a mistake on their file and resolve the dispute.
“If you had a dispute before, basically, the only time a human would get involved is when they put like a 3-digit number or code on your dispute, and send it off to the lenders,” says Liz Weston, personal finance columnist and author of, “Your Credit Score.”
In addition, medical debts will not be put on consumers’ credit reports until after insurance payments have been taken into account. All medical debts will be removed from a consumer’s credit report after the debt is paid by insurance.
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