Worried about your credit? New changes in credit reporting could improve your score. The big three credit reporting companies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experience just announced that they may remove reports about tax liens and civil judgments if data in them is missing specific information.
Credit reporting agencies will require tax lien and civil judgment data to include the following information about a person:
· Name
· Address
· Social Security Number
· Date of Birth
Many people may see a boost in their credit reports when these changes go into effect July 1st, because data sent to reporting agency seldom contains all of this information. The requirements will apply to both new and existing data.
Who will benefit the most?
The people who will benefit the most from these changes will be individuals in the toughest financial circumstances. Those with low credit scores with either a civil judgment or tax lien.
Individuals who are struggling financially and have low credit scores are often forced to accept loans and credit cards at higher interest rates, often from predatory lenders. This often pushes people deeper into financial crisis. For many, the best way to stop this downward spiral is to consider debt resolution options such as bankruptcy.
Why now?
The changes were in response to concerns about errors in credit reports following a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau study that credit bureaus were providing misleading information about the credit reports they were providing and sometimes inaccurate information within the reports themselves. The study added further ammunition to the CFPB’s concerns that lenders have been too dependent on credit reports to make lending decisions.
Lending agencies have responded by making a pledge to more rigorously screen their data to ensure that it is more accurate.
