TRANSUNION PUBLIC RECORD ANNOUNCEMENT

TransUnion, Equifax and Experian have joined forces to create the National Consumer Assistance Plan (NCAP). The NCAP platform was implemented “to enhance their ability to make credit reports more accurate and make it easier for consumers to correct any errors on their credit reports” (NCAP, 2016).

Changes included in the National Consumer Assistance Plan include:

Consumer experience:

• • Consumers visiting www.annualcreditreport.com, the website that allows consumers to obtain a free credit report once a year will see expanded educational material.
  • Customers who obtain their free annual credit report and dispute information resulting in modification of the disputed item will be able to obtain another free annual report without waiting for a year.
  • Consumers who dispute items on their credit reports will receive additional information from the credit reporting agencies along with the results of their dispute, including a description of what they can do if they are not satisfied with the outcome of their dispute.
  • The credit reporting agencies (CRAs) are focusing on an enhanced dispute resolution process for victims of identity theft and fraud, as well as those who may have credit information belonging to another consumer on their file, commonly called a “mixed file.”

Data accuracy and quality:

• • Medical debts won’t be reported until after a 180-day “waiting period” to allow insurance payments to be applied. The CRAs will also remove from credit reports previously reported medical collections that have been or are being paid by insurance.
  • Consistent standards will be reinforced by the credit bureaus to lenders and others that submit data for inclusion in a credit report (data furnishers).
  • Data furnishers will be prohibited from reporting authorized users without a date of birth and the CRAs will reject data that does not comply with this requirement.
  • The CRAs will eliminate the reporting of debts that did not arise from a contract or agreement by the consumer to pay, such as traffic tickets or fines.
  • A multi-company working group of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies has been formed to regularly review and help ensure consistency and uniformity in the data submitted by data furnishers for inclusion in a consumer’s credit report.

New Credit Reporting Announcement

According to TransUnion release statement, The National Consumer Assistance Plan has “implemented enhanced standards for public records, The NCRAs removed all civil judgments and the majority of tax liens from their consumer credit reporting database last July”. “All tax liens will be removed from consumer credit reports the week of April 16, 2018. Therefore, TransUnion was advised that Experian and Equifax have also decided to cease reporting tax lien data and will take similar action in April 2018. Bankruptcy public record data will continue to be reported. All tax liens will be removed from consumer credit reporting”.

The National Consumer Assistance Plan states “while the most recent comprehensive study showed that credit reports are materially accurate 98% of the time, the three credit bureaus are constantly looking for ways to make further improvements. Hence, the National Consumer Assistance Plan reflects their commitment to helping consumers understand and manage their credit information”.

For consumer information about the National Consumer Assistance Plan, please visit their website at www.nationalconsumerassitnaceplan.com.