A settlement has been reached between the nation's three credit-reporting agencies and the State of New York, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Monday.
In the settlement, Experian Information Solutions, Equifax Information Services and TransUnion have agreed to improve the accuracy of credit reports, increase fairness and efficacy for procedures when dealing with consumer disputes of credit-report errors and protect consumers from undeserved credit problems when they have medical debt.
Schneiderman said credit is part of people's lives every day, affecting everything from getting a college loan and renting an apartment to buying a car or getting a credit card, and even when applying for a job.
“The nation’s largest reporting agencies have a responsibility to investigate and correct errors on consumers’ credit reports,” Schneiderman said. “This agreement will reform the entire industry and provide vital protections for millions of consumers across the country. I thank the three agencies for working with us to help consumers.”
Julie Menin, commissioner of New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs, said one of the top complaints her department receives is over debt collection.
"Mistakes like these illegal payday loans and other information, like medical debt, end up on credit reports, where they can misrepresent a consumer's creditworthiness,” Menin said. “The agreement by Attorney General Schneiderman with the three credit-reporting companies is no small feat, and I applaud him for ambitiously requiring these institutional agencies to make it easier to obtain and repair one's report."