Fixing Errors On Your Credit Report Should Soon Become Easier

Under terms of a new settlement announced today, the big 3 credit reporting agencies–Equifax, Experian and TransUnion–have agreed to follow new guidelines for responding to customer disputes and also to reduce the negative effect unpaid medical bills have on credit scores. The settlement comes after months of negotiations with the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The current dispute system, which is mostly outsourced overseas and automated, has long been a source of criticism. Critics have complained that the credit reporting firms simply pass the buck, rather than investigate claims themselves when customers file a dispute on their credit report. According to a 2012 from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agencies only resolved about 15% of consumer disputes internally–the rest were passed along to the lender to investigate.

Under the changes announced today, consumers who dispute items in their credit reports will receive more information concerning those disputes, including instructions on what they can do if they don’t like the answer they get.

Also, as part of the deal, the CRAs will be required to change how they treat medical debt. Going forward, medical debts will not be put on consumers’ credit reports until after a 180-day “waiting period” to allow insurance payments to be taken into account. In addition, all medical debts will be removed from a consumer’s credit report after the debt is paid by insurance.

The settlement requires these changes to be instituted nationwide over the next three years, but most should be carried out over the next 6 to 18 months.