New York AG Announces Settlement with Three National Credit Reporting Agencies

Enforcement Credit Reporting Agency

On March 9, New York AG Eric Schneiderman announced a settlement agreement with three national credit reporting agencies. Schneiderman noted that inaccuracies in credit reports, such as the collection of debts not owed, misrepresentations of medical debt, identity theft or fraud, and identity mistakes on behalf of the agencies, continue to negatively affect consumers, most notably preventing minority and low-income individuals from gaining access to jobs and housing. The agencies fully cooperated with the NY AG’s office to find solutions to the credit report issues and, per the terms of the agreement, will (i) hire specially trained employees to review consumer documentation concerning identity theft or fraud and mixed files; (ii) review all disputes and supporting documentation submitted via the automated dispute resolution system; (iii) put into effect a 180-day waiting period before reporting any medical debts; (iv) increase the visibility of consumers’ right to access one free annual credit report via annualcreditreport.com; and (v) develop a National Credit Reporting Working Group to put in place a set of best practices and policies that will strengthen furnisher monitoring and data reporting. The full version of the settlement agreement provides additional requirements that the agencies must observe to increase fairness and effectiveness within credit reporting system.