The Federal Trade Commission and other regulators are in the process of developing new guidelines to regulate the accuracy of information provided to the credit bureaus. The creation of these guidelines is part of the 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act. According to an article by Reuters:
Areas to be examined include identifying patterns, practices and
specific forms of activity that can compromise the accuracy and
integrity of information furnished to credit bureau and reviewing
methods, including technological means used to furnish such information.
Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and Innovis currently collect data on a voluntary basis from creditors, lenders, insurers, courts, tax agencies, employers, health care providers and debt collectors. There are very few regulations about what information these businesses need to provide. The Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) only specifies that the information they send in must be correct.
This lack of regulation has led to some businesses reporting incomplete information on consumers. For example, Capital One famously doesn’t report credit limits. Also, some smaller companies may only report negative information or only report to one of the three bureaus. Missing information on credit reports can often lead to low or inaccurate credit scores for consumers. It’s only fair that businesses should report both the bad and the good about their customers.
What regulations would you like the FTC to put in place? Do you think these new rules will help make your credit reports more accurate? Share your ideas and feedback in the comments section below.
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