The Consumer Data Industry Association is reporting that the three major credit reporting bureaus (i.e. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) are updating how they report certain public record data on consumers’ credit reports.
One of these changes will be that the records must contain “a minimum of consumer personal identifying information (PII): (1) Name, (2) address, and (3) SSN and/or date of birth.”
These changes, which will take place on July 1, 2017, will result in most civil judgments no longer being report on credit reports, since court judgments rarely contain full social security numbers and/or dates of birth.
In fact, in most jurisdictions, personally identifying information like this can’t be allowed on judgments; instead, such information must be redacted.
What does this mean for a bank or other lenders? A loan applicant’s credit report will be less likely to contain all relevant information about debts and liabilities. That’s not good news, say banks.
What does this mean for a judgment debt collector? Not much, since a judgment creditor isn’t making a credit decision, and so negative information on a credit report provides less guidance. On the hand, seeing a list of judgments and liens is still useful, in that they provide a shapshot of a judgment debtor’s overall financial state.
Creditors Rights 101 