New Credit Bureau Reporting Requirements for Debt Collection Agencies and Debt Buyers Become Effective This Week

New mandatory credit bureau reporting process changes that had been announced earlier this year will become effective this Wednesday, June 15.  The three major credit bureaus issued a memo in March, stating that the purpose is to provide consumers more transparency. The bureaus established the plan in conjunction with several states’ Attorneys General.

New requirements of collection agencies and debt buyers include:

• Must report the name of the original creditor and creditor classification code according to the Metro 2® format (required for each account or item reported)
• Do not report debt that did not arise from a contract or agreement to pay, including – but not limited to – certain fines, tickets, and other assessments

Additionally, on September 1, 2016 collection agencies and debt buyers will be required to report a full file on a monthly basis, including accounts that are open, that were paid in the last 90 days, or that require deletion or correction.

Further, several more requirements will become effective on September 15, 2017, including:

• Should not report medical debt collection accounts less than 180 days old
• Must report a delete for accounts that are being paid or were paid in full through insurance
• Must report using the newly established minimum reporting requirements for consumer personally identifiable information (for all data furnishers)
• Must report full date of birth for new authorized users on all accounts (for reporters of authorized user data)

The memo encouraged data furnishers to implement the changes on or before the effective dates.