Change Isn’t Necessarily a Good Thing When it Comes to Credit Reports!


 Back in March of 2015 Equifax, Experian and TransUnion launched a website, http://NationalConsumerAssistancePlan.com. This website was setup to inform consumers about the implementation of the National Consumer Assistance Plan. This mission of the NCAP was to make credit reports more accurate and easier for consumers to correct mistakes found on their credit report. This sounds great, but it has had a negative impact on property owners conducting background checks.

 On July 1, 2017, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion began to exclude most public tax lien and all civil judgment information that didn’t meet the new NCAP standards. The new standard requires each credit bureau to remove records that did not include a person’s name, address and either a Social Security number or date of birth. It also requires Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to verify public record information by visiting court houses every 90 days. When you remove tax lien and civil judgment information from a consumer credit the score will increase, but the credit risk does not decrease. This could cause serious issues if rental decisions are based solely on a credit score. RSI has continued to recommend credit criteria that looks at more than just a credit score.

 A few weeks ago, RSI was notified by TransUnion that they have been analyzing the quality of tax lien data submitted by third party vendors. Based on the compliance standards set forth with NCAP, TransUnion has decided to cease reporting tax lien data and will remove all remaining tax lien information, even if it complies with NCAP from the TransUnion consumer credit reporting database. All tax liens will be removed from consumer credit reports the week of April 16, 2018. Experian and Equifax have also decided to stop reporting tax lien data and will take similar action sometime in April 2018.

 With the continued removal of public information from consumer credit reports, Rental Services, Inc. is concerned that bankruptcy records could be next on the removal list.

 With these continued changes to available information how do you make the best possible decision when screening prospective applicants?

 When the credit report is lacking it’s even more important to conduct a comprehensive screening report, like the one you receive from RSI.  The eviction verification service provided by RSI locates and verifies evictions. RSI accomplishes this task without the use of the credit report. At RSI we go straight to the courts to access civil judgment records. This is combined with a record verification process conducted by an RSI Investigator. RSI can honestly say “No One Checks Them Closer” when it comes to eviction records.

 It’s equally important to conduct rental verification phone calls to employers and rental references. The use of this information is key to the background check process. Did you know that when RSI is verifying reference information we develop an address history for the applicant? This helps locate additional sources for rental history. RSI routinely locates negative rental history not listed on the rental application.

 Rental Services, Inc. works hard to make sure we provide you the best tools to make informed decisions.

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