The three major credit reporting agencies are implementing policy changes for credit scoring that could lift the scores of some consumers. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion will now exclude exclude all tax lien data from credit reports, which could raise some credit scores as much as 30 points, CNBC reports.
The agencies began this process last summer, removing nearly 100 percent of data on civil judgments and 50 percent of data on tax liens from credit reports. The firms now will strike the remainder of tax lien data, a policy that began taking effect Monday.
About 11 percent of the population likely will have a judgment or lien removed from their credit file, according to estimates from LexisNexis Solutions. “Analyses conducted by the credit reporting agencies and credit score developers FICO and VantageScore show only modest credit scoring impacts,” Eric Ellman, senior vice president of the Consumer Data Industry Association, said in a statement.
Credit scores are key for consumers who are applying for loans, such as a mortgage. FICO scores, for example, generally range from 300 to 850; anything above 700 is usually considered a good credit score.
Source: “Credit Scores May Jump This Month Thanks to New Scoring Rules Enacted After CFPB Study,” CNBC (April 16, 2018)
