Good current events research project for your students to find three news sources and identify how the credit score process is going to change.  Here is a sampling of stories that hit this morning:

From Wall Street Journal:

The three biggest companies that collect and disseminate credit information on more than 200 million Americans will change the way they handle errors and list unpaid medical bills as part of the broadest industry overhaul in more than a decade.

From New York Times:

The credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — have long been criticized for the convoluted process that consumers must endure to get their credit reports fixed, among other things. Under the agreement, they will improve their dispute resolution process, which is largely automated, and instead use specially trained employees…

Additionally, the credit reporting bureaus will take steps to make consumers aware that their credit reports are available free at least once a year from each of the credit agencies through the websiteannualcreditreport.com. The agencies will now have to include links to that website on their home pages, as well as provide another free report to consumers who experience a change in their credit reports after initiating a dispute.

From Here and Now (Audio Resource):

Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the three biggest companies that collect and disseminate credit information, have agreed to change the way they report credit scores under an agreement being announced Monday.

The changes will take effect over the next three years or so and will impact how the industry handles reporting errors and how they list unpaid medical bills.

Questions to ask students:

1. Why are credit reports/scores important?
2. What changes were announced recently?
3. Why do you think these practices were changed?
4. What impact do you think this will have on consumers?

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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