Credit rating agencies agree to change policies after state lawsuits

The three biggest credit reporting agencies in the US have agreed to make it easier for consumers to fix errors in their credit reports after complaints prompted 31 states to investigate.

Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax agreed to limit their marketing, wait longer before adding medical debt to a credit record, and impose higher standards on the creditors who supply them with data, among other changes. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey was one of 31 state authorities to investigate.

“Credit reports affect countless aspects of day-to-day life, from a person’s ability to obtain a mortgage and buy a house to a job hunter’s success in finding employment,” Healey said in a statement. “This settlement will improve the accuracy of those reports and provides important protections to consumers.”

The states began investigating after consumers complained that the agencies weren’t following proper dispute procedures and tried to sell them credit-monitoring services when they complained about the accuracy of their report. A spokeswoman for Healey said the attorney general’s office had received about 300 complaints about the credit ratings agencies over the past five years.

The companies will also pay $160,000 to Massachusetts as part of the settlement. The money will be used for litigation costs and consumer protection programs, court documents say, while the credit agencies did not admit fault.