Public records suffer from similar consistency and
duplication problems that affect collection items. In
particular, a single episode can result in one or more
public record items depending on how it is recorded.
For example, tax liens can be recorded on a con-
solidated basis or treated as separate items. Similarly,
amendments to a public record filing, such as a
bankruptcy or a foreclosure, can be treated as
updates, which result in no change in the number of
items, or as new filings.In addition, evidence suggests that the credit-reporting agencies inconsistently gather information
on lawsuits that the courts have not yet acted on, in
part because some agency officials believe that the
mere filing of a lawsuit does not necessarily relate
to future credit performance. For the most part, such
lawsuits are missing from the public records. How-
ever, for idiosyncratic reasons, some lawsuits have
been reported in nonrandom ways. Specifically,
80 percent of the lawsuits in the Federal Reserve
sample came from only two states, an indication that
residents of these states may be at a disadvantage in
credit evaluations.About one-fourth of non-bankruptcy-related publicrecords reflect dismissals. In such cases, the courts
seem to have determined that the individuals are not
legally liable. Such information may be of question-
able value for credit evaluations.
RSS
Public records suffer from similar consistency and duplication problems that affect collection items. In particular, a single episode can result in one or more public record items depending on how it is recorded. For example, tax liens can be recorded on a con- solidated basis or treated as separate items. Similarly, amendments to a public record filing, such as a bankruptcy or a foreclosure, can be treated as updates, which result in no change in the number of items, or as new filings.In addition, evidence suggests that the credit-reporting agencies inconsistently gather information on lawsuits that the courts have not yet acted on, in part because some agency officials believe that the mere filing of a lawsuit does not necessarily relate to future credit performance. For the most part, such lawsuits are missing from the public records. How- ever, for idiosyncratic reasons, some lawsuits have been reported in nonrandom ways. Specifically, 80 percent of the lawsuits in the Federal Reserve sample came from only two states, an indication that residents of these states may be at a disadvantage in credit evaluations.About one-fourth of non-bankruptcy-related publicrecords reflect dismissals. In such cases, the courts seem to have determined that the individuals are not legally liable. Such information may be of question- able value for credit evaluations.