Credit ‘service’ may become a renter’s headache

Regarding “Renters Get New Advocate for Credit” by Kenneth R. Harney, Jan. 11: Boy, what a mess this new “service” will create.

If I understand the process, renters will voluntarily give PRBC [Pay Rent, Build Credit] authorization to access their bank accounts to monitor rent payments.

Every time a renter moves, he will have to update the information.

Every time a renter changes banks, he will have to update the information.

Every time a renter gets online to make a change, his personal financial information becomes available to hackers who are up to no good.

Every time PRBC accesses a renter’s bank account, the renter is exposed to increased possibilities of financial data or identity theft. And these scenarios don’t even take into account errors that, like errors with credit reports, are discovered years after the fact and are impossible to correct.

In the Los Angeles area, the UD Registry [www.udregistry.com] tracks unlawful detainer (eviction) cases.

If a renter pays his rent on time and is otherwise a good tenant, obviously there will be no record. If a renter is a “problem child” and has been sued by his landlord, the court action will be listed on the registry.

The absence of a record should be enough to confirm -- for mortgage credit purposes -- that the tenant paid his rent on time. Renters with nothing to hide will be better served to obtain a recommendation letter from their landlords. To create a new Internet-driven nationwide service is asking for trouble.

Stephany Yablow

North Hollywood

The writer is an attorney.