Your credit history is very important, it determines if you can get a mortgage, car loan, and credit cards and how much interest the lender will charge you. Having errors on your credit reports lower your credit scores and cause to incur thousands of dollars in additional interest costs.
So, if a credit bureaus refuses to remove erroneous or inaccurate credit items and accounts from your credit report you may have a claim for violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act “FCRA”. If that is the case then we may be able to get you compensation from the Credit Bureaus and the Data Furnishers. So contact us for a Free Case Evaluation.
COMMON CREDIT REPORT ERRORS
Furnishing Old Information
Credit Bureaus and Creditors who report information on your credit report are required to provide current credit information. If they fail to provide current information they have violated the FCRA. For example:
- Failing to report that a debt was discharged in bankruptcy;
- Re-aging old debts by reporting them as new;
- Report an account as Active when it was voluntarily closed by the consumer;
- Re-Aging a debt by reporting credit information that is more than seven years old or bankruptcies and judgments over ten years.
- Duplicative Account Reporting, reporting the same account as multiple different debts; and
- Mixing your credit file with another individual or relative with a similar name;
- Reporting you as deceased when you are clearly alive;
- Reappearing Accounts, these are accounts that were deleted after a dispute and were repopulation on your credit reports.;
Furnishing and Reporting Inaccurate and Incomplete Information
The Credit Bureaus and Creditors cannot report information that they know or should know is inaccurate. For example:
- Reporting a settled or paid in full debt as a Charge off;
- Reporting an inaccurate balance;
- Reporting a late payment when you actually paid on time;
- Reporting someone else’s account as yours;
- Listing you as debtor when you are an Authorized User;
- Reporting an account that was reported as Identity Theft; and
- Reporting incomplete payment history.
Failing to Follow Dispute Procedures
When you file a credit dispute with the Credit Bureaus, they have a duty to conduct a reasonable re-investigation of your credit dispute. Then they must correct any inaccurate information or delete the debt from your credit report if it is not verified within 30 days. Some common violations are:
- Not notifying the creditor of your dispute;
- Failing to conduct a “reasonable re-investigation” of your dispute; and
- Failing to delete or remove incomplete or unverifiable information within 30 days of receiving your dispute letter.
Other Violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act “FCRA”
- Privacy Violations
- Misuse of Credit Report Violations
- Withholding Notice Violations
Remedies for Violating the FCRA
Willful Violation
- Actual (provable) Damages – No limits
- Statutory Damages – $100 to $1,000 max (you do not need to prove harm)
- Punitive (punishment) Damages – up to the court
- Attorneys fees and costs
Negligent Violation
- Actual (provable) Damages – No limits
- Attorneys fees and costs
