CREDIT REPORTS & REPAIR

More and more consumers are finding that their credit reports contain inaccurate information.   And, while the law gives you the right to have your credit report corrected, many people find it is it extremely difficult to correct mistakes on their credit reports.  Unfortunately, many people have complained that the Credit Reporting Agencies, and creditors don’t respond to their complaints. Fixing mistakes on credit reports takes time and patience, and can be very frustrating. Many people complain they are being ignored and that they feel powerless. In short, people complain that they are getting the “run around.”

Many times bringing a lawsuit may be the only way to get the attention of the companies involved, and to get the problem fixed.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act permits consumers to sue the Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs), and the companies reporting the information to the CRAs. 

What's more, the law also allows the consumer to ask that the CRA's be ordered to pay the consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees!

The Basics

Credit reports contain the credit history of consumers. There are three major CRAs are Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. These three CRAs gather information about people from financial institutions like credit card companies, and banks. The CRAs keep this financial information and then sell the information to other people and companies.

The financial information that is kept includes the consumer’s credit card information; personal identification information (like address, date of birth, social security number, etc); and public records (like judgments, or bankruptcies).  Credit reports are used to determine if a person is a good credit risk and to help creditors determine someone's rate of interest.  In other words, companies look at a consumer credit report to figure out whether the consumer can be trusted to pay back money borrowed. 

Unfortunately, many people find that their credit report contains incorrect information. And thus, they are unfairly being charged higher rates of interest.  Many people also find that it can be extremely difficult to try to correct the wrong information. People often find that the CRAs can be extremely difficult to communicate with, and that their complaints get them nowhere.

Lawsuits are Often the Only Answer

You can get the credit reporting agencies to correct your credit report.  Consumers are permitted to sue the CRAs for reporting incorrect information. Sometimes, consumers can also sue the companies that report the incorrect information to the CRAs. While there are certain things that a consumer may have to do before bringing suit, consumers often find that bringing a lawsuit is the only way to correct errors on their credit report. The law also permits the consumer to ask the Court to order the defendant to pay reasonable attorney’s fees.

Consumers Rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a law intended to make sure that people are treated fairly regarding their credit reports. Consumers have certain rights under the FCRA. The following is a short list of some of your rights under the FCRA (this is not a complete list of all consumer rights under the FCRA):

* Consumers can dispute inaccurate information with the CRA. If a consumer believes that information appearing on their credit report is wrong, the consumer can follow a certain procedure and inform the CRA that the information is wrong. The CRA is then obligated to investigate the information. If the CRA finds that the information is wrong they must correct it or delete it. 

* Consumers can dispute inaccurate information with the source of the information. If a consumer believes that inaccurate information is being reported to the CRA by a creditor (like a credit card company, or bank), the consumer may dispute the information with the creditor. If the creditor agrees with the consumer, the information must be corrected. If the consumer does not agree with the creditor, the creditor may continue to report the information, but must include a notice that the consumer disputes the information. Consumers should dispute the information with the CRA, as well as with the creditor. Disputing the information just with the creditor will not preserve all of the consumer’s rights.

* Old information may not be reported. In most cases, a consumer credit report may not contain negative information that is more than seven years old; ten years for bankruptcies. 

* Other have limited access to your Credit Report. Only certain people or companies are allowed to “pull” a consumer’s credit report. The person or company who pulls the report must have a “legitimate purpose” for doing so. For instance, when a consumer applies for credit, the creditor may pull the consumer’s report.

* Consumers may sue for violations of their rights. If a consumer’s rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act have been violated, they may have the right to sue. Often consumers are forced to sue, just to get the CRA's to fix the errors on the credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows the consumer to ask the Court to have the violator pay the consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees.