Fair Credit Reporting Act – Credit Reporting Errors
If you believe your credit report may be wrong, the attorneys at Fields Law can help you check your credit report and ensure there are no errors being reported. If there are any errors, we will contact the reporting agency to get the errors corrected.
It costs nothing to get answers to your questions –
In some cases, the bank, credit card company, or the credit reporting agencies themselves may have violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by:
- Failing to notify the credit reporting agency of a debt dispute.
- Failing to conduct an investigation within 30 days.
- Failing to conduct a “reasonable” investigation.
- Failing to provide you with the necessary information to complete the dispute process.
- Failing to report the results of the investigation to you.
- Submitting information to a credit reporting agency that is known to be incorrect.
In these cases, you have the right to sue the debt collector and, if you win the case, you could receive $1000.00 or actual damages (whichever is greater), and they must pay your attorney fees and out-of-pocket costs.
If credit reporting errors are preventing you from buying a car or a house, call our attorneys. We can help you correct your credit reporting errors.
Have you found incorrect information on your credit report?
Checking credit reports and obtaining our credit history has become easier than ever with websites such as Credit Karma and Annual Credit Report. Through these websites, consumers can regularly access their credit reports and see their credit worthiness based on five specific factors:
- Payment history;
- Credit usage;
- Length of credit history;
- Credit mix and types; and
- Amount of recent credit.
What if the information that is reported is incorrect or inaccurate?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has previously put out a 2012 Study that reported that one in four consumers had identified an error on their credit reports that could have negatively affected their credit. Since then, the FTC has released a 2015 follow-up study, which has shown that even though the amount of errors being identified and disputed has gone down, and the process of reporting accurate information has gotten better, there is still a large number of consumers who have reported incorrect information on their credit report.
Incorrect information can severely hurt consumers when they are applying for credit because it can lead to increased interest rates and denials. Unfortunately, these errors typically become known to consumers when applying for credit and can cause a financial strain.
Luckily, consumers have protections and rights pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681, or the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Simply put, the FCRA mandates that a consumer has the right to a clear and accurate credit report and the right to dispute and request an investigation into any incorrect information that is reporting on their credit report. If a credit reporting agency continues to report incorrect information after your request for an investigation, or fails to respond, you may have a claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and may be entitled to monetary damages.
If you have been denied credit due to incorrect information on your credit report, or you see incorrect information that is hurting your credit, contact an attorney at Fields Law Firm for a free consultation to see how we can assist you in correcting your credit report.
Fields Law Firm Corrects Incorrect Information on a Consumer’s Credit Report After Filing Bankruptcy
Credit reporting inaccuracies impact a large percentage of consumers, and the most vulnerable consumers to these inaccuracies are the ones who have filed for Chapter 7 & 13 bankruptcy. One of the most serious issues after a bankruptcy is a creditor’s failure to properly update the discharge status and balance of a debt before and after a bankruptcy discharge. By failing to update the status of discharged debt, consumers are left with serious derogatory marks on their credit.
The Consumer Law attorneys at Fields Law Firm have settled multiple claims for their clients who have reported inaccurate information on their credit reports after filing Chapter 7 & 13 bankruptcy. In one specific case, our client had identified an error on his credit report from his Chapter 7 bankruptcy that he had filed in 2008. Our client was denied a large loan he needed to expand his business due to his mortgage reporting as “being included in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.”
This reporting was inaccurate because our client had reaffirmed his home and continued to make his monthly payments. After disputing and requesting an investigation into his credit report, our client was able to get his tradeline corrected with two of the three credit reporting agencies, but the third credit reporting agency failed to update the status as requested. The credit reporting agency’s failure to update the status allowed the attorneys at Fields Law Firm to bring suit for our client and we were successful in awarding him a large settlement due to the inaccurate reporting of his mortgage account.
If you have filed for Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy, and have identified incorrect information on your credit report, you may have a claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and may be entitled to monetary damages. Contact an attorney at Fields Law Firm for a free consultation to see how we can assist you in correcting your credit report.