How do I go about suing a credit reporting agency for violation of the FDCPA & FCRA?
Jun, 2010 in FCRA, FDCPA, Transunion Credit ReportI have disputed the item with TransUnion and TransUnion removed it, but the credit company reported it to the credit bureau as well as a collection agency as a bad debt. I went to a Flooring store; they approved me for $2,000 in credit but I never used it. My floors were done by two other companies and I submitted the paid receipts to the collection company from the other stores asking them to remove it from the credit report but they told me the information is invalid and I need to get a letter showing a zero balance from the original creditor. I asked the collection agency for a contact number for the creditor but they would not give it to me saying I am a third party. The original store that I applied for credit with closed that location and moved to a new location. I did not know this was on my credit report until I was denied employment due to my credit report. I also was not made aware that the store turned the account that never existed over to a collection ageny nor did they send any invoices to me stating a balance is owed.
Thanks.
You need to write a letter to the headquarters of the flooring company explaining that the information on your credit report is invalid. Send it certified mail. They will need proof of performance showing that they installed the floors. It is their responsibility to remove the item and instruct them to do so. If they do not comply, file suit where the store was previously located. All you need are your receipts showing that the floors were installed by someone else. They have to prove that they did the work. I suspect it will not require a court appearance once they realize you are serious.
I agree with Chris but at the same time in order to track down this company you need to dig and do your research online.
You would be better off filing a complaint with your state attorney generals office as well as with the FTC seeing as to how you keep getting a run around from the CRA’s
You would have to prove any violations of the FDCPA and the FCRA occurred. Best bet to go after the flooring company.
Here are some links to these organizations.
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/attorney-general.html
Hope this helps
I am a little confused by your question are you saying it is still on your report or you just want to sue the agency. You stated you disputed with TransUnion and they removed it. Was it put back on? Is it being reported on other credit report(Equifax,Experian) If it has been removed you don’t have any legal recourse to go after the credit agency. However if it is still being reported than you do.
Either way I can tell you exactly what to do. First and foremost both the OC (original creditor) and a CA(collection agency) can not report the same item on a credit report. When dealing with OC and CA there are 2 different approaches you must take. FDCPA is for CA and the FCRA is for OC. Make sure you send everything CERTIFIED MAIL so that you have a paper trail
You must dispute these items on all credit reports in which they show up. Write a certified letter to each of the credit agency and then wait the 30 days for them to respond. YOU MUST DO THIS FIRST. By FDCPA and FCRA this is a requirement. If you do not you will have no legal recourse a stated within these 2 acts.
Next the CA. You send the CA a “Debt and Validation” letter. Type that into a search and you will find plenty of sample letters. Send that off to the CA. What this letter does is makes the CA validate the debt. This way if they are not authorize to collect the debt or violate any part of the FDCRA you got them.
At the same time send a 623 letter to the OC. This pretty much makes them do an investigation into your account and they must provide you with proof that account belongs to you.
The reason to send the dispute to the credit agency first is if the account comes back as verified and then you send these to letters and they can’t verify you have them in violation of the FDCPA and FCRA. If you get to this point I would recommend getting in touch with a lawyer that handles FDCPA and FCRA cases. A lawyer will know right away that you have a case and will sue. The nice things is that not only do you receive a $1000.00 for each violation, they also have to pay for your lawyer’s fee. This is the same thing that happened to me and I was able to stick it to them. Funny thing is i ended up winning $3000.00 on a $250 bill.Hope this helped.Need any more info let me know.