Articles Posted in Credit Report Violations – FCRA

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arkovich_law-narrowCan I do All This Myself or Do I Need an Attorney?

Yes, dealing with your debt is something you can do yourself. But like anything, sometimes it is better to hire someone who does this day in and day out. Particularly if you have a lot of debt or assets to protect.  Many of the borrowers we speak with are unaware of key governmental programs and how to jump through the various hoops to qualify. The student loan system itself is the least transparent of any system that I have ever seen in my 30 years of practicing law. For private loans, negotiation or litigation can be involved; both of which a borrower is not well suited for in most cases. We know deadlines that may apply for tax free relief.

If it’s a bankruptcy, we know all the trustees, the rules, the loopholes, basically how to not only get things done, but also to obtain the best result.

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arkovich_law-narrowCredit reports have more errors than ever right now.  Student loans, car loans, really – any kind of credit out there, is often reported inaccurately on your credit reports. It costs you nothing to have us take a look.  Our Fair Credit Reporting Act cases are ALL on a contingency basis – no fees/costs unless we are successful.  Our clients are netting significant settlements – money that you can use to pay off other debt – or start a family/business, whatever you’ve always wanted to do, but never had a lump sum saved to take the plunge.

Take these steps and let’s work together to get it done!

  • Go to annualcreditreport.com
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arkovich_law-narrowLet’s say you have negotiated a settlement with a creditor. What should you include to help ensure that your credit is the best it can be?

First, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the “FCRA”), a creditor is not required to report anything, but what it does choose to report, must be accurate.

So this leaves the door open to ask for a trade line deletion. This means that the account won’t show up at all – no late pays, no delinquencies, and no language such as “settled for less than owed”. This is the best outcome, particularly if you have other accounts elsewhere with a positive history. Many original creditors won’t agree to this but if you can point to some kind of error on their part, you’ll be more successful in having the trade line deleted.

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When is it time to ignore calls versus doing something about them?

If you are being harassed or threatened collection actions on old debt, there are many things to consider.  First, a legitimate collector is required to send you something in writing within five days of the initial contact under the FDCPA.  That’s sort of a litmus test.  Receiving nothing in writing is a violation, but it’s also a sign of a debt scammer.

Second, check your credit report via annualcreditreport.com.  If the debt is on there, it’s causing you harm and you should do something about it.  Contact us or another consumer attorney — the first steps would be to dispute the debt.  Often the consumer rules aren’t being followed.  For instance, balances are reflected more than once, or are inaccurate in other ways.  We often file actions under the Fair Credit Reporting Act which may result in the debt being removed once and for all (waiver of debt or trade line deletion), and you may receive damages due to the inaccuracies.  Everything relies on good credit it seems.  Bad credit can harm you in all kinds of ways.  You don’t pay us up front – we only get paid if we are successful in obtaining a recovery.

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People are often confused about how attorney’s fees work – when do you have to pay your own, and when does the losing party have to pay?  This question is very important when you are faced with a decision of whether to “take someone to court”.  In the United States, each party pays their own attorney’s fees unless a contract or statute states otherwise.  Often a person is denied justice unless a contract or statute allows recovery of attorney’s fees because it simply does not make financial sense to right all wrongs.

Many consumer protection or debt harassment protection statutes such as the FCCPA, FDCPA, and the FCRA provides for the recovery of attorney’s fees.  Attorneys act essentially like mini attorney generals in that regard.  We can sue for someone under a statute that provides payment from an offending creditor for instance.

Contracts are another way in which attorney’s fees are recoverable.  You might read in a mortgage or debt related contract that the creditor is permitted to obtain its attorney’s fees and court costs if it has to pursue legal action to collect a debt.  While these contracts don’t clarify this, an attorney’s fee provision in a contract goes both ways, at least in Florida.  If the consumer is the prevailing party, the consumer can obtain their attorney’s fees and court costs as well.

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A mortgage servicer called a “furnisher” for purposes of credit reporting is responsible for updates to a borrower’s credit report.  Many times following a foreclosure, there is a limited time for the lender to seek a deficiency judgment.  Here is Florida it is one year.  If a year goes by, and the lender fails to seek a deficiency judgment then it waives the amount it is still owed after the foreclosure sale of a home.

Here’s the good news:  If a lender fails to report a deficiency as having been eliminated, discharged or abolished, it is then reporting inaccurate information.  This inaccurate reporting opens the door to the furnisher’s liability under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq., (the “FCRA”) per the Ninth Circuit (California) in a recent case.  Gross v. CitiMortgage, Inc., 20-17160 (9th Cir. May 16, 2022).

This case is being compared to a leading contempt case, where the Supreme Court in Midland Funding  LLC v. Johnson, 137 S.Ct. 1407, (2017) found that a debt collector who filed a proof of claim in a bankruptcy that was obviously barred by the statute of limitations did NOT engage in false, deceptive, misleading, unconscionable, or unfair conduct so there was no violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  While this decision involved a different set of circumstances and a different law, it is clear that these two views could be considered as inconsistent.

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Now that debt collectors are back and moratoriums are falling away, this is a good opportunity to remind Florida consumers about limitations that bind debt collectors.  Basically, things they may do or say that could get them into trouble, and give you recourse to sue or settle or more favorable terms.  So what do we look for?

  • Misleading letters regarding payment options, statute of limitations, or credit reporting.
  • Letters lacking required disclosures or misleading about dispute process.
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What are the most common errors on a credit report that lead to FCRA claims — and resulting damages?

  1. Status Disputes – error/inaccuracy standards which give rise to valid disputes:
  • these are things that are factually inaccurate such as:
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In our consumer practice, I was surprised to see that denials of life insurance or annuities are often a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).  The medical screening reports are often ad hoc and inaccurate.

If you have applied for life insurance and been denied, don’t give up.  Instead, check your report with Medical Information Bureau (“MIB”).  You may find that it’s patched together and has information well over the allowed seven years or contains otherwise inaccurate diagnosis.

Prescriptions and your Rx history are tracked by Milliman INtelliscript based out of Brookfield, Illinois – 871-211-4816.

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When you have an apartment or employment denial, you can call the numbers listed below for the screening company and request a copy of the background report:

  • Accurate Background, Inc. – Irvin, CA 800-216-8024
  • First Advantage Corp. – Atlanta, GA 800-845-6004
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