Credit Reporting Errors (FCRA)

Credit Reporting Cases

You can resolve some credit report errors on your own by following the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) dispute process. If the credit bureau and information furnisher then wrongly verify the incorrect information, you may have FCRA claims against them for which you could win money damages.

Our office most commonly sees consumers with disputes over false or incorrect credit report information, including “mixed file” cases where information from one consumer’s credit file gets mixed with someone else’s, and cases where identify theft accounts appear on a consumer’s credit report. However, the FCRA also provides potential claims to consumers in the following situations:

• A credit bureau released your credit report without a valid need or your authorization.
• Someone requested your credit report without your permission or for an impermissible purpose.
• Your personal information security was breached when a company that used your credit report did not follow proper procedures to dispose of the information.
• A creditor failed or refused to notify you of certain information or rights under FCRA.
• A company that used your credit report refused to tell you where it got credit information about you or that it made a negative decision about you due to your credit report.

Damages

Under the FCRA, a credit bureau, information furnisher, or information user who engages in illegal conduct may have to pay you actual damages, punitive damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000 per violation of the law, and attorney’s fees and costs, if you win your case. “Actual damages” can include compensation for emotional distress or humiliation, for monetary losses due to denial of credit, for costs of attempts to correct credit reporting, and the like.