Mixed Files and Merged Files: Common Credit Report Problems
If you find someone else’s accounts or personal information on your credit report, Sherman ; Ticchio can help. The same is true if you find that most or all of your credit history is missing from your credit report (or if you cannot obtain a copy of your credit report).Mixed credit files and merged credit […]
The FCRA: You may be entitled to financial compensation for credit report errors
FCRA §1681o applies to negligent violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act Pursuant to FCRA §1681o, any person (under the law, the term person includes entities such as, among others, (a) consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) — Equifax, Experian, Innovis, TransUnion, and others, (b) furnishers of information to CRAs — lenders, credit card servicers, student loan […]
Identity Theft – a Guide for Consumers
Identity theft happens when one individual uses the personal identifying information of another person without permission. Often, perpetrators of identity theft fraudulently open credit card accounts, obtain loans, and even open accounts with service providers like utilities.; An identity thief with access to your personal information and knowledge of a credit card number that does […]
The Worst Time to Discover an Inaccurate Credit Report
While perhaps obvious, the absolute worst time to learn about errors on your credit report(s) with Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion (or any other credit bureau) is when you apply for credit. Unfortunately, because far too few people regularly monitor their credit reports, it is precisely when credit is needed (financing a car, applying for […]
Damages, Fees, and Costs in Credit Report Litigation
Damages, Fees, and Costs in Credit Report Litigation The Fair Credit Reporting Act offers consumers many different forms of financial relief for violations of the Act by credit reporting agencies and companies that report to them. For the sake of simplicity, we will refer to all potential financial compensation for violations of the FCRA as […]
Credit Report Errors: Disputes and Lawsuits Under the FCRA
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) defines two different types of disputes of inaccurate information on your credit report — “direct disputes” and “indirect disputes” — and it may surprise you which one provides the consumer with more rights. When you dispute incorrect information on your credit report directly to the company that is the […]
Ramirez v. TransUnion – Blow to Consumers, but SCOTUS fails to bar FCRA claims based on emotional harm without publication
There is a lot of talk today about the United States Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision concerning the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in TRANSUNION LLC v. RAMIREZ, and rightfully so. For those who wish to read Justice Kavanaugh’s opinion, it is linked here. We will refrain from posting a detailed analysis of the opinion. The […]
Mistakes on your credit report? A guide…
Your credit report is a record of your creditworthiness. Chances are, every payment you’ve made to a big label credit card, mortgage servicer, or student loan debt servicer is on your credit report with one or more of the big three nationwide credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Lately, a fourth credit bureau, Innovis, has […]
Reasonable FCRA dispute investigation… Who decides?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is intended to protect consumers from the consequences of inaccurate credit reporting. Among other things, the FCRA requires both credit bureaus and furnishers to conduct reasonable investigations of consumer credit disputes and delete, modify, or appropriately update disputed credit report information that cannot be affirmatively verified as accurate. The […]
False criminal record on background check report
False criminal records on background check reports are far too common. This year, Sherman & Ticchio has observed a substantial uptick in the number of people who call us after losing out on jobs (or losing existing jobs) because of inaccurate background check reports. We have also seen a big jump in the number of […]
Alive, but described as deceased on your credit report?
Are you very much alive BUT being described as deceased by a credit bureau (like Equifax, Experian, and/or TransUnion)? You may be surprised to hear that this happens pretty much every day. Why? Because the credit bureaus do not have reasonable procedures to prevent you from being incorrectly classified as deceased.There are two primary scenarios […]
Are all mixed file cases willful FCRA violations?
In our view, punitive damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act are appropriate in all mixed file cases. To recap from some of our prior blog posts, a mixed file (a/k/a a mIxed credit file) happens — as the name suggests — when a consumer reporting agency (a/k/a a credit bureau or CRA) mixes personal […]