CFPB: Credit bureaus and creditors often seek to avoid the duty to reasonably investigate consumer disputes
On November 10, 2022 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued “Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2022-07 – Reasonable Investigation of consumer reporting disputes.” Below are key excerpts from CFPB Circular 2022-07. You can read the full document here. [Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)] to prevent consumers from being unjustly damaged because of […]
Potent remedies available for FCRA violations
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a fee-shifting statute, offers potent remedies to consumers who prevail at trial. We will take a brief look at those remedies in today’s post. Negligent and Willful FCRA Violations There are two types of violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. When a jury finds a credit bureau (a/k/a […]
Mixed Files by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires consumer reporting agencies (a/k/a credit bureaus or CRAs) to maintain reasonable procedures to assure the “maximum possible accuracy” of the information the CRAs report about you. Unfortunately, procedures followed by credit bureaus like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are often less than what is reasonable to assure maximum possible […]
Dispute credit card fraud
Chase, American Express, Citibank, and others don’t believe that you didn’t charge a vacation to Las Vegas? Your bank doesn’t believe that you did not buy a thousand-dollar television at BestBuy or on Amazon?What should you do when your credit card does issuer does not agree that you are a victim of fraud? The answer is […]
What is a consumer report?
When you obtain your credit report from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion (or any of the many other consumer reporting agencies (CRAs)), you receive a “consumer report” as that term is defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA is the main federal statute that governs consumer reports and the credit reporting industry, […]
Job offer withdrawn due to false background check report?
Most job-seekers have never been arrested in their lives. Nevertheless, we at Sherman & Ticchio have seen a recent uptick in the number of times that potential employees are being denied job offers or having conditional job offers withdrawn based on false information on the background check reports that companies are increasingly requiring as a […]
My 9/11 – A lucky escape from Two World Trade Center, 65th Floor
Those of you who know me well have seen this post many times. I decided to go with an abridged version this year. Re-reading this as we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11 gave me chills. As always, I dedicate these words to all of those who were lost that day. Never forget! September 11, […]
Credit Card Disputes and the FCRA
What happens when you have fraudulent credit card charges and your credit card issuer does not believe you? The short answer is this: you pursue your rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). At Sherman & Ticchio, we are frequently contacted by consumers who have unauthorized/fraudulent charges on their credit reports and credit […]
Damages for Violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a fee-shifting statute. This means that, should you prevail in a lawsuit against creditors and/or consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) like Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union, the Court will award you damages (discussed more fully below), including your costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. So what are reasonable attorney’s fees? […]
Disputes and Lawsuits: Do You Need a Credit Lawyer?
Disputes and lawsuits: do you need a credit lawyer? Many consumers dispute inaccurate information to Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion. What these consumers don’t realize is that the dispute process is a lose-lose. Essentially, there are two possible outcomes to a dispute: either the credit bureau verifies that the information is accurate or deletes the […]
Should I dispute unauthorized hard inquiries?
You should dispute hard inquiries that are not associated with applications for credit that you made because hard inquiries bring down your credit score and unauthorized inquiries could indicate that you are a victim of identity theft. What is a hard inquiry? A hard inquiry is a record in your credit file (that appears on […]
Identity theft? 3 steps to take right now
Take these three steps immediately if you believe you are a victim of identity theft (i.e., that an identity thief has obtained access to your confidential personal information and has used or may use your identity for self-enrichment): First, freeze your credit. A credit freeze bars credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and others […]